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2001-05-03 |
Qualify Review
McLaren Sits Strong with Third!
The qualifying sessions for the second round of the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) were held at Fuji International Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture on May 3rd, a national holiday in Japan. Unique to the round, in addition to the not running on regular weekend dates, is the 500km distance (regular race distance of 250-300km), a first for the JGTC. Race strategy and pit work are vital factors of the event, and teams fought gallantly for the pole during the qualifying sessions.
The morning session was an amazing sight with numerous spins and incidents throughout the circuit. Erik Comas, commandeering the No.23 Skyline GT-R, displayed skillful driving over the slippery track and moved to the top of the timing monitor temporarily. But shortly thereafter Akira Iida took the No.100 Honda NSX through an impressive lap at 1'39.409" to claim the top position. As conditions improved in the latter part of the session several cars began improving lap times.
Andre Couto, winner of the Macao F3 in 2000, thrilled all with an impressive qualifying performance at the wheel of the No.30 McLaren F1 GTR (1'38.386"). He noted after his drive: " This is a first time for me. I have never driven under rainy conditions in the McLaren. But the race will be very long, 500km. So it doesn't matter if you are third, fifth or sixth on the grid. We just need to be very consistent. I hope to do well."
The fastest lap of the morning session was recorded by Hideki Noda driving the No.6 Toyota Supra (1'37.987"). He commented: " I drove my habitual self and pulled a good lap time. I'll be following team directions throughout the race."
In the GT300 class, the morning session found the Porsche 996 GT3Rs running well, especially the Dunlop tire users. Under wet conditions, the No.62 Porsche GT3R driven by Yasuhisa Fujiwara (1'46.428") and No.63 Porsche driven by Takamasa Nakagawa settled into first and second place early on. But the Porsches were not allowed leeway, with the No.7 Mazda RX7 driven by Haruhiko Matsumoto stepping in to upset the standings with a 1'46.554" to claim second. Close behind was Jukucho Sunako in the No.910 Porsche 996 GT3R.
The afternoon GT500 session was held under dry conditions with occasional rain. The fight for pole was essentially a battle between Supras--Wakisaka in the No.6 car and Tachikawa in No.38. But the crowd pleaser of the day was the superb driving of Andre Cooto in the No.30 McLaren F1 GTR, who lifted his car to the top of the monitor during the session.
The Portuguese driver commented: " I was scared that we would be worse under dry conditions than wet. But we were able to hold the same position. The car felt quite good, and today's feeling was my best so far in the McLaren. The team did a good job improving the car. My drive was more comfortable that ever before , so I could push hard and make good times."
The pole position went to Wakisaka in the No.6 Supra (1'24.354") followed by Tachikawa (1'24.470"), and Cooto sitting well in third with a 1'24.779". All three broke the circuit record for the GT 500 class. Satoshi Motoyama was the fastest Nissan driver, moving the No.12 Skyline into fifth with a lap time of 1'25.226." The fastest Honda driver was Sebastien Philippe (1'25.505").
The fastest car in the GT 300 class was the No.81 Nissan Silvia with Takayuki Aoki behind the wheel, claiming a fine time of 1'33.093". His comments: "We placed last, and then top. It's been a very eventful day for us (laughing). The car ran perfectly under the dry (conditions), but was the worst in the wet." |
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