Reliability and officials once again came into play for the RJN Motorsport Nissan GT-R in British GT, dampening off Jann Mardenborough’s birthday celebrations at Silverstone.
With the 3 hour endurance race worth 50% more points than the regular races, Jann and Alex went into the race knowing that a win for them could result in the championship with a race to go – and on Jann’s 21st birthday – depending on other results.
Two points separated the top three teams and despite having qualified in 9th behind both their major rivals, the race started well before the parade lap even got underway – the championship-leading car of David Ashburn was starting on pole but missed the pit lane exit deadline and had to start at the very back of the field. Within two laps of the start, Alex Buncombe had hustled the Nissan up to a strong 2nd place, but then the stewards had their say.
A number of the pro drivers were warned for exceeding track limits in the heat of the battle before time penalties and drive-throughs were issued – RJN on the receiving end of the latter despite Buncombe’s protestations of not being warned. However, for much of the middle stint of the race, the team were running 4th on track and looking to pick up useful points, especially with their rivals running poorly – or, in the case of Ashburn, retiring with electrical issues – until the gremlins reappeared.
Heading into the Brooklands corner – in front of the Nissan hospitality suite, no less – with the majority of the final stint left, the car lost a wheel speed sensor and, with it, all of the ABS. Combined with a failed traction control system, it was something of a handful to drive the remaining distance and the car was dragged home to 8th place.
Despite existing major rivals scoring minimal points, the RJN team remain third in the table due to good points scores for MTECH (Ferrari 458) and Ecurie Ecosse (BMW Z4) and the teams head to Donington Park on 30th September for a spectacular finale – five teams separated by 9.5 points at the top.
For Jann it was still a birthday to remember, however, being presented with a new Nissan Juke and an RJN Motorsport GT-R cake!
Images courtesy of Nissan and Red Square Images.
See more articles on Jann Mardenborough, RJN Motorsports, and Silverstone.
These cars have ABS! wheres the skill in that.
9/11 brought back some bad memories. I’m glad it’s past and we can move on to more positive things?!!
It’s nice to see everybody stay on topic…
Hahaha. I like irony.
Trust me this isn’t the first time that I your YOU or for that fact anyone in here has drifted off topic!!!! Just glad glad that you had enough class to point in out.
We need those cars in GT!
You mean cars with mechanical issues?
Well at least this has MECHANICAL ISSUES unlike the game :)
Weren’t they gremlins?
Happy Birthday Jann! Better luck next time. We wish you a great Birthday!
I’m just wondering, this Nissan GTR. Is it 4WD?
I’m just wondering how these two guys are spanking a field of regular professionals.
Is the car giving that advantage?
No, the RJN car is RWD – I asked Jann in an earlier interview: http://www.gtplanet.net/gt-academy-silverstone-post-race-interview/
Alex is from a motorsport family (his older brother Chris, his father Jonathan and his grandfather John are/were racing drivers) and has experience racetracks in Europe – anywhere they go he has track knowledge and can be quick right away. Jann… well you just have to see him driving (or be driven around Silverstone National by him!) – he is ludicrously talented.
I would like to know this too… if its a 4WD or FR….. :o btw I really thought the PRO’s would be real pros at driving with abs off :/ sad that this issue brougth them back. Good luck next time.
All the cars in the series have TCS and ABS – you can hear the TCS on the Z4s particularly fighting against the driver’s right foot. They can still drive the cars without the aids – as they demonstrated by doing so for an hour on Sunday – they’re just not on a level playing field any more.
I dont see problems with ABS and TC, its not like there using ASM, Skid recovery or Active steering now are they. Its real world physics, plus one lock up and its gravel trap, bald spotted tires and major time lose.
Can we have this GT-R version ingame please? ;)
Personally I’d like the cake…
So is it safe to say we should not expect new DLC for GT5 cos its been mighty quiet on that front
Most likely
Have faith Praggia! =)
Im really hating the engineering on JaMs (Jann) cars.
Gremlins sucked as cars too.
Hopefully it’s better next year for the team
Even though they had troubles they still got through it and came out in the standing very well. This is the first full year for the R35 GT-3 in full race format. The following year they’ll have better results from race to race. Good work RJN/Nissain for what you have done.
I greatly appreciate the fact that Jordan & the rest of the staff of GT Planet are able to report on things like this, but I think it really says something that we are getting more news GT Academy than on the actual Gran Turismo games. After all, none of this would be possible without the games.
