Nissan GT-R heads back to its old stomping grounds: the 2014 Nurburgring 24-hour race

By Stephen Edelstein April 29, 2014

2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Nissan GT-R received much of its considerable fame beating more-expensive supercars around Germany’s infamous Nurburgring Nordschliefe racetrack.

Now, Nissan is bringing the car known as “Godzilla” back to its old stomping grounds for the 2014 Nurburging 24-hour endurance race.

The race, held June 21-22, is exactly as grueling as it sounds: a 24-hour marathon on one of the world’s most grueling tracks.

Leading the charged will be a group of drivers associated with Nissan GT Academy, a competition that takes Gran Turismo video game players and pits them against each other in a battle for a spot on an actual Nissan race team.

GT Academy Germany judge Nick Heidfeld will drive the No. 80 GT-R NISMO GT3, in honor of Nissan’s 80th anniversary. He will be teamed with 2013 GT Academy Germany winner Florian Strauss – in only the fourth international race of his career – former winner Lucas Ordonez, and Alex Buncombe.

A second GT-R will be raced primarily by NISMO affiliates from Japan. The No. 30 car will be driven by Japan Super GT racers Michael Krumm and Kazuki Hoshino, teamed with Nissan ‘Ring expert Tetsuya Tanaka and NISMO Global Exchange driver Katsumasa Chiyo.

The NISMO Global Exchange is a Nissan program set up to pair drivers with race teams around the world.

In addition, there will be a third GT-R driven by Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi and 2009 GT Academy winner Jordan Tresson.

The Nurburgring has been the sight of many GT-R triumphs, including a 7-minute, 8.679-second lap by the 2015 GT-R NISMO that Nissan calls a record for a “volume production car.”

Will the GT-R have another impressive outing this June? With a new GT-R reportedly on the horizon, the current R35 version only has a few more chances to shine.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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