2015.05.03

Rd.2 Winners Press Conference

Round2 Fuji Speedway : Winners Press Conference

No.1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R

 

This time, car No. 12 had been fast from the qualifying, and car No. 36 had been fast from this morning’s practice, so I anticipated that the race would be a contest between the three of us. Ronnie [Quintarelli] got a good start but had a hard time pulling away from car No. 12, but his pace was good and I had faith that without any mistakes we could keep the lead. In the routine pit stop, the team did their jobs perfectly and the Michelin tires kept their performance to the end. So, I’m grateful to our team and to the Michelin people.

 

In the morning practice we got the top time, but with used tires we had no margin of advantage. And, at the start, with a full tank of fuel, it was all I could do just to hold off car No. 12. But, in the restart after the Safety Car came out, the car was a bit lighter and felt good and I was able to finish my stint without losing pace near the end. On the final stint my tires weren’t warmed up and they lacked grip, but by pushing as best I could I was able to get out in front of car No. 12 when it came out of the pit lane. I am very happy that we won.

 

 

 

No.10 GAINER TANAX GT-R

 

This has been a happy day for me. It’s because this is our first win since I came to the GAINER team and because this is our first win with the GT-R machine that we have started using this season. Part way through, I had picked up a lot of rubber shavings from the track, but it turned out to be no problem. In fact, it even felt like it improved the down-force (laughs). I want to thank my teammates [Katsumasa] Chiyo and [Ryuichiro] Tomita too. Of course I am also grateful to everyone on the team and at Dunlop for their perfect support.

 

Today there were 1-2 finishes for the GT-R in both the GT300 and GT500 races. For the team as well, having both our cars (#10 and #11) get podium finishes was a fantastic result. I knew that the pace of the No. 3 car chasing us was fast, but by controlling our pace so it couldn’t catch up, and with good luck in terms of traffic, we were able to win. I’m very pleased with this win.

 

Although I didn’t have a chance to run in the race, I did get to feel what a strong pair of drivers and high level of team strength we have. Since I will be driving in place of [Katsumasa] Chiyo in the next round in Thailand, I want to help make the car that Chiyo-san and Couto-san have made even faster and drive a good race so I can be at the press conference after that race too.

* Third driver Ryuichiro Tomita did not compete in the race.

 

Page Top