- Nissan Formula E Team's most important development tool isn't the race car; it's a state-of-the-art simulator helping shape the team's on-track success
- A special ops sim team at HQ plays a critical role during race weekends
- The Bristol-made Dynisma DMG-1 forges a strong British connection in Nissan Formula E Team
- GEN4 car development is also firmly underway, with vital time and transport emissions saved by utilising the potential of the sim
- Nissan boasts strong heritage in celebrating the electronic side of racing after eight years of its GT Academy
Formula E race weekend, up to 6,000 thousand miles from circuit: a special ops team are working hard in the Nissan Formula E Team HQ in Paris, putting in vital and sustainable work to help drivers Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato secure more points in their pursuit of championship success.
Plenty about Formula E tallies beautifully with the advancing world of driver-in-the-loop simulators. The sport's limited track testing time and its celebrated street circuits, which can't be recced or rehearsed in any traditional sense, both ensure a state of the art sim isn't just desirable, it's the bedrock of a successful team.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: "With Formula E's limited physical testing, the ability to run highly accurate simulations is crucial not only for race preparation but also for car and powertrain development. This new simulator is already helping us accelerate our engineering process, validate software and optimise the car long before we reach the circuit."
A new dawn
The Dynisma DMG-1, freshly installed at the Nissan Formula E Team HQ in 2025, helps combat the frenetic pace of a Formula E race weekend. Drivers Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato can walk each track with their engineers on the Friday morning ahead of practice, feeding vital information they pick up on surface or corner geometry changes – which the series' temporary city courses can be especially vulnerable to – directly back to the team's Paris base so that their race tactics can evolve via the sim ahead of the physical car running on track.
A pair of British drivers are at the heart of Nissan Formula E Team's sim work. Reserve and development driver Sam Bird puts in race preparation work in the weeks ahead of a Formula E round, refining team strategies. As race weekend approaches, rookie and simulator driver Abbi Pulling can work antisocial hours to reflect the shifting time zones of the Formula E calendar, with races in Sao Paolo, Sanya and Tokyo all nudging 6,000 miles (almost 10,000 kilometres) away as the crow flies.
Sam Bird, reserve and development driver, Nissan Formula E Team: "My role is to ensure that both Oli and Norman have everything that they would require when they jump in and do their testing in the simulator. We're also doing a lot of development for the GEN4 programme to ensure that it's pushing in the right direction. The sim is an awesome piece of kit. It gives us all the things that we need to sense movement and g-force and it feels very closely related to being in the physical car itself. It has to feel as close to reality as possible."
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: "Abbi and Sam do a lot of work on the simulator weeks before the race even happens. Our official driver wouldn't be able to jump in the car and put together their performance without the job that has been done by our sim drivers; it acts as a work of screening as we discover the best way to approach each race. The driver jumps into the simulator a few days before the race when a lot of things have been already tested, proved and fine-tuned by the other members of our driving team."
A state of the art sim
Alongside Oliver, Abbi and Sam, the strong British connection in Nissan Formula E Team is galvanised by its Bristol-made racing simulator. The Dynisma DMG-1 is among the most advanced in the race series and a crucial component of both race preparation and future car development. It helps Nissan Formula E Team not only comply with rules on limited testing time but further support its sustainability by dramatically reducing the travel and transport of its team and facilities to different test tracks around the world.
Dynisma isn't merely a supplier to Nissan, but a proud technology partner. Its DMG-1 allies an ultra-low latency motion response (under five milliseconds) to high bandwidth primary motion (up to 100 Hertz). This gives it the necessary precision and responsiveness for truly accurate setup work and engineering analysis.
This is vital in Formula E, when the nuances of powertrain system change between drive and regen needs to be precisely portrayed to the driver. Any small shifts in the car's balance are crucial for predicting its behaviour through tight, twisting city courses where there's typically zero margin for error. Kerb strikes, weight transfer, vibrations and stability changes at the limit of grip are all essential cues for any sim driver.
Oliver Rowland, Driver, Nissan Formula E Team: "In Formula E, we have very few test days and only two short practice sessions before qualifying, so what we achieve in the simulator is incredibly important. It helps us understand the track, prepare systems and arrive on race weekend ready to perform. The response rate and feel from the Dynisma system is excellent – I have been running simulators in different series for 10-15 years, and the Dynisma is the best in the business."
