Mardenborough, Ordonez, Krumm Announced as Nissan LMP1 Drivers

Past Nissan GT Academy winners Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Ordonez and Nissan veteran Michael Krumm have been named to Nissan’s LMP1 program, as the three newest drivers of the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO.

Mardenborough and Krumm will race for the full FIA World Endurance Championship season, while Ordonez will be an extra for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Spaniard will continue racing in the Japanese Super GT series for his primary campaign this season.

Mardenborough was primarily focused on full GP3 and Toyota Racing Series last season, and this marks his return to sports car racing on a more regular basis. He has two prior Le Mans starts, including last year with Alex Brundle and Mark Shulzhitzkiy in a Ligier JS P2 Nissan.

“I want to show that there is a different route to the top of motorsport, than just years and years of expensive go karting, by winning at Le Mans,” said Mardenborough. “It’s an honor for me to be chosen to compete in LMP1 for Nissan.

“I have raced at Le Mans twice in LMP2 so I have seen the current LMP1 cars at very close quarters out on the track. To think I will be racing one this year is very exciting. The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO looks set to be an historic race car and I get to drive it!”

Ordonez, now 29, will be set for his fifth Le Mans start, all in a Nissan-powered entry. He was part of the Garage 56 Nissan ZEOD RC chassis last year, co-driving with Satoshi Motoyama and Wolfgang Reip. He’ll share the third Nissan at Le Mans with Tsugio Matsuda.

“When I received the call telling me I would race the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO and the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 it was like winning GT Academy all over again,” said Ordonez. “Last year was incredible, racing in Japan and learning all about the unique racing culture over there. Now I get to race in the top class in Japan and at Le Mans I will jump into the ultimate GT-R!”

Krumm was the driver of the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO. Well-known for his car development capabilities, Krumm brings a great deal of experience to the team.

These three join Marc Gene, Olivier Pla, Harry Tincknell and Tsugio Matsuda as confirmed drivers of the GT-R LM NISMO.

The final drivers should be confirmed over the next few weeks.