Not blaming anyone here for lack of game news, except for PD and their frusturating habit of keeping everything a freaking secret. Open your mouth Kaz!
“except for PD and their frusturating habit of keeping everything a freaking secret. Open your mouth Kaz!”
THIS!
Oh, you guys would rather they talk about the production of the next game (entirely unlike other developers)? So what happens when there are the inevitable delays? And yes, other games get major delays too (apart from annual and biannual cash cows, they just get released regardless of quality), it’s just that other developers don’t publicise it. Hopefully Polyphony and Kaz keep their promise to not release information about development, I don’t want to hear people complain about delays again. That’s why GT5 was “broken” on release, as fans pressured Sony to release it.
On the subject of DLC, they could probably say whether they’re planning more, but I don’t find DLC an essential part of a game. The modern culture of milking the consumer with pointless / overpriced / too frequent DLC is a bad thing. I prefer not hearing anything, because the fewer packs Polyphony release the more likely it is that they’ll all be worth having rather than just shameful ripoffs. At least they weren’t creating DLC before release, like certain other games*…
*I wasn’t talking about other racing games (not sure if they do), I’m sure anyone who’s familiar with the state of modern gaming knows what games I’m referring to.
Who said anything about DLC. OP just observed how Jordan and staff doing great job keeping GTAcademy and any GT5 news for that matter, flowing while Kaz and PD are silent.
Muoniula may have hinted at, but never mentioned GT6
That’s why I covered both aspects of game news, as it was ambiguous as to which sort he was referring to. Is there any other sort of game news, apart from patches which are only ever revealed as they happen?
“Is there any other sort of game news, apart from patches which are only ever revealed as they happen?”
Every part of a game’s development is since the beginning of time.
/s
Forgot to tell you, mistersafeway, thanks for your two cents.
i want the entire field in the game so i could be part of RJN racing against his rivals on the same circuit.
Plagued with the same gremlins. Why is still a issue? Disable it if it continues to kill your drivers results. Funny Kaz’s GTR doesn’t have these problems.
+1. I know right? Should throw that GT-R away if the issues happen again, and build a new one like how Kaz has. It’s embarrassing when that accursed car gives problem…
*problems
Hope the Juke dont break down on his way home.
Not sure what the legal drinking age is in the UK but if he’s old enough I hope Jan had a chance to go out and enjoy a cold one or two with his friends.
Mechanical issues. Always
:(
Agreed this is starting to become a theme.
Im sorry that your tired of this news. It takes a great deal of effort from all the team here to get you this news and to get you the access to the team at Nissan to the level that you have. Recognition from Both a global games manufacturer and an international race team is not easy to come by. It’s a credit to Jordan and his team that he has managed to do so especially given he is on the other side of the planet.
Well done GT Planet
Well said, Kevin.
Thanks for your support, Kevin.
I couldn’t agree more Kevin, for every person who doesn’t appreciate this stuff there are probably a hundred who look forward to it.
(^…^) Bravo Kevin
he cant drive without ABS an TC……lol
haha this guy
Why not, It helps efficency, reliablilty and consistency. Games a game but even then, certain people are quicker with than without.
It’s not just down to the driver in this instance, the GT-R is designed to run with assists, it’s nowhere near as easy to drive without them. Also, these guys are driving them with upgrades and on the limit.
Wonde could OP drive that car tuned the way it is, without ABS or TC, and to JaMs (Jann) credit, he already drove an LMP2 car with no TCS… in the rain.
^ *Wonder*
plagued by penalties and mechanical issues I see…
/no comment, PD…
Don’t you wish we got those, per say you drive the car too hard on something, rather than crashing OR EVEN scrapping the wall will result in a huge red dob splatted on the middle portion of the car…
Things like this will make it a REAL DRIVING SIMULATOR (now watch Forza read this and implement it in a new update, something GT is unfamiliar about)
^……???……
Tired of this kind of news…
Er… don’t read it then…?
What exactly don’t you like, surely if you’re a fan of GT5 and racing games in general you’d be interested in the real thing? that or you’re just trolling.
Totally agree. Looks like GT5 is hitting stale mode. 98% of these headlines mean squat when it comes to game play or eligibility on who can participate in competitions. The fun factor has fizziled out. Catch you all when the next DLC is coming out-yea right.
no problem