The World Challenge GT Nissan Skyline GT-R Story

[igor@af]

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The World Challenge GT Nissan Skyline GT-R Story AutomotiveForums.com's Nissan Skyline GT-R campaign in World Challenge GT a big hit

Courtesy of AutomotiveForums.com

The AutomotiveForums.com Nissan Skyline GT-R piloted by Igor Sushko at Sebring Raceway. MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (Mar. 13, 2006) – The highly anticipated Skyline GT-R program in World Challenge GT has shown results to the home crowd at Long Beach Grand Prix. Swarmed with technical issues, Igor Sushko qualified 24th on the grid, but an all-wheel-drive standing start propelled him to 19th before turn one, and he continued to make progress through the pack, climbing up to as high as 13th place. The final result was a 17th place finish - up 7 positions from the start of the race. The AutomotiveForums.com race team finally came back to Los Angeles after 4 weeks of non-stop racing in Florida- the debut race took place at Sebring on March 16th, which was followed by the round-two race at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg alongside Indy Racing League. The racing effort has been an incredible hit with the enthusiasts - "Hundreds of fans told me they came out specifically to watch the GT-R race," said Igor Sushko, "the sparkles in people's eyes when they see the car for the first time are the reason we are racing. It's incredible." The initial races have provided the team invaluable experience and insight to shine in the upcoming Mid-Ohio race on May 19th alongside American Le Mans Series. Visit http://www.igorsushko.com for the driver's report on the races. Team Supporters include: AutomotiveForums.com - the world's largest automotive enthusiast community. GTRNation.com - Get ready for the 2009 Nissan GT-R. RB Motoring - for your used wheel and JDM parts Buddy Club - motorsports components NOS Energy Drink - the team's choice of energy Rays Engineering - racing wheels Brembo - race calipers StopTech - slotted rotors K&W Autobody Aero Duo TC Spoilers Launched in November of 2000, AutomotiveForums.com is today a leader in connecting the auto enthusiasts via the Internet. Currently, more than 450,000 members enjoy AutomotiveForums, with 500 new users signing up daily. For Media and Sponsorship inquiries Contact: Victor Reyes Courant Communications, LLC 626-926-4307

Visit the Official World Challenge Website for further information on the series and competitors.

Visit the AF Galleries from the races:
Sebring Raceway
St. Petersburg Street Course

[TatII]

wow great improvement igor, so how did you do it? being better prepared or with more power?

[igor@af]

The Long Beach race was our first finish. We were unable to finish the first two races at Florida due to fluke glitches with the car.

Even at St. Pete, we ran very close to top 10 before having to retire.

We are still considerably down on power (and I mean HUGE), which are the primary cause for slower lap times. Even at street courses such as Long Beach, there was still a 0.55 mile straightaway. We were down by 20 miles per hour at the end of the straightaway. Also, due to the fact that I had around 6 total laps before the start of the race in our practice/qualifying sessions and experienced issues even in those laps, I also had to learn the track for the first time once the race had started.

We are excited about the up coming Mid-Ohio race as we will be slightly better prepared on the power front (we will still be down compared to other cars) and I know that track very well already. So long as we do not encounter severe problems with the car, we should do much better there.

[..CUERacing>>S14]

awesome article. Great job on the finish. Good Luck at Mid-Ohio

[dannyY]

Very disappointing. The article presents the situation as normal and good, but the GT-R was qualified at Long Beach on the last place (in front of the cars with no time) and finished the 2 or 3rd from the end (I mean the cars which finished the race). It looks like the engineer of the team and the rest of the crew are not good enough to make the car competitive. Many of my friends who couldn't wait to see the GT-R racing are very disappointed too.

[igor@af]

Um... not so much. We had our debut at Sebring. 2nd race was at St. Pete exactly two weeks later during which we stayed in Florida as we are based out of Los Angeles. Then Long Beach was 5 days after St. Pete. We had absolutely no time to change the engine spec on the car from Sebring. We ran approximately 4 seconds off of an acceptable pace at Long Beach - a track that I had zero flying laps on before the race.

A 20 mph slower top speed at the end of the straightaway that is 0.55 miles is worth ~ 2 seconds. We have enough data to figure this out.

If we lost 2 seconds on just one straightaway due to our lack of power compared to the competition, imagine how much time we lost per lap total in straightline acceleration.

Our team has incredible expertise and know-how and of course we gain more experience with every race.

The major problem with the GT-R right now is the power.

We are far from being on par with the other cars in the series - around 150 hp at the wheels, plus we are the heaviest.

SCCA did not want to see the 2004 Sebring Cadillac scenario repeated and they went for a very conservative VTS for us as a new car in a new series.
Now we just have to work up the spec of the car.
We are already there in braking and cornering, we just lack power.

[eggsmadedaily]

congrats igor & sean, victor, merritt and josh! franco, t-bone, ruben and myself had a great weekend hanging out at the LBGP. we were overlooking turns 7 & 8 for the GT race and it's an adrenaline rush watching the GT-R battle it out with the rest of the field. the power issue is definately clear as we watched igor just unable to keep up on the back straight to the vipers and corvettes - and even the porsches. i really do hope the SCCA recognizes this and will allow your car to be more competitive as the season goes on. good luck for the rest of the season

ed

[merritr]

Heres what I have to say about starting last....

Igor into the first corner - notice the position..



We are really down on power compared to established cars in the series.

Our first 3 races were all in a row. Give us a month to petition SCCA for more power, build a new motor and get more competitive.

[-The Stig-]

^ Merrit hit the nail on the head.

First season out, you can't expect to be #1. Just have to feel out the car, the tracks and see what works.

Next season, the GT-R should be a fine fine contender... I'd wager within the top 10.

[merritr]

Originally Posted by RedNeck383

^ Merrit hit the nail on the head.

First season out, you can't expect to be #1. Just have to feel out the car, the tracks and see what works.

Next season, the GT-R should be a fine fine contender... I'd wager within the top 10.

Well technically Sean aka Tyndago made that post using my laptop. I had left myself signed on to AF. I did that to him once so it makes up for it.

[-The Stig-]

Originally Posted by merritr

Well technically Sean aka Tyndago made that post using my laptop. I had left myself signed on to AF. I did that to him once so it makes up for it.

HA... so, it's Friday night... you crazy folks going to be at Dromo?

I'd like to see Sean crash into the barriers on turn 2 again... that was comedy.

[garret_the_driver]

Great article, with each race Igor keeps gaining experiance, and the progress from the first race to the most recent one shows it

Go Igor Go!

[TatII]

that definitly shows a true testiment to the GTR's handling, but if you added more power wouldn't that effect the cars balance?

[tyndago]

Originally Posted by TatII

that definitly shows a true testiment to the GTR's handling, but if you added more power wouldn't that effect the cars balance?

No, as the car will still be considered light tuned. Right now we have many more stock parts than modified parts. If you look at the VTS sheet, you will see how stock the car actually is. You can easily build our engine off parts you could buy from eBay.

[-The Stig-]

Originally Posted by tyndago

No, as the car will still be considered light tuned. Right now we have many more stock parts than modified parts. If you look at the VTS sheet, you will see how stock the car actually is. You can easily build our engine off parts you could buy from eBay.

How many World Challenge race teams can say that?