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Nissan GT Academy Winners to Compete in Blancpain Endurance

Paletou, Sanchez join Nissan GT Academy Team RJN in BES…

Photo: Nissan / Drew Gibson

Photo: Nissan / Drew Gibson

GT Academy winners Gaetan Paletou and Ricardo Sanchez will compete in the Blancpain Endurance Series this season, Nissan announced today.

The two drivers will join Nissan GT Academy Team RJN in the Pro-Am Cup, joining German Florian Strauss in the team’s second Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

Paletou and Sanchez finished fifth overall and second in class at the Dubai 24 Hours in January and were selected to become NISMO Athletes and race full-time for Nissan.

“We are now in the strong position of having our own production line of talent,” said Nissan’s Darren Cox.

“GT Academy winners only become NISMO Athletes if they have the talent and the determination to go all the way. There are no free rides here.”

“With our sports car ladder now firmly in place we can reward our top GT Academy graduates with the drive of a lifetime in LM P1 and that is what we did when we selected the drivers for our new program.”

Frenchman Paletou is looking forward to his Blancpain Endurance Series debut at Monza next month.

“I feel ready for Monza but I still find it hard to believe that I am going to be racing there. This time last year I had no idea of what was ahead of me and now I have landed my dream job,” Paletou said.

“I know that Monza is a good track for the GT-R as we have such a strong engine so we are in a good position to get a good result.”

Like his new teammate, Mexican driver Sanchez is excited to get this opportunity.

“I still find it hard to believe what is happening in my life. Every time I think about it I smile as this has always been my dream,” he said.

“The hard work really starts now though. Monza is a very fast track with a lot of history so I feel proud to have the opportunity to race the GT-R there.”

Marcel ten Caat (@marceltencaat) is a contributor to Sportscar365 and other publications including Autosport.nl.

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