Team AnnA just got back from testing the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3. The test was held in Portugal 24.-25. January 2014, at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao. Organizer of the test was JRM Racing, the official Nismo partner.
The driver of Team AnnA, Anna N. Rathe (32), had her debut in racing in 2013 competing in the Norwegian GT Championship. The team car is a rebuilt standard Nissan GT-R. To test in a factory built GT3 car was a huge step up.
The two test days were organized with 8 drivers, each with a two hours session. Among the drivers at the test were young british drivers from series like touring car, GT and Ginetta and four regional GT Academy winners from the 2013 season. Anna was second driver up on the first day.
“I think it was quite obvious to everybody that I was both nervous and very excited about the chance to race the Nismo GT3. And I am sending huge thanks to every single one of team JRM for making me feel at home in a car that until now has been way over my league.” she says.
Anna had 3 stints on track with 6-8 timed laps each. In between she was thoroughly debriefed by the race engineers and JRMs test driver going through the data and video from every lap.
It didn’t take long to figure out that the Nismo GT3 was significantly different from the Team AnnA GT-R. Although the level of power is actually quite the same, it is in the Nismo GT3 distributed only to the rear axel which makes it less forgiving on corner exit. The biggest difference though was the extreme downforce and grip. On a rollercoaster-track like in Portimao this made it unbelievably fast in the high speed corners.
“I have never felt anything like the g-forces created in the fast corners of the track. It was just all about going flat and trust your fourwheeled partner. Although I was of course thoroughly strapped and padded in the seat it felt almost impossible to even stay inside the car. And the track was big fun to drive, my absolute favourite from now on!” Anna shared after her session.
In the end of the day we can proudly say that Anna did what she came for. She has proven herself capable of racing a full-blooded race car on a very difficult and high speed track. She picked up on the work tasks given by the engineers and improved her lap times step by step. Now we have to wait a number of days for JRM to send us their test report to see their general impression and where we will go from here.
“I am returning from this test confident that I am able to both handle the fantastic Nismo GT3 and work well onwards with a professional racing team. There are challenges to overcome but I strongly believe that there is a good chance you will see me back in the Nismo GT3 in not too long!” Anna states with passion and sparkling eyes. “GT3 racing with a team like JRM is to be fair quite far from my current reality. But then again, why not?”
We also like to share the fun fact that Anna according to JRM is the first female driver ever to test a Nismo GT3 car.