NISSAN will team up with Mission Motorsport to utilise this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed as a catalyst to aid in the recovery and rehabilitation of those affected by military operations by providing opportunities through motorsport.
The announcement follows Nissan’s recent donation of £31,732 to armed forces charities, £1 for each mile completed by Nissan-powered cars in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Having recently guided the Nissan GT-R to a race win in the British GT Championship, GT Academy RJN team members will be helping train armed forces engineers to prepare a Nissan 350Z race car.
The training will take place on the Mission Motorsport stand 208 at the Festival of Speed and the car will then be driven up the famous Goodwood hill climb on the Sunday run. The Z will also be entered into the Britcar Silverstone 24 Hours race in October, with injured service personnel behind the wheel and armed forces engineers in the garage.
Nissan will use GT Academy programme to help Mission Motorsport train injured servicemen to enter the Silverstone 24 Hour race.
The Nissan 350Z Silverstone 24 Hour entry will include drivers from Mission Motorsport and Race2Recovery.
Major Jim Cameron is the driving force behind Mission Motorsport. ‘We are enormously proud to announce this association with Nissan, which is a large UK employer and has a track record in supporting grassroots motorsport,’ explained Major Cameron.
‘With the ‘royalty’ of motorsport attending Goodwood Festival of Speed, this is a huge opportunity to showcase how Mission Motorsport is working within the sport to help our armed forces.’
Jim Wright, Nissan Motor GB (Ltd) MD, said: ‘GT Academy is all about making motorsport accessible to more people. Our partnership with Mission Motorsport takes this is to a new level by demonstrating that this sport can also inspire the recovery of our injured heroes. To succeed in motorsport you need a lot grit and determination.
‘These men have these qualities, more so than I’ve ever seen before, so we are looking forward to giving them our full support at Goodwood and Silverstone.’
As well as watching the Nissan 350Z being prepared ‘live’, visitors to the Mission Motorsport stand at Goodwood will also be able to make a donation to SSAFA Forces Help, another beneficiary of Nissan’s Le Mans 24 Hours donation. The charity provides financial support to anyone that is currently serving or has ever served in the Army, Navy or RAF and their families.