2014.11.16

GT300 class sees GAINER DIXEL SLS runs from pole to win! GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 takes season title with 3rd-place finish

Round8 Twin Ring Motegi : Race GT300

The Motegi GT 250km Race, Round 8 (final round) of the 2014 AUTOBACS SUPER GT was held at the Twin Ring Motegi on November 16. In the GT500 class race, the pole-starting No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R driven by Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli scored its second win of the season in a runaway victory and thus clinched the Drivers Championship title as well. In the GT300 class, the race was won by the No. 11 GAINER DIXCEL SLS driven by Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Bjorn Wirdheim. The GT300 class Drivers Championship title went to the No. 4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 drivers Nobuteru Taniguchi and Tatsuya Kataoka by fighting to the end to finish 3rd.

 

 

 

With repairs completed on the No. 60 TWS LM corsa BMW Z4 that had been unable to run in the free practice and had only managed one lap in the Circuit Safari run, all 23 machines of the GT300 class were on the grid for the start.
When the green signal came on and the pack rapidly accelerated down the straight, it was of course the pole-starting No.11 GAINER DIXCEL SLS (Bjorn Wirdheim) that was first to enter the first turn. Then, on the fourth turn the No. 4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 (Tatsuya Kataoka) passed the No. 31 OGT Panasonic PRIUS (Morio Nitta) and moved into 2nd position.
By the end of the first lap, the No.11 GAINER DIXCEL SLS had already managed to open up a gap of 1.2 seconds over the field, after which it would continue to increase its lead. Meanwhile, the battle for 2nd place between the No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 and the No. 31 OGT Panasonic PRIUS grew increasing intense with each lap. Pushing hard with determination to regain the position he had just lost, Nitta was blocked time and again by Kataoka’s tight guard. Of the two, the first to make its routine pit stop was the No. 31 OGT Panasonic PRIUS. Foregoing a tire change, the PRIUS was quickly back in the race with Koki Saga at the wheel. In the meantime, Kataoka had to contend with a fast-closing No. 10 GAINER Rn-SPORTS SLS (Hideki Yamauchi), which had climbed from a 10th-place grid position to 3rd place by the 16th lap. Things grew even more tense when Richard Lyons in the No. 21 Audi R8 LMS ultra joined in to make it a 3-way brawl. Eventually, Lyons passed first Yamauchi on lap 24 and then Kataoka on lap 26.
From roughly the mid-point in the race, the No. 4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 made its routine pit stop on the 27th lap. At first the team had been considering a no-tire-change strategy, but the decision was made that that would be too demanding, so they went with a change of all four tires. While the No. 31 OGT Panasonic PRIUS had lost only 24 seconds in the pit stop, it took the No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 39seconds to complete the stop. This allowed Koki Saga to get back into the race ahead of Nobuteru Taniguchi and recover the place they had lost earlier.

 

 

While this fierce competition unfolded far to its rear, No. 11 GAINER DIXCEL SLS have managed to build up a lead of more than 30 seconds. With all of the margin it needed, No. 11 returned for its routine stop on the 30th lap and changed all four tires. Even though that took 41 seconds, the No. 31 OGT Panasonic PRIUS and the No. 4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 were still far to its rear when Katsuyuki Hiranaka rejoined the race at the wheel of car No. 11. Stretching out its first stint to the limit before its driver change, the No. 21 Audi R8 LMS ultra assumed the lead for about three laps. When it finally made its pit stop and changed drivers to Tomonobu Fujii, the decision was made to only change the rear tires, which enabled Fujii to join the race now in 4th position.
The leading No. 11 GAINER DIXCEL SLS and the 2nd-place No. 31 OGT Panasonic PRIU were now running alone and unchallenged. This turned the eyes of the spectators to the battle for 3rd place between the No. 4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 and the No. 21 Audi R8 LMS ultra. If Fujii (No. 21) were to pass Taniguchi in car No. 4, the chance of the No. 4 team winning the Drivers Championship title would be lost. Knowing this, Taniguchi fought desperately to defend his position. But, Fujii was also riding with only a rear-wheel tire change, so there was a limit to how hard he could push. Ironically, the frequent intrusion of GT500 class cars would also play in Taniguchi’s favor, because he could use them to help widen his gap over Fujii, if only slightly.
As the only car that was able to complete the full 55 laps without ever being challenged from behind, the No. 11 GAINER DIXCEL SLS ran on to its first win of the season. At the checkered, the No. 11 GAINER enjoyed a 30-second lead on the end of a perfect win from pole that also put it one point ahead of No. 4 GOODSMILE & Team UKYO in the Team Championship race as well. However, by defending 3rd place to the end, the No. 4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU Z4 driver pair of Taniguchi and Kataoka were able to win the Drivers Championship. This was the second driver’s title for both, being the first title in three years for Taniguchi and the first in five years for Kataoka.

 

 

 

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