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2003-03-30 |
to Win in Opening Round
1-2 Victory for TAISAN Porsches in GT300
Round 1 of the 2003 AUTOBACS JGTC got off to an excellent start, race day being blessed with warm springtime temperatures and sunny blue skies. The day was filled with tension and exciting battles throughout the field, making it a perfect event for the huge gathering of 55,000 GT race fans that made their way to the countryside circuit for the first race of the season. Reigning Driver's Championship pair Juichi Wakisaka and Akira Iida kept their No.1 Supra in the pack of top runners from the start, fought their way into the lead in the last stage of the 82-lap race, and claimed the season's first victory in the GT500 class. There was much to impress and thrill the fans in the GT300 as well. Piloting Team TAISAN's two Porsche GT3Rs in the latter half of the race, drivers pairs Yogo-Asai and Yamaji - Nishizama skillfully drove into the lead in the closing laps of the race to give the German-made car a 1-2 finish.
The day began with surprise as one of the race favorites, the No.38 Supra with Takeuchi at the wheel, failed to complete the formation lap, leaving a hole in the front row of the grid at the start. Motoyama and the No.23 Skyline kept the lead off the pole and quickly pulled away from the rest of the field to control the first half of the race. But it was the No.25 Supra and its driver Dufour that grasped the attention of the circuit in the opening minutes. After a fantastic start from sixth on the grid and a few quick overtakes, the French driver was running in second by the end of the first lap. Others making up the front-running group were Ito in the No.16 Honda NSX, Iida in the No.1 Supra and Schwager in the No.39 Supra. The No.1 and 39 Supras were quick to get by the NSX, putting three Supras in pursuit of the No.23 Skyline GT-R.
As the race progressed, the gaps between the top four cars began to shrink and the fight for the lead ensued. An early pit stop by Schwager dropped the No.39 Supra out of the battle, but by lap 25, the other three cars were scrapping it out side-by-side. Iida collided slightly Motoyama on lap 36 just before Motoyama's routine stop. Dufour and the No.25 Supra came out on top and opened a small gap. The leader went in for the routine stop on lap 41, but a problem in the pits slowed the car's return. The No. 23 GT-R and No.1 Supra both pitted and changed drivers quicker than the No.25 car of TEAM ADVAN Tsuchiya, and by the time that Ara took to the track, the No.25 car had dropped back to third, behind Krumm (No.23 GT-R) and Wakisaka (No.1 Supra).
Wakisaka suffered a spin allowing Ara to capitalize and move into second, but when he caught up to the tail of the No.23 car, he was bumped by a back marker, damaging his left front tire and sending the No.25 Supra off the track and into a gravel bed. Ara managed to keep the car rolling and lipped back to his pit to change the tire.
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Following his spin, Wakisaka gave a great performance, working his way through the field of back markers for a number of laps until he was again within striking distance of the leader. On lap 75 he made his move and slipped by Krumm to take the lead and held it to the finish line.
The fastest Hondas were the No.18 NSX driven by Michigami and Philippe and the No.16 NSX driven by Ito and Coronel. The No.18 car was imposed a "drive though" penalty and the No.16 car spun on the track.
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Juichi Wakisaka: "I saw something coming off one of the GT300 cars in front of me and suffered a spin when trying to avoid it. It was a mistake on my behalf, and I could have very well of did it again when I was working to catch the leader afterwards." Akira Iida: "The tire temperature didn't rise enough during the formation lap, so I lost position in the first laps. But our car is quick out of the corners and on the straight, so I was able to catch up. The Skyline GT-R is quick with fresh tires, but the Supra is quicker than the Nissan in both cornering and braking."
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The No.24 Porsche shot off the line at the start, Yogo easily controlling the first half of the race. Running in second was the No.31 Toyota driven by Sasaki. A few laps later, the No.26 Porsche driven by Yamaji overtook Sasaki, and the TAISAN Porsches took up a 1-2 formation that dominated most of the race. The only threat came from the No.2 Honda NSX. Driven by Watanabe, the car moved into third in the early stages of the race, and lead after the routine stops had been completed thanks to a team strategy of no tire change to reduce pit time.
But the No. 2 car suffered a spin in the second half of the race when the No.26 car bumped the Honda. Not having fresh tires, second-half driver Takahashi could not push hard due to poor tire grip, and the car finished the race in 5th in the class. With the Honda behind them, the two TAISAN Porsches sped to a 1-2 victory.
Of the newcomer car debuts, the No.3 Nissan Fairlady driven by Kinoshita and Yanagida finished sixth, and the No.43 Garaiya driven by Nitta and Takagi was retired from the race due to engine problems.
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Atsushi Yogo: "It was not an easy victory for us. We knew that the car would run well with a full load of fuel, but were concerned about performance in the second half of the stint. So my strategy was to drive at a reduced rhythm in the first half. Even so, I was still able to pull away from the others." Akihiro Asai: "TI Aida is a lucky circuit for me. I also won here in my first Formula 4 race. I still have a lot to learn about weight, character of the car and tactics."
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Round 2 of the 2003 AUTOBACS JGTC will be held at Fuji International Speedway on May 3 and 4.
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