Category Archives: NissanUs

Nissan Formula E Team to tackle the heat in Jakarta

YOKOHAMA, JapanNissan Formula E Team is set to take on the Jakarta E-Prix this weekend, looking to build on a positive performance in Monaco. The squad picked up its best result of the season on the Monte-Carlo streets, with both Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato in the top-three in qualifying, before Fenestraz claimed fourth in the race.

The championship now returns to Jakarta following its maiden visit to the city in Season 8. This year, the event becomes a double-header, with teams and drivers to be battling the tough conditions in two races. With temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius and extremely high humidity, the new-for-Season 9 Gen3 cars will face a unique test on the Formula E calendar.

The 2.4-kilometre circuit, based in Northern Jakarta and a short walk from Ancol Beach, features 18 corners, with the best overtaking opportunities into Turns 1 and 16. Those heavy braking zones and the twisty, high-speed middle sector combine to produce a layout that tests driver and car throughout.

Qualifying takes place at 10:40 WIB (UTC +7) on both days, with the two races getting underway at 15:00. Find out how to watch here.

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “We’ve been working hard since Monaco to give us the best possible chance to build on our performance and keep up the momentum, which has been a challenge for us this year. We definitely made big improvements ahead of the last round, so we’re aiming to consolidate that and continue our development. Jakarta will be tough for everyone. It’s very hot, humid and physically strenuous for the drivers. But it will also be very demanding for all the teams, mainly because of the conditions. With this in mind, we’re focusing on finding the best possible set-up to keep the car as cool as we can and to look after the tires. Our goal for the remainder of the season is to find some more consistency and to be able to fight with both cars in the points. Jakarta will be a challenge, but it’s one we’re ready for.”

Sacha Fenestraz: “The hottest race of the year, everybody has been telling me how tough it will be! On the racing side, I’m very excited, following our best weekend of the season in Monaco. Heading to Jakarta, we are happy and in a good position in terms of the team environment. We’ll be looking to back up our performance from Monaco and prove it wasn’t a one-off, so it’s an important event for us. The track looks interesting, similar to Monaco or Cape Town in terms of some of the corners and the track characteristics, so I’m hoping for a great weekend.”

Norman Nato: “I’m excited to race in Jakarta, a new venue for me. It will be really tough physically for the teams and drivers with the high temperatures. We’ll look to build on the promise we showed in Monaco, and hopefully be able to put both cars in the points. To be second and third in qualifying was an incredible achievement, but we have to always look to improve and continue the momentum. This weekend we need to take that promise and convert it into two strong races to get the second half of the season off to a great start.”

More information
Please visit Global.NissanNews.com/FormulaEPressKit

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.

In June 2022, Nissan announced it would supply its Nissan EV powertrain technology to McLaren Racing for the entirety of the Formula E Gen3 era.

For Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Nissan Formula E drivers will be Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz.

Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.

About Formula E
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship became the first global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception back in 2020, having invested in certified climate-protecting projects in all race markets to offset emissions from every season of electric racing.

All cars in the championship are powered by electricity, with the series acting as a competitive platform to test and develop the latest in electric technology.

The World’s greatest manufacturers race against each other on street circuits and Formula E promotes the adoption of sustainable mobility in city centres in a bid to combat air pollution and lessen the effects of climate change.

Contact
Maria De Juana
Head of Communications, Formula E, Nissan Motor Co.
Phone: +33-6 17 36 37 61
mdejuana@nissan-europe.com

Nissan Formula E Team takes double top-five finish in Jakarta

JAKARTA, IndonesiaNissan Formula E Team took their best result of the season in Jakarta, with Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato both putting in excellent performances to take fourth and fifth respectively in Round 11 of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

After a tough first race of the weekend for the squad, Fenestraz claimed second in his qualifying group on Sunday, progressing to the Duels. The Franco-Argentine driver started seventh, and got an excellent launch off the line, moving up to fourth by the end of Lap 1.

Meanwhile, Frenchman Nato was making solid progress through the field, keeping cool in the Jakarta heat to make places during the Attack Mode phase. Having started 12th, Nato avoided incidents ahead of him and used his speed and overtaking ability to move further into the top-10.

Helped by the team’s strong strategy, both drivers continued to push into the higher points-paying positions, challenging for a podium spot until the final corner. The pair combined for 22 points, the squad’s best result of the season so far.

Formula E returns on 24 June for the final single-header of the season, as the series makes it first visit to Portland, USA.

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “A rollercoaster of a weekend, with a tough race yesterday and a really good one today. We were stronger in qualifying and had a much better strategy during the race. Both drivers did a great job, with some impressive overtakes. Sacha even battled for the podium until the final corner, while Norman’s defense was very solid at the end of the race. We can be very happy with our performance and proud of the team and drivers. Our focus now is to take this positive showing into the next round in Portland to pick up even more points there.”

