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2001-09-16 |
Race Review
No.64 Mobil 1 NSX
Honda NSX Wins Dramatic Race
The green light for the 63-lap race was given to 40 cars under fine blue skies and in front of a huge crowd of 44,000 spectators. Pole sitter Schwager made a smooth start off the line with the No.64 NSX to keep the lead followed by Couto in the No.30 McLaren F1 GTR, Takeuchi in the No.38 Supra and Ara in the No.25 Supra. But the sign of an eventful race to come was given in the opening lap. Kageyama took the No.23 Skyline GT-R into the NISMO pit straightaway before passing the line on the initial lap. The team decided to retire from the race due to engine problems. Schwager controlled the early stage, but the German driver, too, was forced to pit after only five laps because of a flat right rear tire. |
With the No.64 Honda going into the pits, Couto moved out in front. His second place start on the grid worked well to get him out in front and he ran consistently quicker to secure the lead. ("The feeling of the car is very good," said the Portuguese driver after the Saturday qualifying sessions. "I want to be at the center on the podium. This is a marvelous opportunity.") He kept the position until the routine stop on lap 30, but the No.30 McLaren car was not to complete the day without incident either. After receiving the wheel of the McLaren, Okada did a half-spin at the first corner just after leaving the pit when a back marker entered the corner at the same time. The No.25 Supra was also running well, but was forced to make an extra pit stop due to a flat tire... |
Hoshino, running fourth in the No.12 Skyline GT-R in the first half of the race, fought hard to hold off challenges by Hattori in the No.21 McLaren, Dufour in the No.39 Supra and Philippe in the No.18 Honda. An exciting battle among the four cars garnered the attention of all.
Accidents and spins occurred around the circuit throughout the race. Early on, Kaneishi banged up the front end of the No.8 NSX overtaking a back marker, This was followed by a sensational mid-track half-spin by Nakaya in the No.21 McLaren, which caused another incident as the No.39 car driven by Dufour ran into the McLaren. Both cars made it back to their pits for repairs, but the No.21 McLaren retired from the race and the No.39 Supra remained in the pit for some time in order to repair a starter component. Dumas waited in the cockpit of the car for nearly 45 minutes.
Philippe ran a consistent race with the No.18 NSX from the start, holding on fourth or fifth until the routine stop. When the car returned to the track, newcomer Treluyer got his first taste of GT racing. He overtook the No.100 NSX driven by Ito to move into third place and later rose to second when the leader, Tachikawa in the No.38 Supra, slowed down due to tires problem. Matsuda charged hard in the No.64 Honda after taking the wheel from Schwager and sent Treluyer and the No.18 NSX spinning into the gravel after bumping during his attempt to pass. Surely a depressing moment, the 2001 All-Japan F3 Champion ended his debut race in JGTC. After the No.30 McLaren and No.25 Supra dropped out of contention for the lead, it seemed that Tachikawa and the No.38 Supra would have a smooth drive to the checkered flag. But tire wear caused him to slowdown in the final laps of the race, and Michigami moved into the lead. Then, with only six laps to go, Michigami, too, was forced to pit for fuel. Matsuda and the No.64 NSX took the lead and held to the checker flag to end the eventful race.
"I don't think it was a perfect race" said Schwager afterwards. "After three laps, I had to pit to change a tire. I was so disappointed. But I pushed hard when I heard there was only a difference of 25 seconds between me and the leader. Matsuda did a good job as well. We were unlucky in the beginning and lucky in the end."
"I thought we could win easily at the start, but Schwager had to make an unexpected pit stop. Even so, he climbed back up to second place. So I was determined to push hard. I was afraid there wouldn't be enough fuel for the last laps., and the tears started flowing when I crossed the finish line," commented Matsuda.
No.19 WedsSport MR-S
Pole to Checkered Flag Victory for the No.19 Toyota MR-S
Pole sitter Minoru Tanaka kept the No.19 Toyota MR-S at the head of the GT300 pack early on, followed by Fukuyama in the No.26 Porsche, Tajima in the No.71 MR-S and Aoki in the No.81 Silvia. Not unlike the GT500 class the cars running in GT 300 had their share of accidents and incidents as well. The No.3 Silvia and No.31 MR-S contacted on the track just as the race got underway, and Nitta had to take the No.31 back the pit to repair damaged front bodywork and the windshield.
Aoki slipped by Tamjima (No.71 MR-S) and then held onto third until the routine stop. Fortune was not with the Daishin team though, as Oyagi touched another car in the last part of the race, sending the No.81 Silvia spinning at the first corner.
The two Porsches of Taisan Team ran well from the start in spite of a contact incident between the No.26 Porsche and a GT 500 car early on. Both the No.24 and No.26 cars stayed in the top group throughout the race. Fukuyama/Yogo finished second in the No.26 Porsche and Matsuda/Nishizawa finished the No.24 car in third.
The victory went to the No.19 MR-S driven by Tanaka and Goto, who presented a brilliant race dominating the class from start to finish.
"I think we ran an almost perfect race today," said Tanaka after the race. "We realized our simulation to give the wheel to Goto with a 15-second margin over the second-place team. We will be competing with the same handicap weight as the top teams from the next round."
"To tell you the truth, Tanaka was my instructor in a racing school for Formula Toyota when I started my carrier. So I'm filled with deep emotions now," commented Goto afterward.
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