Dorian Boisdron, Team Director, Nissan Formula E Team: "We benchmarked several systems and chose Dynisma to ensure we had the highest precision and best possible preparation tool. The simulator is key to prepare not only for races but also to prepare our new cars. The DMG-1 is perfectly suited to our technical requirements, offering excellent realism and strong engineering support, in addition to our great working relationship with the Dynisma team which helps us to progress quickly."
Getting ready for GEN4
The Dynisma simulator forms a big part of GEN4 car development. The development of the GEN4 car's dual motors and their active differentials are quicker and more informed thanks to the accuracy of the Dynisma DMG-1, helping educate the engineering team's decisions.
The fourth generation of Formula E racecar represents a significant leap in performance while permanent all-wheel drive and the debut of a power steering system ensure a large shift in driving dynamics over its predecessor. Preparation work on the sim is core to the sustainable progression of this thrilling new chapter for single-seater motorsport.
- Peak power soars from 350kW (476hp) to 600kW (816hp)
- It completes 0-62mph in 1.8 seconds
- A 208mph top speed is faster even than Nissan's GT‑R Nismo supercar
- It's the world's first single-seat racecar with permanent all-wheel drive
Dorian Boisdron, Team Director, Nissan Formula E Team: "When you begin designing a new car, especially for GEN4, simulation comes first. You start with a sophisticated virtual model, but it is essential to put the driver in the loop as early as possible. The DMG-1 allows us to do that with confidence. Its realism and fidelity give us the best possible chance of transferring performance from the virtual world to the track.
"The GEN4 car is very sophisticated. It is full of chassis systems and has the capacity to accurately control the motor. If you take it directly to the track, you have a low chance of quickly being in the performance ballpark; it requires so much track time. Preparation before each test means we are already in a good window to operate the car and as close to the peak of its performance as possible."
A lasting legacy
Nissan has consistently embraced and celebrated the link between virtual and on-track performance, pioneering GT Academy in 2008 to bring gamers to the grid and prove talents fostered in a simulated world are directly transferrable to the tarmac. Over five million entrants produced 21 winners, with podiums at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and race and championship wins at renowned events attesting their skills.
Simon Holloway, Commercial Director, Dynisma: "It is exciting to see Nissan Formula E Team already gaining value from its new driving simulator. Our mission has always been to deliver the highest levels of correlation and accuracy so engineers and drivers can make better decisions, faster. The realism of the DMG-1 supports detailed chassis setup, software validation and powertrain development, all of which are crucial in Formula E. We are pleased to be working with Nissan Formula E Team as their Official Simulator Partner and to support their preparations for GEN4, where advanced simulation will play a central role."
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About Nissan in the UK
Designed. Built. Loved. By Britain: Nissan employs around 7,000 people across the UK, including at its design centre in Paddington, London, and its R&D engineering centre in Cranfield, while Sunderland is home to the UK's biggest single car plant, which builds two of the nation's best-selling cars – the Juke and Qashqai.
These models were recently joined by the All-New 100% electric MICRA, designed by the team in Paddington, as well as the European version of the new LEAF, which is now in production in Sunderland alongside the Qashqai and Juke as part of Nissan's EV36Zero project.
EV36Zero is Nissan's vision for the future of sustainable manufacturing: a blueprint that will transform Sunderland Plant into a flagship EV hub, bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production. This is part of Nissan's goal to become a truly sustainable company and usher in a cleaner, safer and more inclusive world.
About Nissan in Formula E
Nissan made its all-electric racing debut in Season 5 (2018/19) of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, becoming the first and only Japanese manufacturer to enter the series.
In Season 7 (2020/21), Nissan announced its long-term involvement in Formula E and its commitment to the GEN3 era, which will run from Season 9 (2022/23) through to the end of Season 12 (2025/26) of the all-electric racing series.
In April 2022, Nissan acquired the e.dams race team, with the Japanese automaker taking full ownership of its involvement in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
On 28th March 2024, ahead of the first ever Tokyo E-Prix, Nissan announced its long-term commitment to Formula E, becoming the first manufacturer to sign up for the GEN4 era, which runs until 2030, reinforcing its pledge to its Ambition 2030 electrification targets.
Season 11 (2024/25) saw Nissan Formula E Team secure the Drivers' World Championship with Oliver Rowland as the Brit took seven podiums, including four victories, and three pole positions, winning the title with two races to go.
For Season 12 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Nissan Formula E Team drivers are Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato.
More information
Global.NissanNews.com/FormulaEPressKit
Press Contact
Suziey McCollum
Brand Communications Manager, Nissan GB
Mobile: (+44) 07814 481662
E: suziey.mccollum@nissan.co.uk