2015.08.08

Two consecutive pole positions for the ZENT CERUMO RC F! Tachikawa extends his record for most poles

Round4 Fuji : Qualifying GT500 class

The qualifying for the FUJI GT 300km RACE, Round 4 of the 2015 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place at Fuji Speedway (Shizuoka Pref.) on Aug. 8th. In the GT500 class, the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F recorded the fastest times in both Q1 and Q2. In winning pole position, veteran Yuji Tachikawa, the man known as "the fastest at Fuji" and solo record holder of most poles in the GT500 class, extended that record to 21 PPs. In the GT300 class, Shinichi Takagi in the No. 55 ARTA CR-Z GT outran the FIA-GT3 teams to take the class pole.

 

Qualifying day dawned with clear blue skies, but as the day wore on clouds grew in number, and as the time for the start of the qualifying approached at 2:00, any patches of blue had disappeared and the sky was completely covered in clouds. That meant that neither the air temperature nor the track surface temperature had risen to the level that had been anticipated. When the scheduled time for the start of the GT500 Q1 session arrived at 14:45, the air temperature was 29 degrees C. and the track surface temperature was 36 degrees, making the conditions similar to those of Round 2 in May.
For the first six minutes of the Q1 period, all of the teams kept their cars waiting in the pit, and it was the No. 19 WedsSport ADVAN RC F (Yuhi Sekiguchi) that made the first move out onto the track, followed in succession by the No.1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda), the No. 24 D'station ADVAN GT-R (Daiki Sasaki) and the No. 64 Epson NSX CONCEPT-GT (Daisuke Nakajima). It wasn't until just six minutes remained in the session that all of the machines had finally left the pit.
The first to set a target time was the No. 15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT (Takashi Kogure), with a time of 1'29.108. This was soon topped by the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM'S RC F (Daisuke Ito) with a 1'29.036, and then by the No. 24 D'station ADVAN GT-R (Sasaki) with the first time to break the 1'29 barrier at 1' 28.963. Meanwhile, the winner of Round 2 at Fuji, the No. 1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Matsuda), was also driving hard for a good time, but with its load of 52 kg of handicap weight, a time around 10th place was all it could muster.
After that, as the session reached its climax, the No. 8 ARTA NSX CONCEPT-GT (Tomoki Nojiri) dipped under the 1'29 mark with a lap of 1'28.952 to move into the top spot on the time board. Then the No. 100 RAYBRIG NSX CONCEPT-GT (Naoki Yamamoto) ran a 1'29.183 to move up among the leaders. Despite a load of 54 kg of handicap weights, the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira) also managed to break into the top eight with a time of 1'29.225 to qualify for Q2.
In contrast, the No. 6 ENEOS SUSTINA RC F (Yuji Kunimoto) missed the Q2 cut by just 5/100th of a second. It would be Hiroaki Ishiura in the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F, however, who would put the cap on this dramatic session. With his last flying lap attempted, Ishiura managed to top the best time held at that point by the No. 8 ARTA NSX CONCEPT-GT by 23/1000th of a second and end the session atop the time board. This gave his teammate Yuji Tachikawa a chance to go for pole in Q2.
Among the ranking leaders carrying the larger weight handicaps, the No. 46 S Road MOLA GT-R (Masataka Yanagida) and No. 1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda), as well as the No. 37 KeePer TOM'S RC F (Ryo Hirakawa), all failed to qualify for Q2. Also bowing out after Q1 were the No. 17 KEIHIN NSX CONCEPT-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi), No. 64 Epson NSX CONCEPT-GT (Daisuke Nakajima) and the No. 19 WedsSport ADVAN RC F (Yuhi Sekiguchi).

 

 

After the GT300 class Q2, the GT500 class Q2 started at 3:35 in the afternoon. As always, the teams bided their time in the first half of the session waiting for the right moment to take to the track. With seven minutes remaining in the session, the No. 15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT (Oliver Turvey) was first to leave the pit, and soon the other cars were following suit. The first to begin its time attacks was the No. 15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT, recording a time of 1'29.080 that would stand as a target for the others. Next up was the No. 24 D'station ADVAN GT-R (Michael Krumm) and the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda), both bettering the time of the No. 15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT, before they too were topped by the LEXUS RC F cars. Yuji Tachikawa in the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F led the charge with a time of 1'28.712, and the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM'S RC F (James Rossiter) and the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD RC F (Kohei Hirate) followed suit by jumping into the top three.
Just as it began to look as if the session might end with a Lexus sweep, the No. 8 ARTA NSX CONCEPT-GT (Kosuke Matsuura) checked in with a fast 1'28.733 lap that left it a hair's breadth behind the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F. This sent a wave of excitement through the stands, but then Tachikawa put his foot down on his final flying lap in the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F and managed to drop his time to a decisive 1'28.579 and easily gave him pole position. This extended his own GT500 record for most poles to 21, while also running up his score of Fuji Speedway pole positions to nine. With the closest rival in Fuji poles being Juichi Wakisaka with three, Tachikawa proved once again that he is indeed "the fastest man at Fuji."
Meanwhile, by finishing 2nd in both Q1 and Q2, the No. 8 NSX CONCEPT-GT, which until now had experienced little success at Fuji, seemed to prove that there is an emerging change in the "balance of power" of the GT500 ranks. Will the RC F be able to maintain its home course strength in tomorrow's race? Will the Nissan GT-R cars stage a comeback? Or will the NSX CONCEPT-GT show that it is ready to mix in the title fight as the series enters its second half? The prospects look exciting for tomorrow's race, scheduled to start at 13:00.

 

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