NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R WON TWO SUCCESSIVE VICTORIES

Round 3 Hi-Land GT CHAMPIONSHIP
28 June '98
Qualify Report

The green light for the race was given under cloudy skies. The HONDA NSX of Ryo Michigami lead from pole and set the pace early on. Comas, starting from the number 2 grid position in the No.23 SKYLINE GT-R, maintained his position off the line. Immediately behind him were the No.5 SUPRA of Goossens and the No.2 SKYLINE of Masahiko Kageyama, who ran a superior first lap moving up from seventh to fourth.

Michigami began to increase his lead over the pursuing pack of Comas, Goossens and Masahiko Kageyama, but misfortune targeted the NSXs in the early stages of the race. On lap 13, front runner Michigami took the No.16 NSX into the pits with transmission problems, while seventh running Tom Coronel pitted his No.64 HONDA to check a malfunctioning clutch. Neither of the cars returned to the track.

Then, on lap 26, the No.18 NSX of Kaneishi crashed after spinning out, forcing him to retire as well. These events left Comas on top, followed by Goossens, Masahiko Kageyama, Iida and Kurosawa in the No.12 GT-R. Comas drove steadily stronger increasing his lead lap by lap. With one-third of the race behind him, the Frenchman had created a gap of more than 17sec between himself and the second place Goossens. However, the only surviving NSX, the No.100 car driven by Iida, gradually moved up through the pack, 10th by the end of the first lap, fifth by lap 14 and third by lap 20. On lap 30, he was on the tail of Comas looking for a spot to overtake, and finding a hole on lap 30, he slipped by to take the lead.

No.2 ZEXEL SKYLINE

From here, Iida began to break away from the field. It is often said that a race is won in the pits, and that may well be the case for this race, as after all of the cars had made their routine stops for fuel, tyre and driver changes, it was the quick pit work of the NISMO team that put the No.23 SKYLINE, second driver Masami Kageyama, back on top. Following were Takahashi in the No.100 NSX, Aguri Suzuki in the No.2 GT-R and Fontana in the No.36 SUPRA.

Accidents dotted the second half of the race: the No.8 SUPRA of Tanaka hit the No.5 SUPRA driven by Hinoi and second running Takahashi hit the No.6 SUPRA of Takagi on lap 45. The latter two cars both left the track and came to rest in the gravelrunoff. This put Aguri Suzuki in the No.2 SKYLINE in second ahead of Fontana in the No.36 SUPRA. The SKYLINE GT-Rs held the one-two formation for the remainder of the race, with Fontana (SUPRA), Tanigawa (SUPRA) and Hoshino (SKYLINE) making up the final top five.

No.25 TSUCHIYA MR2

In the GT300 class, Shinichi Yamaji and Harukiko Matsumoto led the early stages in their MAZDA RX7, but the driver team of Keiichi Suzuki/Shingo Tachi proved a tougher match and claimed a victory with their TOYOTA MR2.

GT500 Class

GT300 Class