Watch a Nissan GT-R make up 17 spots on the first lap

Mon, 28 Apr 2014

By now, enthusiasts should be plenty used to seeing the Nissan GT-R passing "lesser" vehicles on the road – and let's face it, that accounts for a good 99-percent of other cars out there. But what about on the racetrack, where GT racers are all homologated to the same general specifications and tuned with an eye toward fairer competition?

Turns out Godzilla is just as formidable an adversary on the track, as demonstrated by this latest video. Shot from inside the cabin of British driver Alex Buncombe's GT3 racer during the Blancpain Endurance Series race at Monza, the video shows what happens (or at least happened this time) when a well-driven GT-R is relegated to the back of the grid – even when that grid is populated by the likes of Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and McLaren.

Buncombe and his teammates in the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN ultimately finished the race in 13th place, but what's remarkable is that they started way back in 32nd, making up 17 places on the first lap alone. Scope out the frenetic action in the video below.

IS THIS THE BEST FIRST LAP EVER?

MONZA, Italy – Earlier this month, Nissan NISMO athlete Al Buncombe showed Porsche, Aston, Audi, Bentley, Mercedes, Lamborghini, BMW and Jaguar how to be the boss of the first lap of Monza.

In the opening race of 2014 Blanc Pain Endurance series, Buncombe climbed 17 places in the opening lap alone. He started the race way down the grid in 32nd out of 44 cars, but ended his second lap in 13th position, leaving the team in a great position.

This on board view catches all the action from Buncombe's point of view.

By Noah Joseph