Ordonez to race in Super GT

Nissan ZEOD Le Mans 24 Hours driver Lucas Ordonez will race in Super GT for the Japanese manufacturer in 2014.

The Spaniard, who was announced as the first race driver for the ZEOD RC experimental racer last week, will contest the Japan-based championship in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 in the secondary GT300 class.

Ordonez, the first winner of the Nissan GT Academy, will drive for the NDDP Racing team alongside Kazuki Hoshino. The drive follows a Super GT one-off with the same team last year as as part of Nissan global exchange program, which is designed to broaden the experience of Nissan-contracted drivers around the world.

Nissan global motorsport boss Darren Cox said: "It's a proud moment for me to see Lucas, our first GT Academy winner, make the grade and head off to Japan to race in Super GT.

"To have a GT Academy winner race at the home of [PlayStation] Gran Turismo in Japan is a fantastic achievement and, as Lucas found when he raced there last year, the local fans love his story."

Ordonez, whose main program last year was competing in the FIA GT Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series, explained that racing in Super GT had been one of his goals since starting his career.

"It's a fully professional championship with official works teams competing, so I will have a great chance to fight at the highest level and prove to everyone why I got this seat," he said.