February 24, 2012
Published on tags: Superleague
Today Nijo Racing became one of the
first teams to formally unveil their 2012 contenders, once again in
the form of a video launch. It shows off a revised livery look for
the team and also it's machinery taking part in the Superleague and
Formula Challenge here at GPVWC, as well as it's rally division
counterpart.








2012 marks the team's second season in
the Superleague and this season is already shaping up to be a much
better one for the team. Testing has proved fruitful so far with the
NR-12 chassis having shown great potential and both Ruud and Abdel
having recorded some very encouraging times at the tests at Jerez,
Imola and the Red Bull Ring. This has resulted in a hive of activity
behind the scenes at Nijo Racing factory with new Chief Designer
Takuya Kaneko hard at work in the R&D department and having
already made some improvements to the car with several others on the
way in the coming weeks.








The team has also seen some
developments in recent times, most notably with the signing of an
engine deal with Cosworth. Nijo Manager Chris Williamson expressed
his satisfaction the deal by saying that while last season's
partnership with Toyota had been productive, this new deal with
Cosworth marked a definite step up and should hopefully add an extra
degree of competitiveness to the team in 2012. Another significant
signing was that of former Nordsjoen Supercup driver Samuli Leinonen
who will be taking up a test driver and reserve role for Nijo this
season, as well as lending his technical expertise to the team.








The launch also marks a step in a new
direction for the team with foundation of a new sub-team in the
inaugural Formula Challenge season. The move follows in the wake of
the decision to withdraw from the Supercup competition in order to
establish a feeder team in the new division instead. Williamson
commented that this is a way the team is seeking to nurture new and
promising talent as well as supporting the new series. To that end,
two talented Brits have joined the outfit ? Jon MacLean and Paul
Berndt. Jon has been known to Williamson for some time and joins Nijo
in Formula Challenge on the back of his recent GPVWC debut in the
winter Masters series, while Paul is joining from the GPO league and
hopefully should fit in well here.