Monday 9th November 2009

Toshio Suzuki's GT-R Nurburgring Lap

A ride on the wild side for PH with the GT-R 'Ring record-holder

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Perhaps I shouldn't have told Toshio Suzuki I wanted to be scared witless as the Nissan GT-R development team mechanics strapped me into the seat beside him, ready for a 'hot lap' of the Nurburgring.

Toshio Suzuki - GT-R legend

But the truth is I've sat next to racing drivers at other circuits on 'media experience' days, and while they're usually happy to play up for journalists with a bit of sideways action in the slower corners, it's usually pretty obvious they've been briefed not to actually try and kill or maim their passengers.

Perhaps they do things differently in Japan, but my lap of the old Nurburgring with Suzuki san felt more like an episode of that crazy Japanese TV show Endurance.

Evidently taking my instruction in deadly earnest, the former F1 driver and Nurburgring GT-R record-holder catapulted the car out of the pits and onto the track, then proceeded to assault my senses with sickening violence for the next seven and three quarter minutes.

Yep, that's right I've been 'subjected' to a lap of the 'Ring in a mind-bending 7 minutes 45 seconds - a mere 20secs slower than Suzuki san's GT-R lap record. (I didn't time it myself, but 7:45 was Suzuki san's post-lap estimate for a 'flyer' driven at the same pace - and the timer on the video seems to bear this out.)

While the ride was just the teensiest bit alarming at times (ahem!), it was utterly, mind-bendingly good fun. Well, you don't need me to tell you that...

So thank you Suzuki san, for the ride of a lifetime!

[ThirdShift]

That is an incredibly swift lap! the car looks super calm and composed as does Toshio! Great work!

[petrol_heads36]

Awesome, you lucky sod Chris!!!

[Mr Dave]

Somebody was looking a bit green!

[y2blade]

lucky boy

[havoc]

Impressive lap...especially with a victim passenger in the car!

[RobCrezz]

That looks awesome, and seriously rapid!

[nonuts]

good work Chris, looked like it might have been rather scary!

[Dr S]

Intersting amount of steering wheel action over the crest at Schwedenkreuz. That was pretty close to the limit methinks...

[nadirv8]

I thought the Merc-world experience was pretty cool, that must've been insane fun!

[martinhayes17]

Fantastic Lap, Lucky bd!

[Godzilla]

Absolutely unbe-fricking-lievable!

I like the quick "OK?" at 1:30. Like, "Are you going to hurl chunks all over my nice clean GT-R interior?"

That's why Suzuki-san gets better times than anyone else in a GT-R. He deliberately provokes the car's attitude for every single one of the 70-odd corners with his trademark "double feint" turn-in which forces the car into 4WD mode earlier than it otherwise would.

Simply staggering.

Did you have time to see if he was left foot braking Chris? I presume so.

[LCR270]

The in car shot certainly highlights what the playstation generation are missing out on, very active forces going on inside the cabin - especially the passenger ;-)

Saw you kept glancing at speedo on the finishing 'straight', what did it top out at along there?

[havoc]

LCR270 said:

Saw you kept glancing at speedo on the finishing 'straight'

The "what speed will I go through the gates of hell at?" look...

[joe_90]

Godzilla said:

Absolutely unbe-fricking-lievable!

I like the quick "OK?" at 1:30. Like, "Are you going to hurl chunks all over my nice clean GT-R interior?"

That's why Suzuki-san gets better times than anyone else in a GT-R. He deliberately provokes the car's attitude for every single one of the 70-odd corners with his trademark "double feint" turn-in which forces the car into 4WD mode earlier than it otherwise would.

Simply staggering.

Did you have time to see if he was left foot braking Chris? I presume so.

Ahh is that why he kind of stabs in, then turns..

[curveking]

He still has a 2 minutes to knock off to beat the 1983 record by Steffan Bellof in a Porsche 956. Steffan Bellof I hear you say who is he ? Well he set a time of 6 mins 11 seconds on the old track. The new track is Shorter !!! In the race he set a fastest lap time for any car ever raced at the Nurburgring. So watch this video and see where you could make up 2 minutes. It seems impossible doesn't it.

[dieseltaylor]

20.8.2009 The Radical SR8LM by posted a truly incredible 6 minutes 48 second laptime, a full eight seconds faster than the SR8. The Radical SR8 is the previous street-legal production vehicle that owns the record.

I thought this was a well-known fact!

[k wright]

You have more guts than I do getting in that car. Big difference between going fast and going so fast you could die!!

Stunning lap.

[nonuts]

dieseltaylor said:

20.8.2009 The Radical SR8LM by posted a truly incredible 6 minutes 48 second laptime, a full eight seconds faster than the SR8. The Radical SR8 is the previous street-legal production vehicle that owns the record.

I thought this was a well-known fact!

That's basically a race car for the road, this is a 4 seater coupe, I'm not really sure I see your point?

[hairykrishna]

curveking said:

He still has a 2 minutes to knock off to beat the 1983 record by Steffan Bellof in a Porsche 956. Steffan Bellof I hear you say who is he ? Well he set a time of 6 mins 11 seconds on the old track. The new track is Shorter !!! In the race he set a fastest lap time for any car ever raced at the Nurburgring.

He didn't set it in the race; it was in qualifying. A minute and a half faster than the lap in the video must have been insane though.

[anonymous-user]

Godzilla said:

Absolutely unbe-fricking-lievable!

I like the quick "OK?" at 1:30. Like, "Are you going to hurl chunks all over my nice clean GT-R interior?"

That's why Suzuki-san gets better times than anyone else in a GT-R. He deliberately provokes the car's attitude for every single one of the 70-odd corners with his trademark "double feint" turn-in which forces the car into 4WD mode earlier than it otherwise would.

Simply staggering.

Did you have time to see if he was left foot braking Chris? I presume so.

Strange driving style, if you have to drive like that to get a time out of the car then i don't think much for the diff strategy they have come up with. You can see what a heavy lump the car is from that footage, i feel sorry for the tyres.