Quite a number of Porsche owners have gone out and purchased a new GT-R since it’s launch in the US in the middle of this year. There’s various reasons to do this but hopefully, some do it because they are open minded and are interested in driving fast over what badge is on the front of the car.

Chris over at NAGTROC owns both a 700hp 997 turbo and a new GT-R and has had the chance to run both cars at Thunderhill Park Raceway on the same day in the same conditions and has had the chance to measure it with a TraqMate GPS recording device.

In his first day out at this track in the GT-R he managed a laptime of 2:05 which was two seconds faster than his previous best in the 997.

The same day in the same conditions in the 700hp 997TT he managed a 2:07 in the Porsche but in an untimed session (due to the TraqMate becoming unplugged) may have managed a 2:05 or 2:04.

Overall he rates the chances of a standard 997TT vs a standard GT-R to be slim to none at that track. Interesting indeed. A few more photos after the jump but check the link on NAGTROC for the rest.

Source: NAGTROC via GTRBlog.com

More progress on the WALD Sportsline body kit can be seen in this update from WALD. The initial design work is taken off the drawing board and sculpted in clay onto a GT-R (protected with masking tape). Once engineers are happy with this moulds will be taken for the first prototype parts to be built from.
Here we can see a start has been made on the front bumper, the grill, the headlight, the rear diffuser, the side skirts and the rear fender flares.
Hopefully with this amount of progress a prototype kit will be out sooner than expected. Don’t forget to check part 1 of WALD’s progress at the link below. Also a lot more photos from this update after the jump.

Source: WALD, via GTRBlog.com.

We are proud to announce that Zele International (Yokohama, Japan) has completed their brand new online project, ZelePerformance.com and has launched it this week to the public. This latest website will cover latest news releases, global parts information, Zele’s own blog as well as dealer listings and corporate information all in English for the global GT-R community.

Zele International was first established in early 2000 as an independent Nissan Skyline specialised dealership in Kanagawa prefecture Japan. Since forming, Zele International’s reputation among GT-R owners worldwide has grown and grown due to their track record for delivering exceptional quality vehicles to customers from all corners of the globe.

In 2004, Zele International formed a business partnership with Nissan Motorsports (NISMO) and opened Nismo Car’s Factory Zele further cementing their status as the number one Nissan Skyline GT-R dealership.

Since the launch of the Nissan R35 GT-R supercar, Zele International has been heavily involved in the development of unique, functional and desirable products to suit and has gained a position as one of the top original parts developers for the Nissan GT-R. These products can now be found as far reaching as Japan, SE Asia, the Middle East, USA and Europe.

Link: ZelePerformance.com

In the long-established midsummer's endurance race, Round 6 of SUPER GT the "International POKKA 1000km" event took place on August 24th at Suzuka Circuit (1 lap: 5.807km). Starting from fourth on the grid, the CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (#12 Tsugio Matsuda/Sebastien Philippe) withstood the severe long-distance and about six hours' racing to take the win. The NISSAN GT-R has now taken a total of four victories from six races in this season's SUPER GT.



Setting the 2ND-quickest time in qualifying, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#22 Michael Krumm/Masataka Yanagida/Dominik Schwager) inherited pole position when the #100 NSX had to start from the back, ahead of the 173-lap, 1,000-kilometre event. From the opening lap, veteran driver Michael Krumm led beautifully, handing over to Yanagida from the front as scheduled. Though he temporarily lost the lead due to being blocked by a GT300 car ahead, the team's deft pit work ensured they soon returned to the head of the field. Krumm and Yanagida alternated driving duties, safeguarding their position until the halfway point of the race. On lap 118, third driver Dominik Schwager got behind the wheel. Soon after, the rear cowl suddenly started to come off the car, making for a very delicate situation. An unscheduled visit to the pits meant that regrettably, the machine fell out of contention for the win. However, the team fought relentlessly to the very end, and with Michael Krumm driving the final stint, reached fourth place at the flag.

Meanwhile, having started from fourth on the grid, the #12 GT-R experienced difficulty with the rear hub in the opening stages of the race, forcing an out-of-sequence pit stop on lap 25. Driver Matsuda went back out on track, returning to hand over to Philippe on lap 62 after having piloted the car since the start of the event. From that point on, the car continued to steadily bring down to the gap to its rivals in front. By lap 87, it was up to 2nd place. As the laps continued, the car strengthened its position in 2nd as Matsuda shortened the gap to the #100 NSX in front. At the car's final stop on lap 138, Philippe once again took the wheel as the margin to the rival in the lead was reversed. Philippe never gave an inch, rising from 2nd place to the lead position with a calculated drive in front of 37,000 fans, to end his run on the centre step of the podium.

With successive victories in the first two opening rounds of the season, the resulting heavy weight handicap meant that the XANAVI NISMO GT-R (#23 Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer/Fabio Carbone) was never going to be able to set a fast lap in qualifying. Despite this, starting driver Benoit Treluyer drove expertly in the opening stages, passing one rival after another to elevate the car from its initial position of seventh. By the middle stages, it was running in third position and fighting for 2nd. The stands holding the masses of NISSAN supporters boiled over with excitement as the machine rose in position. The car maintained the same pace until the end, Motoyama and Treluyer alternating driving duties as they headed for the finish line. However, due to the fuel system trouble, the team was forced to lower the car's pace for the final stage of the race, resulting in an eighth-place finish. Motoyama commented: "The end result is really regrettable. After a long time, we were finally able to once again fight for a meaningful position. On the upside, we collected points, and the next rounds at Motegi and Autopolis should suit the car well. I want to fight at the front again, and aim at becoming series' champion!"

The YellowHat YMS TOMICA GT-R (#3 Ronnie Quintarelli/Naoki Yokomizo) scored their best result of the season with 5th place, while the WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R (#24 Joao Paolo de Oliveira/Seiji Ara) took seventh, meaning all of the GT-R entries ended the event in points-scoring positions.

#12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R driver Tsugio Matsuda's comment:
"With the trouble we faced at the start, I thought we had no chance. I can tell you those 62 laps I drove were hard. I pushed with all my might, and the team responded with excellent work in the pits. In addition, of course Seb (Philippe) also fought very hard. To do so well in front of so many people is superb. This win is absolutely fantastic!"

NISMO Team Director Yoshitaka Iijima's comment:
"Our strategy was to go for the win with five pit stops. However, the cowl lock coming off was something we couldn't have imagined. Because of that trouble, we couldn't achieve our aim. That was our best chance of taking a win, so the result is deeply disappointing. However, Michael (Krumm) put on a gallant fight right to the very end, and showed the speed that has returned to the #23 car. Therefore, I don't think that the race was bad overall. We will still have the three races, and aim the championship of this year."