2001-10-22 Race Preview Following a very eventful race at Twin Ring Motegi, the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship travels west for the season's final two rounds. The next race, Round 6, is to be held at Suzuka Circuit, the site of the Formula 1 World Championship Japanese Grand Prix, on October 26-28. The 5.85913km track includes two straight lines, a tight chicane and hairpin curve, several fast corners and an "S" curve. Many European drivers have commented that Suzuka is "one of the best circuits in the world." The previous race at Twin Ring Motegi proved most exciting for all, and was especially enjoyed by the duo of Dominik Schwager and Tsugio Matsuda and the No.64 Honda NSX of Mobil 1 NAKAJIMA RACING, who won the race, and second-place Hironori Takeuchi and Yuji Tachikawa in the No.38 Toyota Supra (TOYOTA TEAM CERUMO). With this result, Takeuchi and Tachikawa moved into the championship points lead, but will be carrying a heavy 100kg weight handicap at the next round in Suzuka. Even so, the car put in a creditable 1'59.942" during the GT-A test sessions held at Suzuka on October 1-2 and dominated the Suzuka 1000km race in August with a pole to finish victory. Guaranteed, the No.38 car is going into this race with confidence for a win. Ryo Michigami and Hidetoshi Mitsusada, in the No.1 Honda NSX entered by Mugen Dome Project, controlled the Twin Ring Motegi race until last stage, but ended the weekend without a single point due to running out of gasoline. They, too, participated in the Suzuka 1000km race in a match-up against the No.38 Supra, but could not challenge the leader's rhythm and finished second. It is certain that the Mugen Dome Project team will be out to vindicate their honor at Honda's home circuit in the upcoming JGTC round. The 2001 All-Japan F3 Champion, Benoit Treluyer, had already shown signs of his unusual talent in GT sharing the wheel of the No.18 NSX with Sebastien Philippe in Round 5. The team has decided to race with this driver lineup through the end of the 2001 season. The No.18 Honda NSX ran very well at the GT-A test session held at Suzuka, where Philippe clocked a record-breaking lap of 1'59.076" for the fastest lap of the sessions. Michael Krumm and Tetsuya Tanaka only managed a 10th place finish for the No.22 Skyline GT-R of NISMO at Motegi, and the points standing leaders after Round 4 dropped their ranking as a result. However, the NISMO team is known for its battling spirit and the accumulated experience of its veteran drivers including Erik Comas and Masami Kageyama, the driver pair of the other NISMO car (No.23). Comas claimed the third fastest lap at the Suzuka GTA test sessions (1'59.652") and have expressed their intention to support the No.22 car in its bid for the championship. The team will surely put on a good race, and all should be prepared to see just what one might expect of the that won back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999. Watch out for an amazing performance by the No.12 Skyline GT-R driven by Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Satoshi Motoyama as well. This pair gave an impressive performance with a third place podium at the previous round in Motegi. Sleepers that are looking to turn the tables and score podium finishes include the two McLaren F1 GTRs entered by TEAM TAKE ONE and HITOTSUYAMA RACING. Keep an eye out for the McLaren of TEAM TAKE ONE. These guys are looking to improve on their third place finish at this same circuit during the Suzuka 1000km race held in August. Last but by no means least are the driver teams of Juichi Wakisaka/Hideki Noda in the No.6 Supra (ESSO TOYOTA Team LeMans), Keiichi Tsuchiya/Katsutomo Kaneishi in the No.8 NSX (AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI), who clocked the second fastest time at the Suzuka GTA test session (1'59.362"), and Shinichi Yamaji/Wayne Gardner in the No.37 Supra (TOYOTA TEAM TOM'S). These teams still have a shot at the title and will be fighting hard for points in this very crucial round. The TEAM DAISHIN driver pair of Nobuyuki Oyagi and Takayuki Aoki had a good race in Motegi, finishing fourth in spite of being loaded down with an 80kg weight handicap. Another positive sign was Aoki claiming the second fastest time (2'11.396") at the GTA test session on October 1-2. Their main rivals for the championship, Tetsuya Yamano and Haruhiko Matsumoto in the Mazda RX-7 of RE AMEMIYA Racing, managed only an eighth place finish at Motegi, giving TEAM DAISHIN a six-point advantage over them. But the No.7 Mazda put in the fastest lap (2'11.346") during the GTA test session at Suzuka. Even though they will be carrying a 50kg weight handicap into the Suzuka event, having two rounds left, the championship is still well within their reach. The young driver pair of Yuji Ide and Masataka Yanagida of HASEMI MOTORSPORTS are also within reach of the championship, and under the direction of Masahiro Hasemi, ex-Nissan works driver, the ability to achieve this goal is at hand. The pair has raced well, obtaining two podium finishes in the No.3 Silvia this season. With contention for the title at hand, Hasemi ordered the two young men to fight hard. Morio Nitta/Shinichi Takagi and the No.31 Toyota MR-S (ARTA with A'PEX) are still in contention for the championship as well. These two highly experienced drivers have a car that's capable of giving what it takes to turn the points standings around and steal the championship away. And don't forget the Porsches. Among the GT3Rs, TEAM TAISAN ADVAN and 910 RACING have done well and improved throughout the year. The duo of Hideo Fukuyama and Atsushi Yogo in the No.26 Porsche, and Hideshi Matsuda and Kazuyuki Nishizawa in the No. 24 car finished second and third respectively at Motegi. Hisashi Wada and Jukucho Sunako in the No. 910 car of 910 Racing finished on the podium in Round 3 as well. Nothing has been settled in the GT300 class and the drivers are going into the final two rounds primed and ready for battle. The final two events promise to be thrilling dates for both teams and spectators as the championship decision draws close to the finale. BACK HOME Copyright 2001 JGTC.net. http://www.jgtc.net