There has been surprisingly little news about the Brass Monkey Nissan GT-R race team competing in the World Challenge series – party because other than their introduction, the cars haven't generated much excitement themselves. Sure the GT-R is an amazing sports car, even holding a Nürburgring record at one point, but so far the two car effort has been relegated to the back of the pack in the lead GT class.
The GT Class is most certainly where the GT-R belongs, competing alongside Corvettes, Vipers and Porsches – as well as the awesomely capable Volvo S60s – but the development process is a slow one. This weekend the team ran both cars, with a best finish in the first race of a two race weekend being Tony Rivera in the No. 97 car in 10th. While in the second race Rivera managed 12th. Sadly neither finish was on the lead lap, but the potential is obvious with Rivera taking the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start award for moving up two positions on lap one in race one, while in race two he managed to gain five positions off the start.
We had a chance to get up close to the cars during the two-race weekend at Mosport International Raceway and were surprised to see differing levels of development with a carbon fiber trunk lid being used to save weight, while inside much of the factory dash remains intact. Fans of the GT-R and of motorsports will want to check out our gallery at the link below.
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Brass Monkey Nissan GT-Rs: Up Close at Mosport on AutoGuide.com
