BES: Paletou and Sanchez graduate from Nissan academy

Gaetan Paletou and Ricardo Sanchez have been handed Blancpain Endurance Series drives with Nissan NISMO after graduating from the manufacturer's driver academy.

The duo were awarded a drive in the Dubai 24 Hours race last January and after finishing fifth overall - second in class - have impressed Nissan enough to secure a season with the team in the BES in 2015.

The two will compete together in Nissan's GT-R NISMO GT3 for the upcoming series and join fellow Nissan drivers Alex Buncombe, Katsumasa Chiyo and Wolfgang Reip, who will race in the PRO class, while Paletou and Sanchez will contest the PRO-AM class. For the first round at Monza the duo will be joined by Florian Strauss.

"I feel ready for Monza but I still find it hard to believe that I am going to be racing there," said Paletou. "This time last year I had no idea of what was ahead of me and now I have landed my dream job. I know that Monza is a good track for the GT-R as we have such a strong engine so we are in a good position to get a good result."

Sanchez echoed his team-mate's sentiments and is prepared to do everything he can for a positive season in BES.

"I still find it hard to believe what is happening in my life," said Sanchez. "Every time I think about it I smile as this has always been my dream. The hard work really starts now though. Monza is a very fast track with a lot of history so I feel proud to have the opportunity to race the GT-R there. I want to do the best job I can for Nissan and bring home a great result."

The Blancpain Endurance Series begins on the 11-12 April in Monza ahead of the five round season which travels to Silverstone, Paul Ricard, Spa and Nurburgring.