THE JAPANESE CAR RUN BY NOVA RACE MADE ITS INTERNATIONAL GT OPEN DEBUT BY SCORING THE SECOND OVERALL PLACE WITH CRAIG DOLBY AND LORENZO BONTEMPELLI
Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 made a sensational debut this weekend in the International GT Open at Jerez.
The Japanese car run by Nova Race with JRM Group support, scored the GTS class win in Race 2 with 26-year-old Briton Craig Dolby and Lorenzo Bontempelli.
After having set the 11th time in Q1, finishing the Saturday race in eighth position despite a difficult pit-stop due to a tire changer problem, the Dolby-Bontempelli pair put together a spectacular recovery in Race 2.
Starting from the seventh row of the grid, the Italian moved up to eight as Dolby did a fantastic job from 34 seconds behind, by getting passed the AF Corse Ferrari 458 of Claudio Sdanewitsch in the final laps to win the GTS class, and claiming the second overall place behind the reigning champion former F1 Andrea Montermini.
“It was an incredible weekend. - Team Principal Elisa Maioli commented - The team was perfect and the drivers did a fantastic job indeed. I am very pleased of this result and now I’m looking forward for the next challenge”.
“What a result. Fantastic finish. Race one was tough with a bad left rear tyre for Craig’s stint. Race two has showed the GT-R has race winning pace on the sprint race format of GT Open and around technical circuits like Jerez. Fantastic job by Nova Race at only their second race with the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3” - said James Walters, Partnership Manager, JRM Group.
“I am very happy after a great result for Nova Race and Nissan. - said Dolby - Lorenzo and myself drove a great race and showed our true potential as a whole team with it being only the second race with the car. I am very excited to see what the future brings. I would like to say a special thank you to JRM and Nova Race for making the opportunity happen”.
“It was the first time that Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 used the Dunlop tyres. This is the reason why we were not at 100 per cent in the qualifying. The weekend was an escalation and we’re very satisfied” - added Bontempelli.
