Last year, Gran Turismo creator/producer Kazunori Yamauchi drove the only Nissan GT-R in the 200-car field to a class win. With no support from Nissan, the private GT-R entry by the German-based Schulze family staved off aggressive challenges from three very fast all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golfs, powered by modified turbocharged five-cylinder engines. This 24-hour competition is known as a race of attrition, but the GT-R team managed to keep its car on the track until the checkered flag while all three Golfs retired due to mechanical failure.
Apart from a full 24-hour endurance racing budget and tire sponsor Dunlop coming to the party, Mizuno has sought the driving prowess of chief GT-R development driver Toshio Suzuki as well as Japan Super GT racers Michael Krumm, Tetsuya Tanaka, and Kazuki Hoshino for the first GT-R.
The second GT-R has been allocated to Yamauchi, who is expected to field a special Gran Turismo Academy team composed of his two co-drivers from last year — Yasuyoshi Yamamoto and Tobias Schultz — as well as GT Academy champion-turned racer Lucas Ordonez. And don’t worry, you’ll likely get your chance to drive the same GT-R race car that Yamauchi pilots appear in the next edition of Gran Turismo.
