Click above for a high-res gallery from the SuperGT season opener.
Nissan GT-Rs first hit the track in 1969, and won their inauguaral race.
23 years later the R32 GT-R race car won its first Japanese GT Championship race at the first attempt, and yesterday at Suzuka, the Xanavi NISMO R35 driven by Benoit Trulyer and Satoshi Motoyama continued the tradition by taking round one of the 2008 Super GT Championship.
Trulyer, who was also one of the drivers who took the R34 GT-R to victory in its last appearence in Japanese GT in 2003, reckoned that his new car is more stable than its predessor, the Super GT Z, and thus much easier to drive on the limit, but has lost a little in terms of top speed, which may hurt the GT-R's chances when it visits the world's longest straight at Fuji Speedway in May and November.
Unless the GT association take exception to the GT-R's dominance this race and impose extraordinary penalties on the car, which has precious little in common with its road going counterpart, expect a similar performance at Round 2 in Okayama on April 13th.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
HeyHuub @ Mar 17th 2008 12:41PM
They still use NSX's?
Kiiks @ Mar 17th 2008 9:40PM
Yeah, and they won last year's championship. Since the series is supported by Japan's Big 3, they'll likely allow the NSX to be raced until Honda gets off it's ass and makes a worthy successor. Better not be any of that BS front-engined V10 crap either.
Wally @ Mar 17th 2008 12:41PM
Precious little to do with it's road-going counterpart?
Yeah right, next you're going to tell me that isn't a Camry circling the NASCAR tracks...
Kiiks @ Mar 17th 2008 9:16PM
+1
In2uition @ Mar 17th 2008 12:46PM
The Lexus looks so out of place...surprised it came in 3rd (unless there is another car with the same sponsor).
hashiryu @ Mar 17th 2008 3:04PM
Ummm the Lexus took the Championship in its debut year (2006). All of the Supras have now been replaced by it
In2uition @ Mar 17th 2008 12:48PM
I honestly thought that the cars in NASCAR have very little to do with the production counterparts. I can't see any detailed relation in the aero or powertrain.
Andrew @ Mar 17th 2008 12:59PM
It was a joke...
Sean Morris @ Mar 17th 2008 12:58PM
I am a GT-R fan , and honestly a tube frame, GT-R looking car with the V8 is not the same as a GT-R.
JGTC uses part of the unibody, but the rest is all race car. They ran the V-6 a couple of years, but then went to the V-8, I am so disappointed. I guess it is working out for them though.
I was upclose and personal with the 2004 car when it was at GT Live. http://gtrusa.blogspot.com/2007/07/jgtc-r34-gt-r-testing-at-fontana-gt.html
Just like the Carmys, Taurus's(500's?), Malibus, or something they run in Nascar.
Jerk Face @ Mar 17th 2008 1:25PM
Dude, is your avatar a naked dude 'ghost ridin' the whip?'
Because that would be pretty much awesome.
Sean Morris @ Mar 17th 2008 8:48PM
My avatar is me , in my grey boxer shorts , sitting on top of an R33 GT-R. I took my clothes off, and ran them over with the R33 for Sport Compact Cars - Ultimate Street Car Challenge - Gross Display of Horsepower.
I thought taking my clothes off, and running them over with the car, was a pretty gross display.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtJ9vVJ2dyk
Philip @ Mar 17th 2008 1:31PM
That is awesome... I think that Nissan did a excellent job with the 2009 GT-R, and to do well in racing this soon is very admirable.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Mar 17th 2008 2:41PM
Pontiac G6 GXP.R is to Pontiac G6 as JGTC GT-R is to Nissan GT-R.
nagmashot @ Mar 17th 2008 4:17PM
"when it visits the world's longest straight at Fuji Speedway in May and November."
The straight at Fuji Speedway is 1.5km... that is long but it is not the longest... it is less than the half of the northloop Döttinger Höhe straight which is over 3km long
chris @ Mar 17th 2008 5:40PM
When people say Fuji Speedway has the longest straight, they're talking about currently used race tracks. The Nürburgring Nordschleife isn't regarded as a race track like that now.
And spoiler warnings would be good by the way, some people actually watch SuperGT...
nagmashot @ Mar 18th 2008 1:23PM
@chris
the Northloop is regulary used as race track, ADAC 24h race, BFGoodrich long distance race series (10 races on the northloop in 6 months), ADAC Nürburgring Classic race etc.
nissan 240sx @ Mar 17th 2008 9:13PM
I just hope i could sell my nissan 240sx soon and get i for my self....
Kiiks @ Mar 17th 2008 9:25PM
The two factory GT-Rs will start the next race with 60Kg weight penalties. That will give many other teams plenty to work with for the next round. I believe the FIA is trying to institute these regulations for all related GT series worldwide. FIA GT (which has a similar but less aggressive system) as well as ACO's LMGT.
hashiryu @ Mar 17th 2008 11:25PM
Super GT has always worked that way as far as I could recall.
Kiiks @ Mar 18th 2008 4:00AM
Right - the point I was trying to make is that the FIA, after assuming control of Super GT in 2005ish? is planning on adopting their system to use in FIA GT and LMGT.