00-06-25 JAPAN GT FESTIVAL in MALAYSIA Race Review Ukyo and Michael in the Skyline GT-R Win the tropical GT Race The green signal of the commemorative race was given to start the tremendous 54-lap in front of a huge spectator turnout of over 30,000. Polesitter Wakisaka, driving the No.18 Honda NSX, started well and led into the first corner followed by Tsuchiya in the No.36 Supra, and Schwager in the No.64 NSX. Wakisaka in the No.18 NSX began to open a gap on the 2nd running Schwager. The race was eventful even in the opening laps : the No.32 Supra and the No.12 Skyline GT-R were bumped and the No.8 NSX, moving up to 4th place, was penalized for a false-start. In the confusion, Ukyo Katayama in the No.2 Skyline GT-R moved up to 5th place from 9th on the grid. When the cars made their routine stops for driver and tire changes and fuel, midway through the race, the NISMO pit crew displayed an energetic operation to put the No.2 Skyline back out on the track with Krumm behind the wheel in only 21sec. He was able to join the race in 2nd place and Comas as well took 3rd once the top runners had completed their stops. However, the French driver had to drive for many laps because Kageyama had been forced into the pit early due to the failure of his cool-suit. Around lap 35, top runner Kaneishi in the No.18 NSX began to lose speed because of his own cool-suit problems. Then Krumm increased his speed and begun to close on the leading No.18 Honda NSX. On lap 40, the German driver overtook Kaneishi to take the lead. Comas, as well, fought hard to catch up with the Honda. Bad luck struck the French driver when he Tried to overtake the No.18 NSX. His front tyre blew, forcing him into a second pit stop.... Krumm kept a good speed to maintain the lead until the flag. For Ukyo Katayama, this is the first victory in a GT race. Mazda RX-7 win a landslide victory In the GT 300 class, Pole sitters Tetsuya Yamano and Haruhiko Matsumoto in the No.7 Mazda RX-7, controlled the race from the start. The No.19 Toyota Celica driven by Takahiko Hara and Shigekazu Wakisaka, and the No.77 Subaru Impreza of Tatsuya Tanigawa and Katsuo Kobayashi were the principal challengers but both of them dropped down the field due to problems with the car and accident. WINNERS GT500 WINNER No.2 Castrol NISMO GTG-R Ukyo Katayama: "I'm very glad to win the race. I was aiming at the podium from the depths of my heart before coming here. I think with this victory, we were able to prove the potential of the Skyline GT-R and ourselves. I believed that Michael could do a good job if I managed well in the first half of the race." Michael Krumm: "Thanks to Ukyo, who managed to keep fifth place, and good pit work, I was able to join the race in second place. The car was fantastic right to the end of the race. This is a fantastic circuit. Even in the car, I could hear the encouragement of the spectators which made me very delighted" GT300 WINNER No.7 RE Amemiya MatsumotoKiyoshi RX7 Tetsuya Yamano: "It was not an easy victory. I tried to drive carefully and I did it. I'm very glad to have won the race." Haruhiko Matsumoto: "I feel honored to be awarded this victory. All of us, drivers and teams, tried hard to win this race as a body. So I'm very happy." GTƒCƒ“ƒTƒCƒhƒŒƒ|�[ƒg”Ç Report by GT INSIDE REPORT TEAM