Fabio Carbone will make a one-off return to the Japanese racing scene at the end of the month, as he drives a Nissan Nismo GT-R at the prestigious Suzuka 1000 kilometre race over 23-24 August.
The 27-year old, who currently drives for newcomers Ultimate Signature in the World Series by Renault, will join his Japanese team's regular line-up of Satoshi Motoyama and Benoit Treluyer, who compete regularly in both the Japanese Super GT and Formula Nippon championships.
Carbone already has plenty of experience on the Japanese sportscar scene, having finished second overall on the series last year. He is also well-acquainted with all the Japanese circuits, thanks to his experience in Nippon and Japanese F3, although he last drove at the Suzuka 1000km in 2006 as part of the Nissan factory team.
The Brazilian, the winner of the most recent WSbR round in Hungary, tested the latest 500-horsepower Nissan in a two-day session at Motegi, and admitted that he was excited about the chance to return to Japan.
“I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity of driving this great car again,” Carbone said, “I've got extremely fond memories of racing in Japan and Suzuka is one of my favourite circuits. It's a real drivers' track with some proper corners.
"I've got quite a lot of experience with GT racing and the circuit, so the test was just about re-acquainting myself with the package as a whole. It's always really difficult to predict the outcome of an endurance race, as anything can happen, but I'm very confident that we will be competitive. I'd like to thank NISMO for giving me this great chance and I fully intend to make the most of it.”
