Suzuka 1000km “Motivation” for Nissan GT-R GT3 Tweaks

Nissan has described seeing its GT-R NISMO GT3 go toe-to-toe with class-leading FIA GT3 machinery from around the world in this month’s Suzuka 1000km has given it fresh “motivation” to investigate ways to develop the car further.

NMC senior vice-president Shinichi Kiga said that he was pleased to see the Pro-class 5ZIGEN entry show competitively until an early suspension issue forced the car into the garage into repairs, dropping it multiple laps off the leaders.

However, he admitted that seeing how fast the winning Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo was around Suzuka was an eye-opener that could serve as stimulus for NISMO to roll out further developments to an aging model that was first introduced in 2018.

“It shows the car is still capable of competing,” Kiga told Sportscar365. “If we didn’t have that strange issue [for the 5ZIGEN car] we could have been fighting near the top, although I think it’s a stretch to say we would have been at the very top.

“The European cars, especially the Porsche, they ride the curbs especially well. That’s the kind of thing we need to aim for. If you race at the Nürburgring, or tracks with a lot of undulation, I think you can make that kind of car. They look extremely easy to drive.

“It has been a good source of motivation for us. We lined up three star drivers [SUPER GT regulars Katsumasa Chiyo, Kazuki Hiramine and Atsushi Miyake] and I am sure they are capable of being up there. We need a bit more.

“There’s a growing sense within NISMO that it’s a good time to start working on improving certain aspects of the car. I think around next year would be the best time, so we want to start trying out small things to help bring out the car’s potential.

“It’s an old car, and there’s nothing we can do about that, but even so I think there is more that we can do.”

Kiga clarified that any updates to the GT-R NISMO GT3 would be made within the current FIA homologation, ruling out an Evo upgrade for the car. Its current homologation due to expire in 2030, after it was given a minor update in 2020.

His comments come amid a backdrop of varying fortunes for Nissan’s customer teams in SUPER GT, where four examples of the GT-R run in the GT300 class.

Kondo Racing leads both the drivers’ and teams’ standings, but the next-best of the GT-R users, Helm Motorsports, is 22nd overall with three races to go.

Behind the scenes, Kondo and Helm are known to have registered their unhappiness with the GT-R’s Balance of Performance in recent races, with all four teams running the car, including NILZZ and Tomei Sports, eliminated in Q1 last weekend at Sugo.

Although the GTA has a partnership with the SRO to set the BoP for its FIA GT3 cars, compared to the Suzuka 1000km, the GT-R ran 30 kg heavier for SUPER GT’s visit to the same track weeks earlier, and with around five percent less power.

Asked for his take on the situation Kiga replied: “We respect the organizers, so we don’t have anything to say about it. We believe the rules are correct.

“We have to do our best to create a car that can fight even with those constraints.”

As is the case in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the GTA forbids public criticism of the BoP.

De Oliveira Warns After Sugo: “We Can’t Play a Joker Every Weekend”

Concerns about the GT-R’s BoP came as Joao Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura surged into a big GT300 championship lead at Sugo last weekend, helped by a no-tire change strategy that allowed them to recover from a lowly 19th on the grid to second.

Crediting tire supplier Yokohama and a rapid pit stop by the Kondo crew for the result, de Oliveira warned that he and Kimura won’t be able to make such gambles every weekend as the championship heads into its final weekends at Autopolis and Motegi.

“We knew that a standard strategy wouldn’t put us anywhere in the race,” de Oliveira told reporters post-race. “We needed to roll the dice and see what happens.

“It looked so tough in free practice and qualifying, but in the race I was just managing the tires and the lap time was ok. It was enough to finish second. So a big thanks to Yokohama, and to the team for the wonderful pit stop, because it saved our race.

“You can’t play a joker like this every weekend. Our qualifying pace that we are missing can seriously hurt us in the end if we can’t improve that.”