ANGLETON, Texas (Feb. 22, 2010) Brass Monkey Racing has announced plans to campaign a pair of Nissan GT-R cars in the 2010 World Challenge GT Championship with the support of Nissan North America, Inc.The announcement signals a renewed interest for Nissan, which last participated in World Challenge with a Touring Car effort in 2005. The twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R racecars are currently under construction at Brass Monkey Racings Texas-based race shop and will make their North American debut March 26-28, in St. Petersburg, Fla., at the hands of two-time series race winner Tony Rivera, of Missouri City, Texas, and rookie Steve Ott, of Houston.Were very excited to bring such an iconic car to the North American professional road racing scene, Brass Monkey Racing Team Owner A.J. Brass said. After such a successful season in 2009, finishing third in the Championship and winning in our very first race, we look forward to the challenge of bringing an entirely new platform to World Challenge. With Nissans assistance and great engineering and driving, we expect to contend for the 2010 Drivers and Manufacturers Championships.Nissan is very excited about the new Brass Monkey project, Nissan North America Senior Manager - Motorsports, Wholesale and Collision Parts Growth Ron Stukenberg said. This series aligns well with the performance of the GT-R and compliments the production attributes of the car. Its great to have a Nissan compete in World Challenge after a brief hiatus. We look forward to having Tony and Steve at the front of the field in 2010.Brass noted that despite a compressed timeline to finish the new cars, they benefit from an already solid platform with the GT-R.Many of the cars in the series have serious modifications to the engines and drivelines from the stock vehicles, Brass said. The beauty of the GT-R is that it is an amazing platform to start with and we are able to utilize all of the stock internal components and drivetrain. With the exception of some of the approved series aerodynamic items and an effort to bring the car down to a competitive weight, the car will remain incredibly stock compared to most of our competition.Brass Monkey Racing was formed in 2009 with the support of Tax Masters. Its rookie season was a tremendous success, with Rivera, a relative unknown in professional racing, winning in the teams very first attempt at Sebring in the teams Porsche 911 GT3. He went on to win at Road America later in the season, finishing third in the Championship standings.I couldnt be more excited about the 2010 season, Rivera said. I anticipate the Brass Monkey Nissans will become the most popular cars in the paddock because there is such an unbelievable following worldwide for the GT-R. My first racecar was a Showroom Stock B Nissan NX 2000, so its cool to be back in a Nissan - even though this one will be quite a bit different!Ott previously raced with Rivera with Brass Mitchell Racing, which later evolved into Brass Monkey Racing, in the 2008 Koni Challenge. Like Rivera, his roots are in SCCA Club Racing, where he finished on the podium at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Running a partial season in the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship, he scored good results with Newman Wachs Racing.Ive always wanted to run World Challenge because of the single-driver format and amazing cars, Ott said. To have an opportunity to be a part of the Brass Monkey Nissan team is incredible and I cant wait to begin testing for St. Petersburg.Brass Monkey Racing and its Nissan GT-R World Challenge effort will have support from Nissan, Tax Masters, Stoptech, Penske Shocks South Side Performance and Seibon Carbon. For more information about Brass Monkey Racing, please visit www.brassmonkeyracing.com.Sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing and managed by WC Vision, the World Challenge Championships represent the best production-based racing in the world. Utilizing a single driver format and standing starts for the 50-minute races, the series offers non-stop action in each of its three categoriesGT, GTS and Touring Car. The series features 12 races at eight different venues in 2010, starting with a doubleheader weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in conjunction with the Indy Racing League, March 26-28. For more information, visit www.world-challenge.com.Attached: Image of Steve Ott (left) and Tony Rivera with one of their new Nissan GT-Rs being transformed into a World Challenge GT racecar.Credit: Mark Weber
