Nissan Australia has opted not to renew the contract with Kelly Racing that has seen the latter field four V8-powered factory-backed Nissan Altima Supercars since 2013.

“Nissan has decided to exit the Supercars Championship in order to concentrate on the interests and needs of our current and future customers,” said Stephen Lester, Nissan Australia’s managing director.

“We have obviously been talking to the Kellys for some time and making the announcement now suits both parties.

“I’d like to thank Todd and Rick Kelly, Michael Caruso, Simona de Silvestro and everyone at Nissan Motorsport for all of their hard work in the time that Nissan Australia has been involved in Supercars.

“I’d also like to thank Nissan Motorsport fans, we truly appreciate your support and will continue to work hard to achieve the best possible results over the course of the season.”

But Nissan Altimas will still compete in next year’s series, with Kelly Racing set to continue running its existing Nissans on a privateer basis.

“It’s business as usual for us in 2019 as we continue to race the Altima next year,” said team co-owner Todd Kelly.

“We’re extremely proud of the work we’ve achieved in designing the Altima race car and a road car based engine for competition in this category.

“This announcement won’t slow our development as we continue to push further up the grid.”

 “We’ve got an extremely capable group of people and one of the best facilities in the country in terms of design and production. The next phase will be an exciting one.”