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2003-05-04 |
0.082sec Difference Gives Wakisaka Exciting Win
Toyota MR-S Wins GT300 Class on BF Goodrich Tires
No.1 ESSO Ultraflo Supra / No.36 WOODONE TOM'S SUPRA
Round 3 of the 2002 AUTOBACS JGTC is destined for the history books following an intense side-by-side battle between two Toyota Supras that ensued from the last corner to the finish line. Wakisaka was barely able to hold Comas off as the two cars crossed the finish line neck-and-neck, with a slim 0.082sec separating them.
The 81-lap race was filled with tension and thrills throughout the race, making it a perfect day for the 48,000 fans gathered at Sportsland SUGO. Reigning Driver's Champion pair Juichi Wakisaka and Akira Iida claimed their second victory of the season in the GT500 class. The Ferrari F360 gave a superb presentation of high-speed performance during the first half of the race in the GT300 class, but the victory went to Kota Sasaki and Satoru Goto in the No.31 Toyota MR-S.
Iida started the race behind the wheel of the No.1 Supra and protected his lead from the pole, but pressured hard from behind by the No.23 Nissan Skyline GT-R driven by Motoyama. Pushing hard, both cars quickly pulled away from the remainder of the field and controlled the first half of the race. Running equally hard in third, but keeping a safe distance from the heated contest of the two cars battling for the lead, was Takeshi Tsuchiya in the No.36 Supra. Yet another fight for position was underway not far behind him, where three Toyotas (No.38, Takeuchi; No.25, Dufour and No.37, Kurosawa) were bickering for fourth. Kurosawa had to let off of the battle due to a right rear puncture, but did manage to return to the race in 21st place after pitting to replace the flat tire.
No.23 Xanavi NISMO GT-R
The fastest Honda early on was the No.18 NSX, driver Philippe, who was not far off the battle for fourth. But Treluyer moved the No.12 Skyline in to challenge on lap 13, and the two French drivers played cat-and-dog in a slipstream battle for sixth early on. Running in eighth not far behind was Kageyama and the No.22 Skyline GT-R, carrying a hefty 60kg handicap. Philippe put the No.18 NSX through a spin on lap 19, dropping the car back to 11th . Immediately afterwards, Treluyer began closing the gap on fourth placed Dufour in the No.25 Toyota, but the Nissan went off the track on lap 41 and failed to rejoin the race.
The Toyota Team Tom's mechanics were miraculous in the pits during the routine stops, and when it was all over and done, Comas was behind the wheel of the No.36 car and leading the race. The No.1 Supra (Wakisaka) and No.23 Skyline (Krumm) came back onto the track in second and third in that order. What followed was a man-to-man fight between Wakisaka and Comas. Comas worked did well holding the No.1 Supra off, but hit oil in the first corner on lap 48, and Wakisaka shot passed as Comas fought to maintain control. Not interested in a second-place finish, Comas skillfully closed back in on Wakisaka and began his prowl, looking for the moment to overtake. Krumm, in the No.23 Nissan, did his best to catch the two leaders, but could not keep the pace. The gap between the two frontrunners remaining continuously under a second.
Wakisaka bumped the No.100 Honda driven by Mitsusada on lap 69, allowing Comas the opportunity he had waited for and he was once again in the lead. Wakisaka again moved in on Comas, slipstreaming the No.36 car around the track. On the straight as the two cars entered the final lap, the two cars were again side-by-side. It appeared that Comas and the No.36 Supra would prevail, but tire performance was falling and a back marker slowed him ever so slightly in the last corner. The tail-end of Coma's car slipped slightly and the No.1 and 36 cars bumped. Comas maintained control, but the left tires went off into the trackside dirt. At the finish line, the No.1 Supra crossed 0.082sec ahead of the No.36 car.
"We had a good pit stop, but then I caught some oil on the track at the first corner. I don't know which car blew the engine. I went inside unfortunately as there hadn't been any information to keep the outside line. Wakisaka went outside and overtook me. After that, I pushed really hard to catch up with him again. In the last five laps of the race, the tires began to lose their grip after performing so well earlier, first the front and then the rear. I tried to hold position at the last corner on the final lap, but the rear went outside. Wakisaka made a good pass, but maybe a little to strongly though," said Comas after the race.
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Akira Iida: "I thought I battled well with Motoyama in the first half. But then he and Krumm had problems with overtaking back markers in the second half of the race. I was a bit tense there at the end of the race, but everything turned out oky, and we managed to do well." Juichi Wakisaka: "I was thinking that our competition today would come from the No.23 car. But the unexpected rival was the No.36 car. Regarding overtaking in the last corner, the No.36 car lost balance a little when Comas went outside to overtake the back marker. So I went inside. I was suffering some understeer and was afraid that I might bump him if I went flat out. But my desire was to win, and I didn't let off the accelerator so I bumped him a little. I think I was in the wrong, but I wanted the victory and couldn't let up. Comas offered his hand to me after the race, and I explained this to him and apologized."
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No.31 RECKLESS MR-S
The first half of the race was dominated by the No.11 Ferrari F360. Leading from the green light, Matsuda had a wide gap over second-running Sasaki in the No.31 Toyota MR-S at the end of the first lap and continued to expand on it. It was obvious that the veteran driver was enjoying the exceptional performance of the Italian GT car designed by Dome for the JGTC race. Behind the No.31 Toyota was Ohi in the No7 Mazda RX-7. These three cars remained at the top of the timing monitor half of the race, but each was virtually running at their own pace with no challenging between them: Sasaki was 3-4sec off Matsuda, and there was 15sec separating Sasaki and Ohi.
Matsuda made a routine stop to pass the wheel of the Ferrari to Tanaka on lap 37. But the Ferrari Red car traveled only a few tens of meters before coming to a stop on pit road just after leaving its pit. Electric problems forced Tanaka to get out of the car and retire from the race without completing a lap. A successful driver change for the No.31 Toyota put second stint driver Goto out in front, and he was unchallenged to the checkered flag.
No.5 BANPRESTO B-1 MACH-GO GT 320R / No.7 Amemiya MatsumotoKiyoshi Aspara RX7
A highlight of the second half was provided by Mifune and the No.5 Vemac. Mifune rejoined the race after the routine stop in eighth place. The Vemac was performing well and Mifune pushed hard, working his way up through the GT300 pack to the tail of the No.7 Mazda in second. He overtook the Mazda on lap 60 and drove the car to its first podium finish of the season. Taniguchi and Ohi held onto third until the end, giving the RX-7 its first podium finish this year as well.
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Sasaki commented after the race: "Thanks to team and the BF Goodrich tire staff, the car ran well since the Friday free practice sessions. Our aim was for the pole. For the race as well, our strategy was to betray the magazines that have been failing to mention us.(laughing)" Satoru Goto:"I was expecting a very hard weekend when we arrived. But the car ran well from the beginning, and we gave close consideration to what we would need to do to win the race. I'm truly relieved that we won a race that we had intended to win."
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Round 4 of the 2003 AUTOBACS JGTC will be held at Fuji International Speedway on July 12 and 13.
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