Lexus aims to prove just how impressive its new LFA supercar is by competing in what is arguably the world’s most prestigious sports car series, the FIA GT1 Championship. The carbon-chassis 552-hp V10 exotic will reportedly take on rivals such as the Lamborghini Murciélago, Ford GT, Aston Martin DB9, Maserati MC12 and domestic rival Nissan with its race-spec GT-R.

The LFA has already competed at three Nürburgring 24 hour races, placing first in its class this past year after two DNFs the years before.

Racing against the GT-R will be a big step for the LFA, as Toyota’s past failures at the Nürburgring and the fact that the company never released data on just how fast the car could lap the famed circuit raised doubts that this was the supercar it was destined to be.

In addition, Lexus intends to also compete with the LFA in the Super GT series in Japan and if all goes well for Lexus in the FIA GT1 series, expect to see the car make an appearance at next years 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Putting the focus on the LFA will be a primary concern for Toyota’s motorsports department, indicating that Toyota has now abandoned any plans to enter the World Rally Championship.

GALLERY: Lexus LFA Race Car

[Source: Motor Trend]

After reporting yesterday on the possible boycott of Round 2 of the FIA GT1 World Championship by both Nissan GT-R teams due to a controversial weight penalty assessed to them prior to the season opener in Abu Dhabi, we have since learned that the Swiss Racing Team and Sumo Power GT have confirmed their attendance at Silverstone this weekend (Apr. 30th to May 2nd).

This is good news for GT-R and GT1 fans alike, since earlier reports of a possible boycott along with the travel difficulties caused by the volcano eruption in Iceland were both sources of concern. Swiss Racing Team principals had to call in a favor from long-standing friendly motorsports relations with Jetalliance in order to get their crew back to Europe in time to prepare for Silverstone. “Many thanks to the AUA, to Jetalliance CEO Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer and Werner Langer. They supported us enormously. It was an organisational masterpiece,” said SRT managing director Othmar Welti. “We are working at the limit and on Wednesday morning we will travel to Silverstone. The team is still busy assembling the cars and is doing a great job,” team manager Erich Kolb said praisingly.

UK-based Sumo Power GT also faced travel difficulties and they too had to get creative to find their way home prior to Silverstone. According to team manager Allen Orchard, “It’s been a race in itself to get the cars, kit and all the team back from Abu Dhabi in time for this next race. With a few days still to go there’s still a lot to be done and we, like all teams, will be working flat out to ensure we make it to the grid. After all we’ve been through over the past few days, I sincerely hope that the Balance of Performance will be corrected so we can compete on an equal basis and the Championship can put on a great show for the spectators.”

It’s still unclear what, if any, action the FIA will take regarding the penalty weight assessed to the GT-Rs, but at least we now know that both Nissan teams will be in attendance and fighting as best they can for the race win at Silverstone.

For more information on the FIA GT1 World Championship, go to GT1 World.  For a video recap of Round 1 at Abu Dhabi, watch the video after the jump.

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As reported in Autosport Magazine, the two Nissan teams competing in the new FIA GT1 World Championship have threatened to boycott the next round and to launch a protest unless the weight penalty heaped on the GT-R ahead of the Abu Dhabi series opener is removed.

The first race of the season took place last weekend (April 17th/18th) at Abu Dhabi’s F1 masterpiece Yas Marina Circuit, where the FIA held a controversial test session prior to the race in an effort to equalize performance between the varied machinery being campaigned. Former F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen took each of the six types of cars in the series for a few hot laps, but rather than taking the planned 10 to 15 laps in each car it has been reported that he took fewer and that those were unevenly distributed amongst the six types of cars that compete in the series (Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Ford GT, Aston Martin DB9, Maserati MC12, and Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV).

The result of Frenzen’s testing was 66 lbs of penalty weight being added to the Nissan GT-Rs (the stiffest penalty of the bunch, with the Maserati receiving a 55 lb penalty and the Corvette and Lamborghini taking on 22 lb each), which turned out to render them uncompetitive during the season opening race.

