Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3 Off to a Solid Start [Gallery]
Debuting over the weekend in the Blancpain Endurance Series at Magny-Cours, Nissan‘s new GT-R GT3-spec race car had a solid 8th place finish, competing alongside cars like the Audi R8 and Ferrari 458 Italia.
Driven by Richard Westbrook and David Brabham this car is the creation of NISMO and JRM, and marks the start of what will likely be a much larger expansion by Nissan into GT car racing. Currently Nissan competes with the GT-R in the FIA GT1 series, but that car uses an entirely different engine from the street model, relying on a V8 engine. The GT3-spec car instead uses a version of the factory V6 VR38DETT.
“The car ran like clockwork”, said Westbrook. “I had to keep reminding myself that this was its first race! It’s excellent on tyres, so it means you can lap at the same speed at the end of a stint as you can at the start. For a brand new car to run the whole of the three-hours without a problem is a great achievement. It’s easy but rewarding to drive and I must admit that, even after completing two one-hour stints, I didn’t want to get out of it.”
“To finish where we did is a great debut for a brand new car and a tribute to Nissan, NISMO and JRM,” said Brabham.
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