Nissan Onroak DPi Debuts New Electronics Package

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Onroak Automotive has made the switch from Cosworth to Motec electronics for its Nissan Onroak DPi, in a move aimed to improve the car’s reliability for the remainder of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

The French constructor has debuted the new electronic package for the GT3-based 3.8-lite twin-turbo V6 powerplant this weekend at Road America, after completing IMSA’s re-certification process for permitted DPi updates since the last Prototype race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last month.

The process, which included dyno testing at NASCAR’s R&D center in Concord, N.C., has resulted in a more refined overall package, according to Onroak North America Market Manager Ethan Bregman.

“It’s reliability,” Bregman told Sportscar365. “I don’t see the performance of the car changing but I see our ability to get data and information out of the car better for the ESM and also the ability to handle reliability systems on the engine and the complexity of the car will be much more uniform.”

Tequila Patron ESM rolled out with the new IMSA-approved updates in a two-day test at Palm Beach International Raceway last week, in what team owner/driver Scott Sharp said has been a positive step forward for the car.

“One of the things we tested was a switch to the Motec system,” Sharp said. “There have been some reliability issues the team has been dealing with all year. We hope a switch to the Motec system gets those under control.”

It’s understood the changes made by Onroak are permitted under IMSA’s DPi regulations and does not factor into the draft homologation provisions currently permitted for all DPi manufacturers this year.

DPi manufacturers are allowed to roll out with various aero and engine-related updates to their cars on an unlimited basis, under IMSA’s certification process that includes wind tunnel and/or dyno testing. 

The changes are not aimed for performance gains but rather to improve reliability and update branding and potential styling changes to the bodywork.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John