Sacha Fenestraz: “This weekend was a good way to see our strengths and weaknesses as a team. Today was a very positive race, it was great for the crew to reward their hard work over the last few months. Yesterday was quite frustrating, but we came back strongly and both cars had very good pace. Norman did a superb job to come from P12 on the grid to P5 at the finish and I’m really happy that we both took a strong result. The heat was definitely a challenge, but the humidity was the most difficult. However, we pushed through as a team to score some really good points. I’m now looking forward to Portland, it’s a brand-new track for all of us so it should be an interesting one!”

Norman Nato: “Today was really positive. We changed the setup, because yesterday we weren’t so competitive and it worked for us. We managed to put it all together in the race and react from the frustration of Saturday to get a great result for both cars. We’ll now look to analyze this one to see what we can do to continue improving for Portland. We had strong pace throughout today’s event, so we have to aim to score big points for the rest of the season. We’re not far off the leading teams based on this performance, and we have five races left to prove what we can do this year.”

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.

In June 2022, Nissan announced it would supply its Nissan EV powertrain technology to McLaren Racing for the entirety of the Formula E Gen3 era.

For Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Nissan Formula E drivers will be Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz.

Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.

About Formula E
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship became the first global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception back in 2020, having invested in certified climate-protecting projects in all race markets to offset emissions from every season of electric racing.

All cars in the championship are powered by electricity, with the series acting as a competitive platform to test and develop the latest in electric technology.

The World’s greatest manufacturers race against each other on street circuits and Formula E promotes the adoption of sustainable mobility in city centres in a bid to combat air pollution and lessen the effects of climate change.

Contact
Maria De Juana
Head of Communications, Formula E, Nissan Motor Co.
Phone: +33-6 17 36 37 61
mdejuana@nissan-europe.com

Mid-season review with Nissan Formula E Team drivers

YOKOHAMA, Japan – Following a busy first part of Season 9, with nine races in less than five months spanning five continents, the Nissan Formula E Team drivers Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato reflect on their first season with the squad, the challenges of Gen3, and more.

Sacha Fenestraz

How did you find the adaptation process to the Gen3 technology?

Sacha Fenestraz: When I began testing last year with Nissan, I quickly realized that I kind of had to start again, from a blank sheet of paper almost. The car is so different to anything I experienced before, even the Gen2 machinery. I knew the energy management from my experience in the Gen2 car, but I had to adapt my driving style.

Did you find it easy to settle in with Nissan?

SF: Yes, it was great, the relationship between the whole squad is really good. On my side of the garage, my engineer Johann and I are both new to Formula E, so we are learning together and really open minded with each other. When mistakes happen, we’re honest and talk about it openly. It’s been going really well so far and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the team and building the season together.

I also have a great relationship with Norman, the best I’ve ever had with a teammate. We don’t hide anything, we share data and ideas. When we started working together, he told me he would be open and we would help each other and we both quickly realized we had a healthy relationship there.

What has been the highlights of your maiden Formula E campaign?

SF: Monaco! Even though it was taken away, to achieve pole position at such an historic and important track for a racing driver, that was the highlight for me. Of course the first pole position in Cape Town was very special but for some reason Monaco felt even better because I never expected it. If you told me last year I would take pole in Cape Town and Monaco I wouldn’t have believed you but somehow we managed to do it.

Can you explain your feelings in the moment you took your first Formula E pole position in Cape Town?

SF: It took quite a few days for it to sink in. It brought a lot of emotions, the beginning of the season was a bit of a rollercoaster for me, achieving a pole position this year was not at the top of our objectives for the campaign, so managing to do it was great and I was extremely happy for myself and the team. And then we proved it wasn’t a one-off in Monaco, which made it even better.

How did it feel to go up against Norman in the Monaco qualifying semi-final?

SF: I hated it! I’m very much a team player, I don’t just race for myself, so I always hope for both of us to do well. I knew one of us wouldn’t have the opportunity to fight for pole position, it would’ve been great for us to meet in the final and be guaranteed first and second on the grid, but this is Formula E and sometimes it can happen. Of course, once I jumped in the car and put the visor down, I did the best job I could and didn’t think about who I was racing against. But still, it was a shame to be against Norman and I wished it was someone else, although obviously I was happy to have Norman at the front of the grid with me.

How was it to battle with the championship leaders in Monaco?

SF: I feel that Monaco was one of the races I learnt the most from, in terms of strategy, when to push and what to do from who I was following. To be up with the championship leading teams and drivers gave me a great opportunity to learn just from watching behind. Obviously I wished I was ahead of them, but just by observing it was a great way to see our strengths and weaknesses against the leading teams.

Norman Nato

How did you find the adaptation process to the Gen3 technology?

Norman Nato: It was complicated in a way because there are many new aspects we have to do differently and learn in terms of preparing to drive the car, it’s definitely not the same technically compared to Gen2. On track, especially during push laps, it’s fairly similar, it’s more the approach and strategy that we had to change.

Did the Gen3 cars match your expectations?

NN: In terms of power, I would say it’s been a really good step forward. It’s positive because as drivers we can clearly feel the boost compared to a Gen 2 car. I think we would all prefer more grip in general, because it’s really tough to drive the car in the way that you want to. We would like to push a bit more but there’s just not enough grip to do that.

