Tom will kick his 2012 racing season off in style, as it has been announced this morning that he will be part of Nissan’s ‘Champions of 2011′ entry that is contesting the Dubai 24 Hours on January 13th-14th.

To celebrate a year of racing success in 2011, Nissan’s Champions will come together to compete in the 2012 Dubai 24 Hours. Tom has earned his place in this squad due to his superb LMP2 Championship victory in this year’s Le Mans Series, aboard the Greaves Motorsport Nissan-powered Zytek. In the Dubai event he will be racing the brand new GT3-specification Nissan GT-R, alongside fellow Nissan Champions, Michael Krumm (FIA GT1 World Championship), Franck Mailleux (Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMP2) and Alex Buncombe (Blancpain Endurance Series GT4). The car will be run in its 24-hour race debut by Nissan GT1 squad, JRM Racing, who are developing and producing the Nissan Nismo GT-R GT3 for the 2012 marketplace.

“We’re pleased to reward our Champions with the opportunity to race Nissan’s exciting new GT3-specification Nissan GT-R in the Dubai 24 Hours,” said Darren Cox, Chief Marketing Manager Crossover and Sportscars, Nissan Europe. “Dubai will be the culmination of a fantastic year for Nissan Motorsport. Despite this professional driver line-up, this is more of an end of season celebration and a chance to showcase the Nissan GT-R during its ongoing development than a full tilt at victory.”

“I’m very grateful to Nissan Europe for this fantastic opportunity, “ comments Tom. “It will be great to sample the stunning new GT-R GT3 car, which is a machine that I am very keen to race more often during the 2012 season. Although the car’s development is still ongoing, I am sure that its performance will impress in Dubai.”

Source : Tom Kimber-Smith