Round 2 of SUPER GT kicked off at Okayama International Circuit on Sunday, April 4th. After qualifying in third place, the CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (#12 Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli) maintained its position throughout the first half of the race, returning to the track after the driver switch in fourth before battling hard for third in the latter stages and finally ending in fourth position.
Under blue skies and a temperature of 60 degrees, the race got underway in perfect spring-like conditions. Concerns about an accident at the start were unfounded and the GT500 pack got away cleanly. However, on the tenth lap there were several incidents of contact and spins around the track. While those behind changed positions, the CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R maintained its position. Driver Quintarelli kept out of any of the trouble unfolding around him, staying in touch with the car ahead and running down the laps consistently.
On the 42nd lap Quintarelli came in, handing the car over to teammate Matsuda. The GT-R returned to the track in eighth place, and after all stops had been made, rose back up to fourth. Matsuda initially gave chase to the #38 SC430, keeping a gap of about one second and the chance of trading places with his rival. Being a generally narrow track with a multitude of accelerating and decelerating points, Okayama International offers few opportunities for passing and while Matsuda waited patiently to make his move, the #38 SC430 made its escape. In the race’s final stages, he came upon the #1 SC430, then running third behind the #38 machine, but never had the chance to make a pass and came home a strong fourth and the best of the NISSAN GT-Rs.
The MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#23 Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer) qualified seventh and moved up one position on the race’s first lap. Motoyama ran in the middle of a big group moving between 6th and 9th position until lap 15 when he was hit in the rear by the #32 HSV-010 and forced off track. Unable to rejoin the race, he retired on the spot. The #32 was subsequently penalized for the incident.
Winners of the season-opening last race, the HIS ADVAN KONDO GT-R (#24 Joao Paolo de Oliveira/Hironobu Yasuda) was running with 40kgs of handicap weight. Qualifying 12th, Oliveira took the start and after battling with other cars as high as 9th at one point, but ultimately turning over to Yasuda in 11th. During the second half of the event, Yasuda acquitted himself well in 11th position until the car slowed with technical issues on the final lap and ended up 12th.
In the GT300 Class the winner was was the Up Start Yokohama Advan MOLA Z driven by Naoki Yokomizo and Tsubasa Abe. The Up Start Mola Z started from the second position on the grid but the Lamborghini RG-3, which started on the pole, dropped from contention when they experienced trouble in the pits. The RX-7 that took over the lead developed mechanical trouble and crashed out of the race. After the rubble cleared, the Up Start MOLA Z maintained a strong and steady pace to seal the victory.
The next round of the Super GT series takes place May 1 and 2 at Fuji International Speedway.
