Goodwood debuts the aggressive Nissan Juke-R 2.0, with a dynamic debut on the Hillclimb too.

• New Nissan Juke-R 2.0 concept makes global dynamic debut
• NISMO athletes, Al Buncombe, Jann Mardenborough and Sir Chris Hoy in action on the hillclimb
• Live recruitment for the 2015 GT Academy on the Nissan stand

Nissan has announced its most thrilling Goodwood Festival of Speed line-up yet, headlined by the global dynamic debut of the brand new Juke-R 2.0.

Originally revealed in 2011, the pioneering Juke-R married Nissan’s genre-busting Juke with the engine and running gear from the GT-R, the brand’s flagship sportscar.

Now four years on, Juke-R has been given an exciting upgrade to reflect the latest model of the Juke, coupled with even more power and bolder styling – welcome the Juke-R 2.0.

The Juke-R 2.0 will be displayed on the Nissan stand on Thursday 25 June before being moved to the Supercar Paddock for the remainder of the weekend. Visitors will also witness the Juke-R 2.0 make its dynamic debut on Goodwood’s Hillclimb, driven by Nissan GT Academy graduate and Le Mans 24 Hours driver, Jann Mardenborough.

Nissan on the Hillclimb:

• World premiere of Juke-R 2.0 driven by Jann Mardenborough
• NISMO athlete Al Buncombe in the GT-R GT3 car, while Sir Chris Hoy will drive the LMP3-class European Le Mans Series race cars

As well as showcasing its performance models, crossover line-up and EV range on its stand, Nissan will be entertaining visitors with an array of interactive experiences and access to sports personalities.

Away from the Hillclimb and on the virtual race track,  Nissan will be giving away three ‘golden ticket’ entries to its pioneering GT Academy competition, which will endeavour to create yet more brand new racing drivers out of Gran Turismo 6 gamers when the Academy Race Camp kicks off in Abu Dhabi in October. Across the weekend, motorsport enthusiasts are invited to take part in a virtual race on Nissan’s circular PlayStation pods. The top racers will be invited to participate in a number of activities and interviews before one lucky gamer each day of the event (Friday – Sunday) will win a place in the Nissan GT Academy Race Camp in Abu Dhabi in October.

Nissan will also host a series of live Q&A sessions over the weekend; Nissan racing drivers Sir Chris Hoy, Jann Mardenborough and Al Buncombe, as well as London 2012 T-42 200m Paralympic Gold Medallist Richard Whitehead MBE, London 2012 Track cyclist Jess Varnish, 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Sprint Champion Becky James and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Gold medal gymnast, Max Whitlock.  

Thanks to Nissan’s partnerships with the British Olympic Association, British Paralympic Association and UEFA Champions League, visitors to Goodwood will be able to take part in a variety of interactive activities, from an opportunity to have a photo taken with the UEFA

Champions League Trophy on Saturday and Sunday to trying out wheelchair racing against 2012 Paralympic World Cup Gold Medal Wheelchair sprinter Richard Chiassaro.

From Lounge to Le Mans in just 10 months for Nissan Racer.

• Winner of 2014 GT Academy to race at 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours
• Frenchman Gaetan Paletou makes the grade quicker than ever before

In 2011, after three years of racing, Lucas Ordonez became the first GT Academy winner to compete at Le Mans. In 2013, after just two years of racing, Jann Mardenborough made his debut at La Sarthe.  Now, in 2015, Gaetan Paletou will race a Nissan-powered LM P2 car at Le Mans, just 10 months after winning GT Academy.

Since winning GT Academy Europe on 6th August 2014, Paletou has been on Nissan's intensive driver development programme, the same programme that prepared Jann Mardenborough for GP3 and Lucas Ordonez for Super GT.

He raced a Nissan 370Z to numerous victories in club races to obtain his racing licence in time to compete at the 2015 Dubai 24 Hours in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

Paletou was a key member of the all-gamer driving squad that took fifth place overall and second in class at the Dubai 24 Hours in January before starting simultaneous racing seasons in GT3 (Blancpain Endurance Series) and LM P3 (European Le Mans Series).

He has made the grade quicker than any GT Academy graduate before him. 

When he was told he could be racing the Greaves Motorsport Gibson-Nissan LM P2 car at Le Mans, Paletou was surprised to say the least: "I really don't know what to say...Le Mans!" said Paletou. 

"This was completely unexpected and I honestly thought that Darren (Cox) was playing a trick on me, like on one of those TV shows.  I dreamt of racing at Le Mans as a child but I didn't expect to ever race there.  I love driving the LM P2 car and I really like the guys at Greaves so this is going to be a great experience for me. It is far too soon to talk about expectations, I just want to go there and do the best job I can." 

"One thing that every graduate of GT Academy learns very quickly is that this is not a free ride, so to speak," said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO. "We push our graduates hard via our driver development programme, which gets stronger and tougher every year. We have given Gaetan all the backing and the training he needs and he has proved to us that he is ready for Le Mans.

"Le Mans is the world's greatest race and it happens to be in France," continued Cox.  "For a Frenchman like Gaetan to make the transition from virtual-to-reality in less than a year and race at Le Mans is an incredible achievement.  He has handled everything we have thrown at him so far so we have absolute faith in his ability to do a good job at Le Mans."

Paletou completed his ten mandatory rookie laps of Le Mans behind the wheel of the Greaves Gibson-Nissan LM P2 car during the official Le Mans Test Day last weekend.