- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. today announced that racing driver, Ronnie Quintarelli was awarded the “Official of the Order of the Italian Star” by his homeland, Italy.The “Official of the Order of the Italian Star” is an accolade awarded by the President of the Italian Republic to individuals of merit in a variety of fields. Italian born Quintarelli has competed in the SUPER GT behind the wheel of the NISSAN GT-R since 2008 and has secured four series championships over a five-year period from 2011 to 2015, the most ever titles for a driver in the series. In addition to these achievements, this award is being bestowed in recognition of his continued social contributions in the Tohoku region following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.Upon being bestowed the award by Italian Ambassador, Domenico Giorgi at the conferment ceremony held at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo, Quintarelli stated;“I would like to thank the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella and the Italian Ambassador to Japan, Domenico Giorgi for this unexpected recognition. To receive such an important medal today is a huge honor for me and it is undeniably the result of the firm commitment and strong relationship between myself and the Japanese people. I have achieved four titles in the SUPER GT with Nissan/NISMO but, thanks to the medal I have received today, I want to keep pushing even harder in the best way possible as an Italian racing driver here in Japan. In the same way, I will continue to support all of the people in the Tohoku area who continue to suffer from the tragedy of the March 11th, 2011 earthquake. I appreciate the support of the people that have been with me during my career, especially my families in Italy and here in Japan.”Takao Katagiri, CEO of Nissan Motorsports International Co, Ltd. who was in attendance for the ceremony, said the following:“I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to Ronnie on this occasion. It's great that our racing partner, Ronnie's achievements, both on and off the circuit in Japan, are so highly regarded in his native Italy. Ronnie has already won four series titles in the SUPER GT as a Nissan / NISMO driver. This year, alongside his teammate, Tsugio Matsuda, Ronnie and the NISMO team are attempting to achieve an unprecedented three straight consecutive championships. I believe that being awarded this accolade will further add to his momentum and by the end of the season we will have even more happy news to send over to Italy. I sincerely hope that Ronnie's continued competition as the Italian champion in Japan will bring our two countries even closer together.”