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2002-06-23 |
Race Review
Honda NSX romps to decisive victory
in Malaysian heat
In the first-ever Championship round of the JGTC on foreign soil, the Mobil 1 Honda NSX-R took a convincing pole-to-win victory in the intense Malaysian summer heat. The car, driven by Ralph Firman and Tsugio Matsuda, romped to a decisive victory after 54 laps from a field of 39 starters.
In 2000 and also last year, the series visited Sepang International Circuit for two exhibition races. This year marks the first time the teams and drivers have battled for points at the world-renowned Formula 1 circuit.
With ambient temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius, the field got off to a roaring start in the mid-afternoon sun.
Within seconds of the start, two of the favorites, the No.18 Takata Dome NSX, and the similar No.100 Raybrig machine, spun and subsequently fell down the order.
This allowed the No.23 Castrol Pitwork GT-R No.22 Xanavi Nismo GT-Rs of Masami Kageyama/Erik Comas and Satoshi Motoyama/Michael Krumm to move up to 3rd and 4th positions from 8th and 11th respectively.
There were a number of retirements very early on in the race. The No.88 Nomad Diablo JGT-1 was the first casualty, going out on lap four. This was followed by the top runner in the GT 300 class; the No.62 Vemac R&D Dunlop 320R, which suffered from a stuck throttle, and went into the gravel trap on lap 5.
A safety car period ensued for two laps, though things were quickly underway again. As soon as racing resumed however, the No.23 Nismo GT-R punted the No.8 ARTA NSX off in turn one after the Honda driver made an optimistic move on the Nissan car. It soon rejoined, but had difficulty making up the lost ground, ending its race in sixth place.
The other Skyline GT-R, the No.12 Calsonic Skyline, also made impressive progress in the early stages, moving from 12th on the grid up to 6th place by lap 5. |
At the end of lap 8, the No.16 Mugen NSX came in to the pits with a burst left rear tire; a victim of the earlier incident between the No.23 Nismo machine and the ARTA NSX. In the rush to get the car back out quickly, one of the mechanicsleft the offending wheel standing in the pits (as against laying flat), which resulted in a stop-and-go penalty,.
By lap 10, the order had stabilized somewhat with the No.64 car well ahead of the pack. In second place was the No.36 Tokuhon Tom's Supra, driven by Takeshi Tsuchiya. This pair were able to set the pace, leading well clear of the following three Skylines which were running strongly in their last race with the current bodystyle and legendary RB26 engine.
In GT 300, the lead remained with the No.19 WedsSports MR-S, which had benefited from the Vemac's departure.
The No.37 ZENT Tom's Supra missed its braking point on lap 15, causing the No.76 Yellow Corn McLaren GTR to rear-end the Toyota and subsequently spin. It suffered only minor bodywork damage and soon rejoined, maintaining its previous pace.
The No.39 Denso Sard Supra made steady progress from its starting position of 18th on the grid, reaching 10th place by lap 18.
In Gt 300, the No. 77 Cusco Subaru Impreza went out of 5th place on the same lap after spinning off into the gravel.
The lead car was first to come in for its regular pitstop, on lap 21. They had been running on soft tires, and though there was enough fuel to go another ten laps, had to pit early. This put them down in seventh, though only until the regular order had re-established itself when the other front runners had come in for their stops.
The order at the halfway point was; the No.64 Mobil 1 NSX leading, followed by the No.36 Team Tom's Supra, 13.967 seconds back. Then the two Nismo cars, in third and fourth places, followed by the No.37 Team Tom's car and the No.12 Calsonic Skyline.
In the GT 300 Class, things had not changed much since the early stages, with the No.7 Re Amemiya MatsumotoKiyoshi Aspra RX7 keeping No.19 MR-S in second, followed by the No.31 ARTA A'PEX MR-S in third.
On lap 34, Wayne Gardner spun his Supra trying to get past the Team LeMans and Cerumo Supras after having to go up on the kerbs as he attempted to pass. This put the car down in fifth, but not for long as he pushed hard, eventually regaining his place and maintaining 2nd right to the flag.
Shortly after, on lap 37, was the biggest drama of the race. Paulo Montin slammed into the back of the No.23 Nismo car, then running in third. There was extensive damage to the rear of the car and with fuel spilling out, driver Masami Kageyama had to retire a lap later. the sister car, being driven by Michael Krumm, maintained its place and stayed in fourth till the flag.
By this time, the GT 300 cars had seen some changes, most notably the No.19 MR-S slipping down the order (after a couple of spins), though keeping a fairly consistent pace. The car would eventually end up in sixth place, gaining a valuable six points for its efforts this weekend.
In the later stages, the Calsonic Skyline wound up in the gravel with only six laps remaining. It rejoined after a trip to the pits, but was well out of the points.
The No.39 Team Sard Supra received a penalty for spinning at the entry to the pit lane and when the team didn't react quickly enough, the car was black-flagged. After great progress earlier on, the Supra ended the day in 21st place.
The No.64 Mobil 1 NSX made it a pole-to-flag victory, followed by the two Team Tom's Supras, the No.22 Nismo car, and the No.100 Raybrig and No.8 ARTA NSXs.
All in all, a seemingly easy win for the PIAA NAKAJIMA car; it setting and maintaining the pace throughout the entire event.
Ralph Firman ; I'm very happy. The car was good all day. We ran on soft tires in the first stint; that's why I came in early. There was enough fuel in the car to go another ten laps, but there was literally no rubber left on the tires when I came in. Tsugio also drove very well, keeping the pace. Everything went our way today; it's fantastic to get this result. I'm looking forward to racing at Fuji next month.
Tsugio Matsuda ; Well, I couldn't get my drinks bottle to work so I was exhausted by the end of my stint. The team did such a fantastic job with the car, I was able to reach my target. I'm extremely happy we have finished in top spot. In the last two races we didn't score any points, so this win is extra special.
Haruhiko Matsumoto ; The car was very good in qualifying so I thought we had a good chance of winning today, and we did!
Nobuteru Taniguchi ; Matsumoto-san went out first. He did a great job and I could relax throughout my stint. Sepang Circuit really suits our car so driving was really enjoyable. The track temperature was very high so I was worried about the tires but the Yokohamas stood up extremely well. We both had perfect runs today.
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