Which of the three new tracks (Hyderabad, Cape Town, São Paulo) was your favourite and why?

NN: India, despite the fact that Turn 1 was messy! The rest of the circuit was great, and it was fun to battle on track. Qualifying was also cool to drive, the layout was really good. Brazil was very different, I quite liked it, bumpy and challenging, which is what I enjoy in Formula E, where you have to fight with the car. Cape Town is an amazing place but I think the track was too quick for the cars, with the level of grip we have.

How did it feel to race on your home circuit at Monaco in the Gen3 car?

NN: To drive any car at Monaco is a pleasure and a dream, it’s Monaco! It’s so special, and the only regret I have – not speaking about the race which is obviously tough to swallow – is that everything happens in one day and you don’t really have time to enjoy it. It all went so fast, we spend two or three days doing media, which is enjoyable, because it’s great to soak up the atmosphere, although it would be ideal to have more chance to enjoy the moment on track. But anyway, to race in Monaco is a pleasure and to be on the limit in qualifying and perform well, it’s an extra happiness.

Has the Monaco qualifying session given you a boost of confidence ahead of the remaining rounds?

NN: To be honest, not really, because I never lost my confidence. A few times this season we’ve made mistakes with tire strategy or been unlucky, for example we caught yellow flags in qualifying in Cape Town and Brazil, so there were a few occasions I feel we should’ve been up there, but weren’t for whatever reason. We proved our speed in Monaco and it was really important and good for us to bounce back the way we did following the tough weekend in Berlin.

What do the team and you need to do to be competing at the front in the second half of the season?

NN: I would say energy management in the race and getting the best out of both cars. So far, we’ve struggled to get the two of us in the Duels and we’ve never had a double-points finish, which is a difference between us and other teams. Monaco was the perfect race example, we had the performance to do it but it didn’t happen. This is what we need to develop in the second half of the championship and hopefully it can have a massive impact on the teams’ standings if we get it right.

More information
Please visit Global.NissanNews.com/FormulaEPressKit

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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.

In June 2022, Nissan announced it would supply its Nissan EV powertrain technology to McLaren Racing for the entirety of the Formula E Gen3 era.

For Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Nissan Formula E drivers will be Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz.

Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.

About Formula E
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship became the first global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception back in 2020, having invested in certified climate-protecting projects in all race markets to offset emissions from every season of electric racing.

All cars in the championship are powered by electricity, with the series acting as a competitive platform to test and develop the latest in electric technology.

The World’s greatest manufacturers race against each other on street circuits and Formula E promotes the adoption of sustainable mobility in city centres in a bid to combat air pollution and lessen the effects of climate change.

Contact
Maria De Juana
Head of Communications, Formula E, Nissan Motor Co.
Phone: +33-6 17 36 37 61
mdejuana@nissan-europe.com

‘Being Young’ a short documentary presented by Nissan to debut on ESPN+

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Those who cannot get enough of Bryce Young’s path to professional football can soon learn more about his journey in “Being Young,” an authorized short streaming documentary profiling the 2021 Heisman winner. The film launches Friday, May 26 on ESPN+, and will air on ESPN2 on Tuesday, May 30 at 7 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time.

Directed by Academy Award-nominated Matt Ogens and Emmy-nominated Maeyen Bassey, and produced by m ss ng p eces, “Being Young” chronicles Young’s path from youth to professional football and features candid interviews with Young and his parents, former teammates, teachers and coaches, plus other athletes who have benefited from new NIL rules.

The film is presented by Nissan who was among the first brands to engage with Young under new Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rules for its 2022 Nissan Heisman House campaign.

This unique content provides an outstanding example of how an athlete can build their personal brand while remaining true to themselves and focused on their sport,” said Marisstella Marinkovic, vice president and Chief Marketing Officer, Nissan U.S. “As student athletes begin to define who they are through NIL deals, it’s important that they select the right partners, and the right time to engage with high profile opportunities whether it be on a local, regional or national stage”

Young received the Heisman Trophy in December 2021. The honor came on the heels of a historic Supreme Court decision allowing collegiate athletes to negotiate NIL deals for the first time. As one of the first athletes to engage with brands under the new NIL rulings, Young joined the 2022 Nissan Heisman House cast alongside current and former pro football players. Young was later selected first overall in the 2023 draft.

“I’m not going to do anything business-wise that takes away from me on the field, and everyone on my team knows that,” Young shares in the documentary. “I’m extremely grateful for what it [NIL] has done for me and for my family, all that it’s done for all athletes.”

The sponsorship demonstrates Nissan’s continued dedication to helping educate and elevate college athletes. Since 2015, Nissan has sponsored select NCAA Championships and 45 colleges, including seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In 2022, Nissan also launched its New Frontiers program featuring conversations with Heisman House veterans to help inspire college athletes to build an intentional, beneficial personal brand.

Learn more at https://www.nissanusa.com/being-young-documentary.html.

For more information about our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit nissanusa.com. You can also follow us on FacebookInstagramTwitter and LinkedIn and see all our latest videos on YouTube.

About ESPN+ 
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 25.3 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices).

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