[Blow Dog]

OK guys, putting aside loyalty inspired prejudices (which always provoke frustratingly blinkered points of view), I think the above article probably did come from Porsche, lately they've been making quite a few controversial public statements of late (Porsche v Ken Livingstone anyone??).

For the GTR to only just break the 8min mark on the ring is a fairly substantial claim to make and I'm not inclined to believe it. As somebody has already said, other publications have tested this car against the clock and it's always blown away the competition. There have been chasms between times when tested against other rivals, so frankly, if Porsche are getting shite times then chances are they need to get someone other than the mechanic to do official Porsche sanctioned lap times!!

However, Nissan are known for being secretive and almost sneaky. I wouldn't run it past them to take advantage of any given situation. Lightened? Different tyres? Increased boost? I remember when I was at the N24 race with a few friends and there was a Nissan Skyline GTR Nur there at the ring - rumours abound that it was there to improve its fabled Ring time. When we approached the cars, we were literally shoo'd away and shunned from getting close to the vehicle. They were especially secretive about what was in the boot. So no, I wouldn't run it past them.