In the field of modern GT3 cars, Nissan’s GT-R is starting to get a bit long in the tooth compared with other manufacturers of GT3-spec machinery who have turned over multiple generations of their own offerings since the GT-R debuted. You might think that means the Nissan is a bit out-of-date, but Godzilla can apparently still hold its own against the McLaren 650S and Audi R8 LMS whipper-snappers just fine. Lucas Ordonez, who was the first Gran Turismo Academy winner in 2009, showed just how strong the GT-R still runs at the recent Blancpain Endurance Series’ 6 Hours of Paul Ricard at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France.
The Nismo team’s opening driver, Mitsunori Takaboshi, unfortunately spun the car in the early going of the six-hour race and when he handed the car over to Ordonez at the end of his first stint, the Japanese F3 champion sat a disappointing 31st place overall. Ordonez hopped in and, over the course of his stint, picked up 28 positions on the track. For the duration of its life, the GT-R has produced tremendous top-end speed, which you can see in the replay of all 28 passes with many on the Paul Ricard’s long Mistral Straight. However, more than a couple of the passes take place in the very twisty and technical third sector of the track, paying tribute to the Spanish driver’s tremendous talent.
Ordonez’s strong effort put the Nissan duo in contention for an overall podium and while they had to settle for fifth place, that’s a hell of a job by the GT Academy graduate to salvage a top 5 finish from the back half of the field.
