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2002-04-13 |
Qualify Review
Firman and Honda NSX Take First GT500 Pole
- Six Cars in GT300 Class Break Circuit Record Led by Nitta in Toyota MR-S -
The long awaited start of the 2002 AUTOBACS JGTC (Japan GT Championship) got underway today (April 13), as most of the machines entered for the season roared into action at TI Circuit Aida. Some slight changes in the entry list were noticed however, as the No.87 Mercedes CLK and No.62 Vemac RD320R were unable to appear due to delays in preparations. Substituting for the No.62 car was a Porsche 911 GT3R. On the driver's side of the entry list, the name Dominik Schwager appeared in place of Ryo Michigami, the co-vice-champion of the 2001 season, as the result of an injury Michigami sustained in an accident during a Formula Nippon race at Fuji Speedway last weekend.
Ralf Firman gave a fine performance in the No.64 Honda NSX in the morning session, clocking an impressive circuit record time of 1'25.111" to claim the first pole position for the 2002 AUTOBACS JGTC. Cool temperatures were not enough to stop the enthusiasm of the Mobil 1 NAKAJIMA RACING driver, who provided GT race fans with a spectacle lap to out due several other drivers that took turns at the top of the timing monitor throughout the two qualifying sessions. "The car is running very well this weekend. I'm really enjoying the drive," said Firman afterward. "The NSX has an advantage on this track, and the team and Matsuda are doing their jobs well."
Close behind in the times were Sebastien Philippe in the No.18 NSX (1'25.382") and Dominik Schwager in the No.16 NSX (1'25.601"), both machines of Mugen-Dome Project, filling positions 1-3 on the grid with NSXs.
The real eye-catcher of the day, however, was Seiji Ara, who put in an excellent time of 1'25.619" in a privately entered Toyota Supra running on Yokohama tires. Ara was the quickest Toyota driver in the sessions and the No.25 car will start from the second row (fourth) on the grid. The reigning championship pair, Hironori Takeuchi and Yuji Tachikawa, finished the sessions with a best lap time of 1'25.840", placing the No.1 Supra eighth on the grid. Tachikawa tried hard to improve their time in the second session in spite of worsening track conditions. (Very few drivers managed to improve on their best laps set in the morning.)
Satoshi Motoyama was the fastest driver for the Nissan cars. The No.22 Skyline GT-R ran well both in the morning and afternoon sessions, Motoyama claiming his best lap in the first session (1'25.705") and setting the car fifth on the grid.
In all, four GT500 cars broke the circuit record during the day. 
The GT300 class gave fans an equally thrilling qualifying performance. By day's end six cars had broken the course record, and it was Morio Nitta and the No.31 Toyota MR-S that came out on top for the pole with a lap time of 1'32.430", giving him pole position for the first race of the season two years running in the same car, with the same co-driver (Shinichi Takagi), but using different tires. This year the No.31 car is equipped with BF Goodrich tires, and it looks as if the tire manufacturer is ready to impress in its debut JGTC race. "Even though we took the pole position, we are still working on the car set up," commented Nitta after qualifying. "We set some times in the 1'32s during winter testing, so this lap time was not a surprise to us. But still, the day went well."
Second fastest in the class was Hideo Fukuyama in the No.24 Porsche 911 GT3R. He claimed a quick 1'32.844", followed by the No.3 Nissan Silvia driven by Masataka Yanagida with a 1'33.282". The 2001 champions, Nobuyuki Oyagi and Takayuki Aoki, qualified fifth, Aoki putting in a time of 1'33.436" in the No.81 Silvia.
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