Year of Change in SUPER GT in Japan

Year of Change in SUPER GT in Japan

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Nissan has traditionally won the championship in SUPER GT racing when debuting a new car, and if so, this season should be a banner year.

The monocoque, transmission, brakes, shock absorbers and fuel tank - about 70 percent of the new GT500 Class car - will be common to all cars in the series, based on the same new technical regulations as the DTM (German Touring Car Championship).

Teams can develop engines, and new regulations will allow manufacturers to freely develop the aerodynamic characteristics of their cars, of keen interest to fans and enthusiasts in the upcoming 2014 SUPER GT500 Class race series.

Minimum weight restrictions may be lighter than previous years due to the new engines for the GT500 Class. Direct injection, 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged motors will be used, replacing the familiar sounds of the V-8 engines.

The Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 with the new engine and newly developed aerodynamics broke the course record for GT500 cars at Sepang Circuit in Malaysia during winter testing.

Expectations of faster average lap times of one to two seconds are raising expectations for the season's Round 1, beginning April 5-6 at Okayama Circuit in western Japan.

Nissan Teams competing for the championship in the GT500 class include the #23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R, #12 Calsonic IMPUL GT-R, #24 D'Station ADVAN GT-R, and the #46 S Road MOLA GT-R.

The new livery for the #23 car was displayed at Nissan Global Headquarters in Yokohama on Sunday along with drivers and teams for the upcoming 2014 season.

In the above video, Yutaka Suzuki, NISMO General Manager for Race Engineering, discusses the new rule changes and the upcoming 2014 SUPER GT Race Series.

Credit: http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/year-of-change-in-super-gt-in-japan