Amid frigid temperatures, the opening session of the 2005 SUPER GT season got off to a roaring start at Okayama International Circuit on Friday, March 25th.

Forty four machines took to the track as 18 GT 500 and 26 GT300 cars battled each other in the first true test of the year where competitors fought in real race conditions.

New teams, new drivers, and a host of new liveries and color schemes greeted the fans gathered at the famous circuit in southwestern Japan. Surprisingly cold for this time of year, overnight snow in the area meant it was close to freezing as the first of Friday's two 90-minute sessions got underway at 9:00am.

Though the order changed throughout the morning session, it was Erik Comas in the #3 G'ZOX HASEMI Z who obliterated the rest of the field in the dying minutes, his black and orange machine taking a whopping two and a half seconds off its already quickest time to post a 1:31.436 at the flag. A remarkable result considering the next best car was 1.455 seconds in arrears.

Others too showed a dramatic improvement as the track dried out in the dying minutes. The 2nd-placed #8 ARTA NSX entry was the only other car under the 1 minute 33-second barrier. This was followed closely by the championship-defending #1 Xanavi NISMO 350Z machine in third.

In GT300, it was the Wedsport Celica that stormed to the top of the time sheets ahead of the #31 APEXERA MR-S, followed by the #13 ENDLESS SPORTS 350 Z. Running in fourth, the #77 CUSCO ADVAN Subaru Impreza also impressed with its rapid time around the 3.703 kilometer track. There were new faces in the cockpits of a number of cars - and even a couple of new teams. The MOLA outfit got its first run in front of its peers when their two Nissan 350 Z challengers (#46, #47) took to the track. Also new for the 2005 season is the #27 direxiv motorsports Vemac 320R, taking an amazing 5th in the class by the end of the morning. The British-built machine is now represented by a total of four entries in the series and if this morning's showing is anything to go by; the sleek machine is bound for some strong results this season. Another new car on the scene, the A&S Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6 got through the session ahead of one of its rivals in what is essentially the car's shakedown. A finish would be a great result on the car's debut this Sunday.

Between the sessions the snow began to fall...and fall....and fall!
By 1pm, it was near blizzard-like conditions; with visibility down to as little as a couple of hundred meters before becoming sunny again prior to the second session getting underway.

Although it started out clear, the day's second session featured a wildly changing scene in terms of weather. One moment it was bright, the next gray; and moments later, it was snowing heavily.

As a result, times in the first 60 minutes of the session, where both classes ran together, were a bit of a lottery. Cars changed from slicks to intermediates and back to slicks again in a matter of only a few minutes. This looked particularly good for the #21 Nomad Ferrari F550 as it stayed 2nd behind the leading #25 ECLIPSE ADVAN Supra, while third place was occupied by the #38 ZENT Cerumo Supra. The JLOC Lamborghini Murcielago RG-1 posted the tenth-quickest time.

GT300 also threw up a few surprises. The Verno Tokai Dream 28 squad's new Vemac 320 R was second behind the #13 Team Endless 350 Z, while the #77 CUSCO ADVAN Subaru Impreza was third ahead of the new #47 MOLA-run 350 Z. Also putting in an impressive showing was the #913 Corvette C6, placing 13th in class out of 22 cars on track.

When it really mattered, in the two 15-minute sessions at the end of the 90 minutes, the order had come back to resemble something more familiar as both classes ran separately to set their representative times for the day.

GT300 ran first, and it was the #11 GPH Ferrari Dunlop F360 Modena that led the way, its 1:33.922 two tenths clear of its closest rival, the #7 Re: Amemiya RX-7. Continuing its strong showing was the #13 ENDLESS ADVAN 350 Z, followed by the #10 Mach-Go Ferrari Dunlop F360 Modena, sister car to the class leaders.
Fifth place went to the #111 ARKTECH with Team LeyJun Porsche 968GT4, ahead of the Verno Tokai Dream 28 Vemac 320 R.

In GT500, it was a familiar sight as a Nissan 350 Z stood on top with multiple-champion Michael Krumm taking the #22 car around the track in a best time of 1:25.477, some seven tenths ahead of the 2nd-placed #38 ZENT SUPRA. The sister NISMO car was third, while the #25 Eclipse ADVAN SUPRA came fourth ahead of three more SUPRAS, led by the #36 TEAM TOM'S machine.

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