Can back-to-front work for Nissan?
Nissan is turning motorsport wisdom on its head by trying to win Le Mans with a front-engined, front-wheel-drive LMP1. GARY WATKINS examines the bold thinking behind the GT-R LM
We were always expecting something different from Nissan. It has, after all, been building a reputation as something of an off-beat, even zany, manufacturer and it does employ arguably the most imaginative mind in motorsport in Ben Bowlby. But how different!
Nissan's GT-R LM NISMO turns conventional motorsport thinking on its head. Or rather back to front. The rumours had quietly gained momentum that the car was indeed front-engined and front-wheel-drive, but seeing - and reading - was truly believing.
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Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.
Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.
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