Japanese
No.38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra
Hiroaki Ishiura
“I was only able to run about three or four laps in the morning’s the Official Practice. What’s more, since the tires were the slightly hard ones among the tires we had brought in, to be honest, I wasn’t able to run very well (wry laugh). I feel like today’s events were some of the rarest I have been through in my racing career.
However, yesterday (the 20th) we asked from the entrants’ side to be told what would happen if the Official Qualifying couldn’t be held, and an announcement was made informing us that if the Official Qualifying couldn’t be held, there was a possibility that the qualifying results would be determined by the results of the Official Practice. So, as I was running in the morning session, since we knew that the results of this day might determine our qualifying result, we knew that today’s results might not be insignificant, so we all worked in preparation for what this knowledge required. So, we can see today’s result as a reflection of that preparation by everyone.
Oyu-san really ran well when the time was right. Also, the engineers were able to get the car in good condition just at the time when the rain had let up considerably. So, you can say that everything went as planned and that is what gave us this good result. Since so many fans came out to for us today, I really feel sorry that they couldn’t see the qualifying as planned, but this means that we will be able to start tomorrow’s race from the top position, and that will surely be an advantage for us. No matter what the conditions will be, we will be able to start from a good position. And to make sure we don’t waste this chance, I want to work together with everyone on the team to run a good race with no mistakes.”
Toshiki Oyu
“I ran my time attacks from the Official Practice with the assumption that the Official Qualifying would be cancelled. I think that most of the other teams were in a position where they also assumed that as well and were thus able to make good time attacks at the right moments.
We certainly took plenty of time this season to rebuild our team from the bottom up, and I feel that has led to a number of things like a greater sense of stability. Now, I think the team has been able to take steps forward one at a time, so I have a very positive feeling about tomorrow’s race. Being able to start from the very front of the grid is certainly the first time in quite a while for CERUMO (their last pole position was at Motegi in the 2020 season). In the race, I want to see us stay calm and run all the way to the win.
This will be our first start from the front since I moved here to the TOYOTA camp, and since our approach from the Official Practice has succeeded in bringing us this result, I feel that the team has good flow going and is headed in the right direction. I want see us carry this flow all the way into the race.”
No.20 SHADE RACING GR86 GT
Katsuyuki Hiranaka
“I am simply very glad that we have gotten pole position. Because of yesterday’s rain, we got the announcement that the Official Practice may become the qualifying, so I focused on the way I was running with that in mind. Although we also wanted to work on the machine’s setup, what changed at that time was the condition of the tires. So I decided to keep running strongly until the conditions changed to make it hard to get good times, and I am glad that it seems that was the right decision. I had a good feeling, but there were things happening on the track that made it hard to get good times anymore …. but then came a moment when the timing was good, and I opened up for a time attack with the same feeling as before to get the top time. I think tomorrow’s race will be a great chance for us. When you are running in a group there are times when the water screen (spray) blocks your vision forward till you can’t see anything, and that means you also can’t even see the right braking point. When that happens you can’t run as you want, so that means there is a big advantage in starting in front. Since we finished 2nd here last year, I want to see us get the win this year. I believe that especially in wet conditions we have the potential to do that, so I want to focus firmly on doing just that. Although it is not good for the fans, I will be praying for rain (laughs).”
Eijiro Shimizu
“In today’s Official Practice, I was scheduled to run in the second half, and as soon as it was my turn to drive, the rain got stronger and the Red Flag was brought out a number of times, so I was only able to run about five laps. So, today was Hiranaka-san’s day. When we ran the GT300 class tests here at SUGO, it was also in wet conditions, and at that time (the car) felt good and we got a positive image. And because of that, Hiranaka-san got good times. Although there was no Official Qualifying today, I am very glad that we have pole position. I think that it will also be rain for the race, so we should have no problem with the pace, and since we have pole position, we have nothing to go for but the win. I have confidence! If the conditions are like today, I will be especially confident. Like Hiranaka-san said, although it won’t be good for the fans, I also want it to rain. However, even if it dries up, we will still have a chance, so by opening up the gap (over the field) and the like, I will do my best to get the win!”
| 4/13-14 | Round1 OKAYAMA | |
| 5/03-04 | Round2 FUJI | |
| 6/01-02 | Round3 SUZUKA | |
| 8/03-04 | Round4 FUJI | |
| 9/21-22 | Round6 SUGO | |
| 10/19-20 | Round7 AUTOPOLIS | |
| 11/02-03 | Round8 MOTEGI | |
| 12/07-08 | Round5 SUZUKA |