JR Motorsports is delighted to report that, having covered a total race distance of 440kms in three hours, its Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3 proved 100% reliable in its first ever competitive outing. The fourth round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at the Magny-Cours circuit in central France saw the car run faultlessly throughout the 98 laps of the race, with its drivers Richard Westbrook and David Brabham crossing the line in an impressive eighth place overall out of a field of 35 cars, both paying tribute to the car’s reliability and how easy it is to drive.

The Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3 concept started life over a year ago. Since then the car has undergone a series of tests, with the three-hour Magny-Cours race representing its first ever competitive outing and an important part of its extensive development programme.

After carrying out a highly successful two-days of testing at the Navarra track in northern Spain in the week leading up to the Magny-Cours event, the pre-race practice sessions also saw the GT-R running well, even in wet conditions. However, before the weekend, JRM reiterated that its participation in this event was purely a test and the team was focused on data collection and getting as many race-miles under its belt as possible.

Qualifying at Magny-Cours took place on Saturday afternoon in dry and sunny conditions, with Westbrook setting a time that placed the Nissan 18th on the grid. However, with other cars being penalised for technical infringements, this position was improved by two places before the start.

With 35 cars competing and the GT3 GT-R situated in the middle of the pack, the strategy was to keep out of trouble and that’s exactly what Westbrook did, although the non-contact approach did him drop three places by the end of the second lap.

A Safety Car period for two laps whilst a stopped car was moved off the track saw the field close up. When racing resumed, Westbrook started to move up the rankings, although there was one worrying moment when a Ferrari turned into the path of the GT-R and contact was made.

Thankfully, although the impact spun the Ferrari around, the GT-R only sustained cosmetic damage. Without breaking his stride, Westbrook went on to catch and pass other cars and made the first scheduled pit stop after 35 laps whilst lying in ninth place.

With no work other than the obligatory refuelling, tyre-change and driver swap required, Brabham took the wheel and joined the race in 12th place. He continued to circulate the 4.41 km track making good progress and gaining places in the process.

Again, with no problems to report, he pulled into the pits at the end of lap 73 having climbed to ninth place. Westbrook then took over for the third and final stint and, as darkness fell, he was able to make the most of the cooler conditions and set the GT-R GT3′s fastest lap towards the end of the race.

With 20 minutes to go the Safety Car was deployed once again, after a car had hit a wall and left debris on the track. This moved Westbrook into eighth place, a position that he retained for the final ten minutes that remained once racing got underway again.

The JRM team was delighted when the car finally crossed the line having run faultlessly for 98 laps, three hours and 440kms. The race had provided everything the team had hoped for – and more – the final position of eighth overall and sixth in class a bonus for everyone concerned with the Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3 project.

Team Quotes

Richard Westbrook

“The car ran like clockwork. 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.”

David Brabham

“Once I was out of the traffic I was able to put in some really solid laps. The car is easy to drive which means it doesn’t take long to dial yourself into a good rhythm. To finish where we did is a great debut for a brand new car and a tribute to Nissan, NISMO and JRM.”

Andy Scott – Development Engineer

“We tested at Navarra for two days and had no issues whatsoever. We then did the practice sessions at Magny-Cours which when added to the qualifying and race distances, means that overall the car has covered around 1700 kilometers this week without a problem. It’s a massively positive step in our GT3 development programme and has allowed us to gather invaluable data. We have been able to make direct comparisons with other cars and we now understand exactly what the GT-R is capable of. It’s been a very successful few days.”

Andy Barnes – Team Principal

“We came to Magny-Cours with a plan. Our main goal was to test the reliability of the car in an endurance event and to assess how it compared in a competitive environment – and that’s exactly what we’ve done. To achieve such a solid all-round performance has taken months of hard work by NISMO and JRM. The outcome of this weekend really underlines the true potential of the car and keeps our development programme and pre-launch plans firmly on track.

Source : JRM