Both teams campaigning Nissan GT-Rs argued that the test done by the FIA was unfair, citing the limited time Frentzen spent in each car and the varying track conditions during the tests. There were also allegations of gamesmanship leveled at the Ford, Chevrolet and Aston Martin teams. The Ford GT, which went on to win the main race, apparently did not break the 2-minute 10-second mark during the FIA test and yet lapped in the 2-minute 7- to 8-second range during the race.

GT-R runners The Swiss Racing team stated “We will not go to Silverstone under these conditions. We cannot be a grid filler.” The other GT-R squad, British-based Sumo Power, stated “We have to go to Silverstone because it is our home event. We have tried to argue our car with facts and figures, but we are prepared to put our money down and protest.”

For highlights of the Yas Marina 2010 FIA GT1 Championship opener, watch the video after the jump.

[Source: Autosport]

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2010 will mark the beginning of a new era of racing. GT racing goes global with 20 races spanning nine countries across four continents on ten of the world’s leading circuits. Only six manufacturers will compete in the inaugural season of the FIA GT1 World Championship with Nissan being the sole representative from the Land of the Rising Sun. They will be campaigning a quartet of similarly-built GT-Rs, a pair from Sumo Power GT (#22, #23) and the other two from Swiss Racing Team (#3, #4). Drivers Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm, for the Sumo Power GT GT-R, and Karl Wendlinger, multiple FIA GT race-winner and driver for Swiss Racing Team were present at the press conference held at the Automobile Club de France in Paris. “I have been racing in the FIA GT Championship for many years, but now I’m very excited about the new world championship – and very happy to be driving the Nissan GT-R,” said Wendlinger.

We’re not surprised that Nissan would be the only bold manufacturer from Japan to campaign in the FIA GT1 World Championship. With all the accolades and accomplishments the GT-R has already received worldwide, a FIA GT1 World Championship would immortalize the GT-R moniker and cement it as one of the world’s finest piece of machinery. Stiff competition will be coming with entries from Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini and Maserati.

Specs for the vehicles according to the FIA GT1 World Championship website declares a minimum weight of 1250kg and a maximum horsepower of 600. With a maximum horsepower imposed as FIA GT1 regulations, Nissan opted for a 5.6L V8 engine that hits the mark of 600 hp with 480 ft-lbs of torque. The GT-Rs will be equipped with extra wide 18×13-inch wheels all around with 6-piston calipers and carbon ceramic brakes peeking behind each one. Stay glued to Autoguide.com as we’ll be keeping a close eye on these GT-Rs on April 16-17th, 2010 where they will debut at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for the season-opener.

GALLERY: FIA GT1 Nissan GT-R Race Cars

[Source: Nissan News]

Despite all of Nissan’s troubles, the company isn’t shying away from motorsports for 2009, with four factory backed cars running in Japan, as well as several privateer teams running in Japan, China, South Africa and even in Europe.

“Motorsports is an important part of Nissan’s strategy for building a strong brand with consumers who share our passion for high-performance driving,” said Carlos Tavares, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. “In addition to being an important touch-point for consumers, motorsports serve as a dynamic proving ground for automotive innovation.”

That being said Nissan plans to back four teams in the SUPER GT series in the GT500 class. Team NISMO, Team Impul and Kondo Racing have all decided on running the Nissan GT-R, however, Hasemi Motorsport has not decided which platform it will use.

Some of the most exciting news, however, is that Gigawave MotorSport will run a NISMO-developed car in the FIA GT1 class in the U.K. The car will only run four races in 2009 and, therefore, won’t compete for the championship. The driver’s names are not official but are expected to be Michael Krumm ( a NISMO driver) and Darren Turner of Gigawave, a team that has compete in the FIA GT series since 2007.

Now if only a NISMO GT-R could make its way to the American Le Mans Series.

Official release after the jump:

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