Kondo Set for GT300, N24 Programs With Nissan

Having already trained more than 10,000 young mechanics, Nissan and Kondo Racing will expand its partnership by competing in the Nürburgring 24 and Super GT series from next year.

Kondo Racing, a customer team led by Japanese actor and singer Masahiko Kondo, will participate in the Nurburgring endurance race beginning year with a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, marking the team’s first overseas competition with the GT-R since the team was founded in 2000.

Nissan will dispatch selected technical staff from NISMO Performance Center-certified dealerships to support the team as mechanics for the 2019-2021 seasons.

Kondo will also compete together with the Nissan Automobile Technical College (NAMTC), which trains future mechanics for Nissan dealerships, in the Super GT series from 2019.

They will race in the series’ GT300 class, Japan’s top touring car category, also with a Nissan.

NAMTC and Kondo Racing have competed together in Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance series since 2012, winning the series title in 2016.

The partnership’s goal is to discover and develop young talent to become skilled mechanics at Nissan dealerships. More than 10,000 students have participated in the program over seven seasons.

Kondo’s Nurburgring 24 driver lineup will include Tsugio Matsuda, Mitsunori Takaboshi, Tomonobu Fujii and Tom Coronel.

The team also has represented Nissan in GT500 in Super GT since 2006 with Mitsunori Takaboshi and JP de Oliveira driving for the team in 2018.