VALENCIA, Spain – Nissan has made its debut in the ABB FIA Formula E championship with former series champion Sebastien Buemi tasked with shaking down both cars today at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Buemi was ninth fastest in the morning session and improved one spot in the afternoon to set the eighth fastest time of the day with a time of 1:18.100.
The Formula E victory, pole position, and fastest race lap record holder drove both cars today as Nissan e.dams officially debuted its "Gen 2" Formula E car
The new Formula E cars, which feature a new battery, powertrain, inverter, tires, gearbox, and aerodynamics, proved to be significantly faster than the previous generation car. Buemi's fastest time was 3.722 seconds faster than last year's fastest overall time at the Valencia pre-season test.
As the first Japanese company to enter Formula E, Nissan has drawn on its track record of selling more than 365,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles since introducing the model in 2010. The company has used its experience building electric vehicles for the road to develop the all-new powertrain for its Formula E race car, which features a bespoke electric motor, inverter, and gearbox.
Testing at Valencia continues tomorrow with two sessions from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
QUOTES
SEBASTIEN BUEMI - Nissan e.dams driver
"We had a lot of things to test, and it was our first time to see where we stand compared to the rest of the competition.
"It has been a positive day. I'm quite happy because we were able to test lots of things and we have a lot of data to analyze.
"I'm pleased with the performance because I know we could have ended up a lot better. I'm not massively happy with P8, but I know we had quite a bit of margin and that is the most important thing. I feel we can compete with the top guys.
"It is still difficult to know where we are compared to the opposition because you don't know how much power they are using or whether they are doing a race simulation.
"But the fastest lap is generally done with maximum power, and in that regard, we don't look too bad."
MICHAEL CARCAMO - Nissan global motorsport director
"We've been working on our Formula E program for quite some time, and it was a thrill for everyone at Nissan to finally see our cars on track.
"We know the competition is very intense in this championship and we have realistic expectations for our first week on track with all the other manufacturers and teams.
"However, we were certainly pleased to see Sebastien P4 on the timesheets with 15 minutes to go before some of our rivals went for a time at the end of the day.
"We're looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow and recording more valuable development miles."
Media contacts
Anna Teslik
Global motorsports marketing and communications manager
Phone: +33 7 7614 7286
email: ATeslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Global motorsport press officier
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
email: paul@nismosupport.com
About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2017, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.9 trillion yen. On April 1, 2017, the company embarked on Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, a six-year plan targeting a 30% increase in annualized revenues to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2022, along with cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen. As part of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company plans to extend its leadership in electric vehicles, symbolized by the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has a global workforce of 247,500 and has been partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999. In 2016, Nissan acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is today the world's largest automotive partnership, with combined sales of more than 10.6 million vehicles in calendar year 2017.
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