EVO

News:

evo News

Gallery: NISMO Festival photos

The NISMO festival is a celebration of Nissan's racing brand, and this is our gallery of images from this year's event at the Fuji Motor Speedway

By Mike Duff

December 2011
It's one of the biggest one-make events in Japan - and a celebration of Nissan's racing brand and its international activities. The NISMO Festival, which took place today at the Fuji International Speedway, is probably about the closest thing that Japan has to a 'Festival of Speed', with as much of the appeal coming from demonstrations, stalls and a chance to get close to some of Nissan's most famous cars as it does from the on-track action. 

Most of the racing is fairly tame, designed to show the cars to the thousands of fans that turn up rather than to trade paint for a podium finish - and with different eras (and sometimes classes) of cars sometimes sharing the track together, it's rarely a straight fight. Highlights included a chance to see Nissan's GT1-championship-winning GT-R, piloted by champion Michael Krumm, the mighty Nissan R390 Le Mans car and numerous examples of the iconic Skyline GT-R. Away from the track, visitors could openly visit cars in the paddock and the pit garages, while the large number of retail stands offered everything from intercoolers to NISMO-branded bedspreads.

All in all, a fun day out...

Advertisement

Share

Nismo Festival: Badge
Nismo Festival: Mt Fuji
Nismo Festival: GT1 GT-R
Nismo Festival: Grid
1. Nismo Festival: Badge

Fans came to Fuji Raceway to celebrate Nissan's icons



2. Nismo Festival: Mt Fuji

Now what is it this circuit is named after again?



3. Nismo Festival: GT1 GT-R

Race cars from throughout Nissan's history were on display for the fans



4. Nismo Festival: Grid

The grid was packed with every era of Nissan racer



Nismo Festival: Nissan 390R
Nismo Festival: GT-R badge
Nismo Festival: Pennzoil GT-R
Nismo Festival: Sunny racer
5. Nismo Festival: Nissan 390R

Nissan's Le Mans racer looks great, doesn't it?



6. Nismo Festival: GT-R badge

And this was where the legend began - badge on 1969 Skyline



7. Nismo Festival: Pennzoil GT-R

One of the most iconic liveries ever worn by a Nissan racer



8. Nismo Festival: Sunny racer

Like a Japanese mk2 Escort - but somehow cooler



Nismo Festival: mechanics
Nismo Festival: intercooler
Nismo Festival: bonnet
Nismo Festival: RC Drifters
9. Nismo Festival: mechanics

Some old racers kept the mechanics busy



10. Nismo Festival: intercooler

Nice intercooler installation on a '70s Sunny racer



11. Nismo Festival: bonnet

Some of the tuning parts were wide of most tastes - like this airbrushed bonnet



12. Nismo Festival: RC Drifters

1: 10 scale electric drifter was driven with exceptional skill



Nismo Festival: Remote control cars
Nismo Festival: R32
Nismo Festival: Turbocharger
Nismo Festival: Reebok GT-R
13. Nismo Festival: Remote control cars

There were plenty of opportunities to spend more money than you were expecting to



14. Nismo Festival: R32

Skylines still have a cult following in Japan - this carbon-bonneted R32 looked amazing



15. Nismo Festival: Turbocharger

Massive turbo lurks under the bonnet of another GT-R



16. Nismo Festival: Reebok GT-R

Festival gave a chance to meet some of Nissan's best-looking racers



Nismo Festival: times
Nismo Festival: GT-R engine bay
Nismo Festival: Prodrive 370Z
Nismo Festival: Race
17. Nismo Festival: times

The racing was fun, if rarely particularly close



18. Nismo Festival: GT-R engine bay

Now THAT's a turbo - impressive pipework in a GT-R



19. Nismo Festival: Prodrive 370Z

Prodrive-tuned 'Boss' 370Z on display - we love the carbon bonnet's blended paintwork



20. Nismo Festival: Race

Thousands of fans gathered to see Nissan's greatest racers put through their paces