ELMS: LMP2 debut for Nissan GT Academy winner

Portuguese Miguel Faisca will become the sixth Nissan GT Academy winner to race an LMP2 prototype when he makes his European Le Mans Series debut at Estoril next month. The 25-year-old, who is undertaking his first full year of international racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series with the RJN Nissan team in 2014, will race a Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN at Estoril on Oct. 19.

Faisca, who will share the car with Matt McMurry and possibly one other, follows on from Lucas Ordonez, Jordan Tresson, Jann Mardenborough, Wolfgang Reip and Mark Shulzhitskiy as video gamers-turned racers to be placed in P2 by Nissan.

"It's quite a jump to go into LMP2 at the end of your first full season of racing, but I think Miguel deserves it," said Nissan global motorsport boss Darren Cox. "He is the stand-out driver in our latest batch racing in the BES and it is great that he can race a P2 in his home country."

Cox explained that it was likely that Faisca, in line with previous GT Academy winners, will be given a chance at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year.

"If he does a good job, that is what we will be working towards," he said.

Cox explained that Nissan's policy of taking its Academy winners to Le Mans had been given a new pertinence by the Japanese manufacturer's LMP1 program, which starts next year.

"We are trying to breed our own LMP1 drivers, which is sensible from a sporting point of view, but also a commercial and marketing point of view," he said. "But they will only drive an LMP1 car if they are quick enough."

Cox has revealed that a former Academy winner will be part of its LMP1 line-up next year, without confirming that it will be GP3 race winner Mardenborough. It is unclear whether the British driver, who has raced in P2 at Le Mans for the past two seasons, will continue his open-wheel career next year and race for Nissan at Le Mans only or be given a full-season seat.

The Murphy Prototype P2 squad has two new drivers in its ORECA-Nissan 03R for Estoril. British Radical racers James Littlejohn and Tony Wells, who raced a Greaves Zytek in the Silverstone ELMS opener, join Luis Felipe "Pipo" Derani.

Sebastien Loeb Racing continues in the P2 division with its ORECA after returning to the series at Paul Ricard earlier this month. Vincent Capillaire, who was joined at Ricard by GP2 race winner Arthur Pic and Andrea Roda on a one-off basis, has yet to have his teammates confirmed.

The Marc VDS squad, which finished runner up in this year's Spa 24 Hours, will make its ELMS debut in Portugal with a solo BMW Z4 GT3 entered in the GTC class for team principal Bas Leinders and Markus Paltalla.