Mark’s Time Attack R35 GT-R!

By posted 16th July 2010

At the start of 2010, Mark Hansen came to Mercury with his stock standard Nissan R35 GT-R, looking to modify it to pursue his newfound interest in Time Attack. Mark has now become a very loyal customer of Mercury’s with the team having undertaken several upgrades to his GT-R – not only to the engine, but also to the brake, suspension and body departments.

From the extensive ‘bolt-on’ upgrades, the highest power figure achieved-to-date has been 637hp at all 4 wheels! However, whilst this is a fantastic feat by no ends, it’s also crucial to match this power figure with other performance areas, including weight reduction to ensure lap time improvement. Replacing OEM body parts and panels with lighter carbon fibre items is a sure way to do just that with Mark’s GT-R having had the front bar and rear wing replaced already, plus newly arrived front guards, mirrors and hood (all in carbon) are about to be installed.

The carbon rear wing is an Aeromotions R2.TWO dynamic wing and features a unique control system to make it ‘active’. This means that the wing moves automatically according to both throttle and brake pressure. In simple terms, the wing will tilt forward under braking, and then backward under acceleration; this ensures the perfect amount of downforce at all times, to aid in improving track times.

Most of the modifications were performed to the GT-R in progressive stages – primarily to monitor the improvement gained in Mark’s lap times, after the completion of each stage.

To date, for the various Queensland Raceway tracks, Mark has netted the following PB’s, which are very competitive times:

  • “Sprint” Track: 0:53.4
  • “Clubman” Track: 0:56.2
  • “National” Track: 1:17.

 

Modifications and Upgrades performed by the Mercury Motorsport team to Mark’s R35 GT-R include:

ENGINE:

  • Harman motive intakes and intercooler piping
  • AMS intercooler
  • Upgraded turbo internals
  • Full Mercury Motorsport custom-fabricated twin 3.5-inch dump pipes and 4-inch exhaust
  • Injector Dynamics 1000cc Injectors
  • Custom Mercury Motorsport-fabricated surge tank – incorporating 2 x Bosch 044 fuel pumps, 2.7 litre surge tank and 2x in-tank Walbro pumps
  • PWR Radiator
  • Upgraded oil pan
  • Willall front mount transmission cooler

SUSPENSION:

  • Custom Murray Coote Australia fully adjustable suspension kit
  • Custom front upper control arms
  • Whiteline front and rear sway bars

BODY:banner halloffame Mark’s Time Attack R35 GT R!

  • Aeromotions R2.TWO rear wing
  • Dry carbon front bar with brake ducts
  • Dry carbon doors
  • Dry carbon hood
  • Carbon mirrors

INTERIOR:

  • OMP HTE carbon seat
  • Totally gutted except for dash

BRAKES:

  • Willall brake cooling kit
  • AP Racing disc rotors
  • Standard Brembo calipers
  • Endless brake pads
  • Braided brake lines

 

We are about to embark on the next stage with Mark’s GT-R, which involves fitment of all the carbon panels plus our fabricator, Luke, custom-making and fitting a full Chrome-moly roll-cage for more rigidity and safety. With this car improving each meet, we are looking forward to supporting Mark in the 2011 World Time Attack Challenge series!

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