The 8th round of the FIA GT1 World Championship was held from October 23rd to 24th at the Navarra Circuit in northwestern Spain. As it is a new track only constructed in June of this year, all teams would need some time to get used to the circuit.

The Navarra Circuit features slow corners requiring a drop to 2nd gear as well as a reverse bank, and each has a very short braking zone, so it's not a course where drivers can let down their guard. For the GT-R which excels at mid-to-high speed corners, the race at this circuit was predicted to be a very difficult battle.

Japan's Seiji Ara in the #4 GT-R said, "on Thursday I walked a lap on the course to learn the corners. The layout is even trickier than it looks. In qualifying my suspension setup didn't match the track."

The #23 GT-R of Krumm/Dumbreck, 7th in the driver�fs championship, were another combo who had some trouble adapting to this track. In qualifying they weren't able to warm up their tyres the way they had wanted, and found themselves suddenly lacking sufficient grip. They were knocked out in the first qualifying session.

On the other hand, Karl Wendlinger in the #3 Swiss Racing Team entry showed good form and moved on to the second session. Driving in the second qualifier, Moser secured the 16th place qualifying spot.

However, the English veteran combo of Hughes/Campbell-Walter, having studied low-speed track strategies in prior testing in France, were able to take 7th in the qualifier, the highest position among the GT-Rs.

At the Nissan booth inside the paddock, the just announced Nissan GT-R 2011 model was on early display. On the final day Sunday, dozens of GT-R owners from all over Spain gathered to cheer on the four GT-Rs in the race.

As the schedule was shortened to two days from the usual three for this round, the Qualifying Race was held on Sunday morning. Starting from 7th on the grid, the #22 GT-R successfully passed two cars to finish in 5th.

The #23 GT-R of Sumo Power GT wasn't finished riding the wave of bad luck that they had experienced in the previous days. The Qualifying Race saw them suffer further, as despite a 17th place start leading to an eventual 8th position, an empty gas tank one lap from the chequered flag led to a complete stop.

The Swiss Racing Team pairing of Ara/Nilsson (on the right in the photograph) in the #4 GT-R finished in 13th place, while Wendlinger/Moser in the #3 car finished next in 14th. Both would be starting the Championship Race from the middle of the pack.

This time Hughes and Campbell-Walter would see a continuation of their excellent showing right into the Championship Race. With a fantastic start by Campbell-Walter, they quickly jumped from 5th to 2nd place.

In contrast, the 2 cars of the Swiss Racing Team would be driven back in the line of battle during the opening lap. The confusion that often comes with starting in the middle of the grid led both cars to make contact with surrounding vehicles, leading to a trip to the pit where both decided to call it quits.

Dumbreck in the #23 GT-R was able to break free from the chaos off the start line, but soon made contact with the car in front him as it spun due to some hard braking. This led to damage to the tyres and steering system, and a subsequent trip to the pit. While he did return once to the course, another trip to the pit soon followed, along with the decision to end the race there.

The #22 GT-R, which had managed to jump into 2nd place, showed caution as heavy rainy occasionally fell on the track, eventually allowing two vehicles to lead at the front. The car made its pit stop while running third, and the car was handed over to Hughes.

In the latter half of the race, many contenders sought to pass the #22 car, but Hughes managed to hold the position for the entirety of his stint, giving them 3rd place on the podium after the chequered flag. Sumo Power GT continues to hold 3rd in the overall rankings as they head to the final two races in the South American round.