Courage to miss Le Mans
The works Courage team will not be represented at the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time in 19 years, it was announced on Wednesday
The French marque was once again preparing to be the works Nissan outfit, after last year's effort was split between a Courage chassis and Nissan's own G-Force built chassis.
However, the decision of Nissan's motorsport department to supply '99 spec engines to Courage for this year's running of the French classic has led to Courage's announcement that they will not be taking part.
Apparently, the new C60 chassis was developed for the 2000 spec five litre Nissan V8 rather than the older engines Nissan were offering, and Courage felt this would not be a competitive option.
Nissan has withdrawn from most motorsport activities despite considerable success in 1999. This is reportedly due to financial constraints.
According to a press release issued from the Courage team, another deal with a manufacturer for the 2001 Le Mans race is being sought. The Courage-Nissan C59 was one of the surprises of the 1999 Le Mans race, running in the top 5 well into the event.
The Courage marque will not be absent from the 24 Hours, with Henri Pescarolo's team running a Porsche engined C52, and the SMG team's new Judd engined C60, which will also race in the remainder of the 2000 ALMS series.
Courage claim to be considering court proceedings against Nissan.
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