SKF South Africa is pleased to announce that the renewal of their sponsorship of Nissan Motorsport for the 2008 racing season, marks the 10th anniversary of this valued partnership.

SKF's class leading bearing technology is perfectly suited to the unique environment of motor racing where safe, diverse, durable quality, tailor-made for the application products are demanded.

SKF designs and manufactures weight and energy optimised products for circuit racing as well as strength and durability optimised products for off-road racing.

"The right part is of paramount importance and because the reliability of SKF's range of products is undisputed, the safety of drivers and vehicles is guaranteed", explains Glyn Hall, Senior Manager - Nissan Motorsport. "We fit all our vehicles with SKF bearings and we use other SKF products including wheel bearings (hub), Rod ends, Needle bearings (transmissions), O-rings as well as Oil seals, wherever we can", continues Hall.

Nissan has been competing in South African motor sports's three major disciplines - rallying, off-road and circuit racing, since 1961 and is the recipient of 28 National Championship titles.

Nissan's motor sport department in Midrand, has recorded some major successes in both off-road and circuit racing locally and internationally over the past 26 years and in the capable hands of Hall since 1993, the department continues to dominate the motor racing scene.

Nissan Motorsport won titles in the national off road championships six years in succession - five with the Nissan Hardbody (developed by Hall and his team) and the sixth, in 2006, with a Nissan Navara. The Nissan Hardbody's success in domestic off-roading brought Nissan Motorsport to the attention of the Dakar 2002 and the company was commissioned to build two pickups for French Nissan dealer team, Dessoude.

"All racing environments test vehicles to their limits and off-road terrains are especially taxing. Cars are driven to extreme limits and the harsh conditions test all components, especially bearings, to the ultimate.

However, the SKF bearings that are fitted to Nissan Motorsport vehicles have never left the team stranded. They just continue to perform reliably, up to, and even sometimes exceeding, everything that is expected of SKF's standards of excellence. SKF's quality and reliability came to my attention in 1990 when I was racing as a privateer and the bearings fitted to my vehicle continued seizing. Acting on the advice of a SKF representative, I fitted SKF bearings to my car, managed to beat all the factory teams and won the title", remarks Hall.

"Quality is of paramount importance for safety and reliability. Price is secondary and Nissan Motorsport spares no expense for running costs, equipment, software licenses and engines. Only the best steel is used for the manufacture of parts and drive shafts are discarded after only a year of service. The performance of every component for each kilometer is checked by well-trained engineers and in accordance with a strict service schedule. Inferior products are simply not an option. Cheap, alternative parts compromise driver safety and also tarnish our good reputation," continues Hall.

"SKF bearings play a major role in winning races and we are pleased that SKF has again renewed our partnership. Our relationship continuous to prosper and we can count on SKF's superior product and service quality. The association with SKF's technical department is working well and they have given great assistance with some problems we were experiencing. All in all, a successful, pleasant partnership", states Hall.

SKF Manager - VSM Business Unit, Marchant Taylor says that SKF is very proud to have been part of the Nissan Motorsport team and to have shared in the teams phenomenal successes over the past decade. "We stay ahead of technology by continuously investing into R&D, allowing us to offer the best, most reliable products and services to our valued customers", says Taylor.

Hall adds that the Nissan Motorsport team knows that they can always rely on the SKF team to come to the rescue when and where needed and that the relationship between the two companies, established in 1998, can only go from strength to strength.

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