yes.. like joel said its definitely not normal. Especially not in that period of time.
R33's (and maybe R32 also?) tend to have the annoying habbit of "everything is fine, everything is fine, everything is fine, oh shit, its overheating like buggery!".. when the gauge suddenly shoots up. When it gets anywhere above halfway there is most likely some problem with your cooling system, as that gauge not very accurate.
First of all I'd flush out your radiator and engine, and see whether any crap comes out, then replace it with coolant (bleeding system as per above to prevent air bubbles). Also check radiator cap - stuffed or incorrectly seated can cause heat problems, and its actually quite important to keep the pressure of the whole system constant.
Failing that take it to a specialist to get the water pump looked at and/or anything else they might be able to determine is causing the problem.