   |
Sepang Summer Sizzler Set to Satisfy!Series' 5th visit to Malaysia eagerly awaited by drivers, teams and fans alike |
 Sepang Circuit |
Already a mainstay on the SUPER GT calendar, the equatorial race is one of two international events this season - and is a favorite for the drivers and team personnel alike.
Looking back, the JGTC first visited Malaysia in 2000. That race, and the quickly-following 2001 event, were run as exhibition races - to give the fans from around the region a chance to taste this very intense and exciting form of road racing.
As could well have been expected, the crowds took to the series in droves - and the JGTC was back in 2002 for its first-ever championship event on foreign soil.
Since then, it's been one of those 'and the rest is history' kinds of stories. Malaysian race fans are educated, series-smart, and demanding - the perfect combination of attributes for any discerning race fan - and any series that truly provides the passion and excitement race fans only dream of!
With these high expectations, and the delivery (in terms of entertainment value and on-track action) that the JGTC/SUPER GT series provides, the stage was set for success - and wildly exciting race-based entertainment!
Thus it comes as no surprise then that the popularity of the series has grown year-on-year throughout the Asian region. It should also be noted that the event attracts equally well-informed enthusiasts from all around the region; with fans coming to Sepang for SUPER GT action from places like Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau and other Asian locales.
As the reputation of the annual Sepang round resonates with race fans throughout the Asian continent, the status of the mid-season event grows with every passing visit to this, the most tropical event on the SUPER GT calendar.
Looking back
Though it's only been a few years, the JGTC/SUPER GT series has had a profound effect on the domestic - and regional audience - that come to Speang International circuit every year to witness the intensity and glamour that the SUPER GT series brings.
In its initial event, it was a real eye-opener for the local fans, mesmerized as they were with the spectacle of world-beating machinery from manufacturer and privateer teams competing on the level of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The audience were instantly in awe of the manufacturers' machines battling against some of the top independent teams in the world - in a format that rewarded the top strategies - as well as pace - at the end of the day.
The inaugural event saw the NISMO-run Skyline GTR of (former F1 pilot) Ukyo Katayama and 1997 JGTC champion Michael Krumm beat all comers in the GT500 class; ahead of the top performers in GT300, the RE Amemiya RX7 - one of the strongest GT300 performers over time - and an eventual winner again at this most modern of circuits.
The series' second foray to the South East Asian circuit 'de rigure' threw up some surprises, with the Team Le Mans ESSO ULTRAFLO SUPRA taking the laurels - on their way to the series' win that year. In GT300, the ever-strong Unisia JECS SILVIA, with future stars Yuji Ide and Masataka Yanagida at the wheel, took a commendable victory after battling ahead of many class rivals.
2002 was a year that saw many changes - as well as developments - in the series' away races. The third JGTC race at Sepang International circuit (the first that counted for regular series' championship points) was a wildly fraught affair - with battles that resembled Roman charges more than entertainment-based racing battles - such is the intensity and excitement that the JGTC/SUPER GT series ingnites!!
That year's fight resulted in the #64 Mobil NSX of Ralph Firman (about to make his move to Formula 1 for the 2003 season) and PIAA stalwart Tsugio Matsuda victorious in the dominant Honda.
With the health scare that permeated the region due to SARS, it was decided that the 2003 event would be best held domestically, thereby offering Tokyo-based fans a third glance at the most popular racing series the nation has ever produced.
Although it was not in Malaysia proper, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a replaced, or re-scheduled, event. The audience for the 'Malaysian JGTC in Fuji Speedway' race was such that it seemed the fans were showing up as much for moral support - as for the racing action itself!
2004 saw a return to the welcome; though it has to be said, measurably challenging, circuit that is Seeping. Teams were back with a vengeance not seen since - well, 2002!
The 2004 event threw up some interesting results, as the points-leading #39 DENSO SARD SUPRA GT convincingly took the victory after a race-long duel with the #35 pole-sitting SUPRA from the YMS Yellow Hat team.
GT 300 went somewhat unsurprisingly to the #7 Re Amemiya RX-7 squad after a race-long duel that saw the highly-regarded squad well rewarded for their efforts.
Last year's race proved the capability and performance of all participants - not only the class-winning-machines - that made the trip south. Because it's these teams, and a few other 'newbies', that'll make the 2005 SUPER GT Malaysia round a truly unforgettable SUPER GT racing event!
