Former GT Academy ace Jann Mardenborough enjoyed a strong debut race in the Super GT GT500 class, racing to an eighth place finish in the Calsonic IMPUL GT-R with Hironobu Yasuda.

Mardenborough started the race and eventually worked his way through to become the leading GT500 GT-R on track when he passed JP de Oliveira late in his stint.

In the race, the debutante actually set the fastest GT-R lap of any of the Nissan drivers in the field.

“I asked Hoshino-san whether I could start the race and he agreed. It was a really cool feeling to for my first race in GT500 to be able to take the start,” Mardenborough said.

“I managed to get up to seventh in my stint and was the leading GT-R which was pretty cool.

“I handed over to my teammate Hiro but not long after our pit stop he reported we had a small problem with the car so we ended up in eighth place as the second Nissan.

“We’ll be working hard with the team and NISMO before the next round at Fuji to try to improve the car because our competitors are very strong at the moment.”

“I really enjoyed my first race in GT500. My first stint was awesome and picking your moments through the traffic is always exciting.

“It is difficult to overtake but it was good fun. I can’t wait to get back in the car soon – we have a test coming up very soon.”

Source. Nissan