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2002-05-03 |
Qualify Review
Supras Monopolize Front Row
Vemac Impresses in Its GT300 Debut
The qualifying sessions for the second round of the 2002 AUTOBACS Japan GT Championship (JGTC) were held at Fuji International Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture on May 3rd, a national holiday in Japan. A total of 44 cars competed for the GT500 and 300 pole positions under fine blue skies with the majestic snow-capped Mt. Fuji setting the background. Round 2 is a special event being 500km long instead of the normal race distance of 250-300km. Strategies and pit work become vital factors for winning the event due to the long race distance, and each team fought gallantly throughout the sessions.
Two McLaren F1 GTRs gave excellent performances in the morning session: Haruki Kurosawa in the No.30 car and Naoki Hattori in the No.76 car found themselves sitting one-two respectively at the top of the timing roster early on. But when it came down to the wire, it was again the Toyota Supra that dominated the field as fastest car. Running on the Toyota-owned track, Juichi Wakisaka claimed a track record of 1'24.303" to put the No.6 Supra at the top of the field. Close behind was the No.1 Supra driven by Yuji Tachikawa, and Hironori Takeuchi (2001 Driver's Champion pair). The quickest Honda NSX was the No.8 car driven by Keiichi Tsuchiya and Katsutomo Kaneishi, finishing with the third fastest lap (1'24.887").
The morning session was full of surprises in the GT300 class. The No.2 Honda NSX, after placing a meager 18th in round 1 at TI, put in the fastest lap (1'32.521") with Akira Watanabe behind the wheel. The newcomer to the series, the No.62 Vemac RD320R, ran well too. Shinsuke Shibahara claimed the third fastest lap in the car's debut participation. The day was good for Charles Kwan and the No.15 BMW as well. The Asian driver finally got the opportunity to perform and show Japanese racing fans what he's capable of. "The car feels good" said Kwan afterward. "I think we've resolved the problems up to now. The engine is doing okay." His lap time of 1'33.044" was sufficient to start the car from fourth on the grid; this achievement made before spinning off the course into the gravel bed at the first corner. (A red flag was shown and the session stopped by the incident, but he managed to rejoin.)
The afternoon session was plagued by higher track temperatures and oil spotting on the track, making conditions difficult. Few teams were able to improve on their best lap times clocked in the morning session. Among them, Hattori put in a swift 1'24.423 in the No.76 McLaren, quick enough to qualify third overall and start from the second row on the grid. Takeshi Tsuchiya improved the time of the No.36 Supra as well, clocking a fine 1'24.704" and setting the car fourth at the start. He is followed by Kurosawa in the No.30 McLaren, who also improved his best morning lap time.
In the end, pole position of the GT500 class went to the No.6 Supra of Juichi Wakisaka/Akira Iida. None could beat their best lap set in the morning session. Wakisaka commented afterward, "I really wanted the pole today because the round is an important one, welcoming a large number of spectators every year. It's just fantastic to be able to start from first on the grid in front of them. The balance of the car in the morning was better than the afternoon. Our car was not so quick on the straight compared to the No.1 Supra since starting out yesterday, so I tried to use slip-streamming of another car and managed it successfully."
In the GT300 class as well, few cars improved their morning lap times. Even though the it seemed that the class was to be dominated by seasoned teams that put in their best times in the afternoon session, it was the No.62 Vemac that garnered the center of attention. Making its JGTC debut in Round 2, car and driver claimed the quickest lap (1'32.379") with Shibahara behind the wheel. "As the car has just been completed, we suffered many minor problems at first," said Shibahara after the sessions. "However, the car is very quick when it runs well. We had several problems to deal with up to yesterday, but thanks to the team and their fantastic effort to make parts as late as last night, we were ready for the qualifying sessions and ended up with pole position."
Tanaka placed the No.19 Toyota MR-S at second on the grid with a best lap of 1'32.662" and the Kwan/Hashimoto pair in the No.15 BMW will start from fourth.
The 114-lap race will get underway with the green given at 13:45, Saturday, May 4th.
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