CP MINE GT RACE in CP MINE Circuit



HONDA NSXs RUN WELL
& DODGE VIPER DEBUTS AT GTC

Round 5 CP MINE GT RACE
4 Oct. '97
Qualify Report




Qualifying for Round 5 of the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship was held October 3rd at the technical CP-Mine Circuit. The Honda NSXs, having the advantage of a mid-engine layout, gave impressive performances displaying the car's true ability. Takuya Kurosawa claimed the fastest lap of the day in the No.18 NSX and the No.100 NSX, driven by Akira Iida and Kunimitsu Takahashi, took third position on the grid only 0.15sec off the pole time. The other front row spot went to the No.8 TOYOTA SUPRA driven by Tom Kristensen and Naoki Nagasaka. All three of these cars broke the circuit record set last year by Ralf Schumacher in a McLaren F1 GTR.

Saturday's fans were given a special treat, as they were the first to witness the CHRYSLER DODGE VIPER in its GTC debut. The mighty power of this car, with its 8-liter V10 engine, guarantees top competitors a run for their money. However, like other cars new to a championship series, the team experienced some minor problems. The drivers remain optimistic, and are confident of the car's shakedown performance as could be ascertained from a comment by Hideshi Matsuda, "Our Viper is unbelievably quick in the straight thanks to its abundant torque." The championship points leader, Masami Kageyama, finished with a time placing him 8th on the grid.

In the GT300 class, Hiroki Katoh and Takahiro Fujita clocked the fastest time in their No.6 TOYOTA MR-2 just ahead of Seiichi Sodeyama and Hideyuki Tamamoto in a No.910 PORSCHE 993RSR. Both of these cars also broke the course record time for the GT300 class.
CP MINE GT RACE Qualify Certifications
Central Park MINE Circuit (3.2389Km)
10.4 Sat. | Wether: Fine | Course: Dry | SEIKO TIMING
PO. No. C-Pos. Driver Machine Time WH
1 18 GT500 1 T. Kurosawa* K. Yamamoto avex Dome Mugen NSX 1'24.605R
2 8 GT500 2 T. Kristensen* N. Nagasaka POWERCRAFT SUPRA 1'24.633R
3 100 GT500 3 K. Takahashi A. Iida* RAYBRIG NSX 1'24.715R
4 38 GT500 4 H. Takeuchi* K. Kaneishi Castrol CERUMO SUPRA 1'25.072
5 36 GT500 5 M. Krumm P. De la rosa* Castrol TOM'S SUPRA 1'25.245 60
6 37 GT500 6 M. Sekiya T. Suzuki* Castrol TOM'S SUPRA 1'25.431 20
7 510 GT500 7 B. Gachot* P. Belmondo RH CERUMO SUPRA 1'25.542
8 39 GT500 8 M. Kageyama* T. Tanigawa Denso SARD SUPRA GT 1'25.739 70
9 2 GT500 9 A. Suzuki* E. Comas ZEXEL SKYLINE 1'25.801 30
10 556 GT500 10 M. Kageyama* M. Kondoh KURE R33 1'25.840
11 3 GT500 11 M. Hasemi* T. Tanaka Unisia Jecs SKYLINE 1'25.997
12 13 GT500 12 M. Kinoshita* M. Fujimura Endless ADVAN GTR 1'26.321
13 34 GT500 13 K. Tsuchiya* H. Matsuda STP Taisan ADVAN VIPER 1'26.806
14 12 GT500 14 K. Hoshino* S. Motoyama Calsonic SKYLINE 1'27.129
15 30 GT500 15 Y. Yamada K. Mogi* SOGOKEIBI PORSCHE 1'28.873
16 88 GT500 16 T. Wada H. Wada* JLOC DIABLO GTR 1'29.854
17 6 GT300 1 H. Katoh* T. Fujita Wise Dunlop BP MR-2 1'31.571
18 910 GT300 2 S. Sodeyama H. Tamamoto* NINETEN PORSCHE 1'31.656
19 81 GT300 3 N. Ohyagi T. Kinoshita* Daishin SYLVIA 1'31.954
20 26 GT300 4 K. Suzuki M. Nitta* Taisan StarCard RSR 1'32.065 70
21 7 GT300 5 S. Yamaji* H. Matsumoto RE Amemiya SuperG RX7 1'32.256
22 21 GT300 6 M. Hitotsuyama F. Mizuno* Dunlop-BP-BMW 1'32.330
23 19 GT300 7 M. Orido H. Fukuyama* RS*R SYLVIA 1'32.634 80
24 71 GT300 8 K. Hoshino* M. Johnai Sigmatech 911 1'33.099
25 60 GT300 9 K. Satoh M. Tanaka* Wise Dunlop BP CAVALIER 1'33.168
26 91 GT300 10 M. Matsunaga* J. Mihara Buddy Club MR-2 1'33.398
27 72 GT300 11 M. Nagashima T. Asami* WAKO'S BMW M3 1'33.583
28 28 GT300 12 T. Ohta* M. Sugiyama TEAM FCJ FERRARI 1'33.602
29 70 GT300 13 Y. Ishibashi N. Komiya* Gaikokuya ADVAN Porsche 1'35.540
30 20 GT300 14 K. Takahashi* H. Suga AI AUTO GAB PORSCHE 1'35.918
31 16 GT300 15 M. Sekine* T. Fujishima YB BMW325coupe 1'37.217
32 5 GT500 17 E. Tajima* M. Goosens 5ZIGEN SUPRA 1'57.072
WH:Weight Handycap

Qualify Limit Time (130%) 1'49.987

'R' : Course Record (Old Record 1'24.847)