Nigel Stepney Killed in Road Car Accident

JRM Racing team manager and technical director Nigel Stepney died in a car accident this morning. He was 55.

Stepney, who joined JRM in 2010 after a successful career in Formula 1, had a key role in the development of the Nissan GT-R race car.

He led JRM and Nissan to the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship with drivers Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr.

In 2012, Stepney led JRM into the FIA World Championship with the LMP1 HPD ARX-03a, before continuing to work on the development of the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in 2013.

Stepney was set to head JRM’s engineering team supporting customer teams running the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3.

“From the moment Nigel joined JRM in 2010, he was a vitally important member of the team and brought a level of engineering experience to us that was unrivaled,” said James Rumsey, owner of JRM, in a statement.

“Nigel was an intense and fierce competitor and always strived for excellence in our racing. We certainly could not have achieved our level of success without his leadership and experience.

“Away from the track, he was a focused, driven and passionate member of the JRM Group, and a loving father to his family.

“The rest of the engineering and race team here at JRM learned an unimaginable amount from Nigel in the four short years he was with us and his death this morning has shocked everyone to the core.

“Today, the motorsport world has lost one of its greatest characters and competitors. He will be sorely missed and we send our sincere condolences to his family and the many friends he leaves behind. Our prayers and thoughts are with Ash and Sabine.”

Sportscar365 sends its condolences to Nigel’s family at this difficult time.