Nissan will be back on the grid next season in the top class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. But instead of fielding its own prototype, it’s providing engines to an independent team.
That team is Extreme Speed Motorsports, which has an established history in American endurance racing. ESM has been competing overseas in the LMP2 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the past two years, but has just announced its return to North America next season.
Backed by Tequila Patrón and in partnership with Oak Racing, ESM will field a pair of Ligier chassis powered by Nismo engines in the top Prototype class that will see LMP2 cars squaring off against the new Daytona Prototype International racers.
It’s a different strategy for Nissan, which most recently built its own radical, front-drive, GT-R LM Nismo hybrid prototype, but shut down the program after just one race. The effort was even shorter-lived than the previous R391 that competed in just two races in 1999.
ESM, however, has a better track record. The 2013 American Le Mans Series saw it place its Honda ARX-03b on the podium in every race, with two wins to place second in the championship. This year it won its class at both Daytona and Sebring with a Honda-powered Ligier chassis, and finished second in the WEC races at Silverstone and Spa – both under Nissan power.
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