The fastest Super GT Motegi lap: Time For Tea?

There are pole laps and then there are pole laps, as the GT-R GT500 proves...

Hands up who first learnt about a Nissan GT-R on Gran Turismo? Thought so. And Super GT touring cars? Yep, us too. It also opened our eyes to all manner of Japanese tracks that our Western minds were ignorant to; we'd have seen Suzuka or Fuji on F1, but not in as many formats as GT did, and in later games we had Tsukuba and Honda's amazing Motegi complex that features here.

In fact, this video features all three: a Nissan GT-R, in Super GT spec, at Motegi. No regular video, either, but the fastest ever Super GT lap of Motegi. Ronnie Quintarelli's qualifying lap last weekend of 1:36.316 was a second faster than the Lexus he shared the front row with, and a tenth ahead of the old record.

The video is, as you might expect, an incredible watch. Don't forget that, despite now using four-cylinder engines, GT500 cars are lighter and more powerful than GT3 cars - with 600hp and a c. 1,000kg kerbweight. The way this GT-R accelerates and, just as amazingly, brakes, is mind-boggling, the car seemingly controlled by forces beyond anything as mundane as aerodynamics. And, as is always the way with these pesky pro drivers, Quintarelli makes it all look fantastically easy.

In a result that won't surprise anybody, the Italian and his teammate Tsugio Matsuda won the race at Motegi; they finished the season two points behind championship winners Ryo Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy. A few more drives like that should see to a title victory next year!