QUALIFYING SESSION 1

The first of the two Official Qualifying sessions for the Sepang round of SUPER GT saw more of the same from the previous day's Free Practice sessions. The soaring temperatures continued, as did the tight battles at the top of the timesheets in both classes.

And the fans came in droves - for the on-track battling, the Pit Walk, and of course, the ever-popular Campaign Girls.

The first Official Qualifying session ran from 11:00am to noon and it was again a show of strength or the Honda Racing #8 ARTA NSX in the hands of 2002 race-winner Ralph Firman, the British driver breaking through the two-minute mark with a 1:59.387, a mere 0.0047 seconds ahead of the #6 ESSO ULTRAFLO SUPRA. In a clear illustration of just how hard everybody's pushing, the top 14 cars in GT500 were all within nine-tenths of the top time.

Last year's winning machine, the #39 DENSO SARD SUPRA GT was conspicuously down the order after the day's opening session; relegating the red and white Toyota to a starting position outside the top ten unless it shines in the pre-SL practice session later this afternoon.

GT300 was again represented by the #62 WILLCOM ADVAN VEMAC 350R, the car clocking a best time of 2:08.403. It was however, disqualified after race stewards found an air restrictor infringement, thus promoting the #30 RECKLESS MR-S to the top spot. In second was the #7 AMEMIYA ASPARA DRINK RX-7 ahead of the direxiv ADVAN 320R, now the best of the Vemac machines. Next was the other MR-S in the series, the #31 APEXERA machine, itself just edging out the Privee Zurich Apple 320R in another strong showing for the team. Well down the order was the #0 EBBRO NSX, its success ballast (weight handicap) clearly slowing the car's pace. Even with the extra weight, the car could pull a surprisingly good performance in the race tomorrow, M-TEC known for its prowess as a team, and for being able to get results when it counts.

The action at lunchtime was all about the fans. In a procedure that's become synonymous with SUPER GT, the race-going public were treated to some serious excitement as they collected autographs from their favorite drivers, took pictures with the oh-so-glamorous Campaign Girls, and were given a wave of promotional items adorned with team liveries and SUPER GT logos.

QUALIFYING SESSION 2

Dome: Oh Arigato!

Super Lap produces wild excitement as drivers battle in pairs for grid slots

The contest for the top twelve grid positions in each of the two classes for tomorrow's 54-lap SUPER GT race at Sepang International circuit was nothing short of a nail-biter, the pair-by-pair qualifying format producing a series of duels that built to a fever-pitch as times tumbled throughout the late afternoon session.

And it wasn't just in GT500. The GT300 competitors put on a wicked fight for honors in their class, the cars visibly on the limit around the 5.542-kilometer circuit as drivers vyed for grid position.

At the end of the day, it was a dream result for the ARTA squad, their #8 ARTA NSX besting all the rest in GT500, Ralph Firman taking overall pole position with his scorching-hot time of 1:57.824. The mark was a massive 0.883 seconds quicker than the second-placed qualifier, Andre Lotterer in the #32 EPSON NSX.

With the front row a Honda-lockout for Sunday's event, it was a scene reminiscent of the make's earlier dominance in the series; and Ralph taking PP in a NSX being markedly similar to the 2002 event here in Malaysia.

Strongest all weekend, it wasn't hard to imagine the ARTA NSX machine on pole, even though the last time one of the Hondas has held the coveted spot was (ironically) with Ralph Firman when he piloted the #64 Mobil 1 NSX to pole way back in Round 7 of the 2002 JGTC at CP Mine Circuit.

With the two practice sessions and both Official Qualifying periods now run, it has been a perfect score for the now normally-aspirated mid-engined supercar. Also, the strength the team/driver/constructor combination has shown so far this weekend must surely have the other competitors wondering just how they'll make up the gap when the lights go out tomorrow afternoon.

GT300 went to the #43 ARTA Garaiya, adding to the joy of the team who've put so much effort into the series over the years, and who had been left wanting for success of late. With the bright orange machines on top in both classes, the team will be pushing harder than ever tomorrow to turn this into a pair of solid class wins.

How the Super Lap session unfolded:
The GT300 machines went out first, with the order for both classes being: 11th and 12th battling together ahead of 9th and 10th (the faster of the two qualifiers always running in front), followed by the next quickest pair, right up to the top two from the morning qualifying session.

Early on in the GT300 session, the 2:09.925 set by the #19 WedsSport Celica set the pace for the class. This however, was soon obliterated when the seventh-quickest car from the morning qualifying session, the #43 Garaiya, set a cracking 2:07.897. At that point in the session, it was a whopping 1.427 better than any other competitor in class. The times continued to drop as the quicker cars took to the track, though the bright orange machine was never headed. At the end of the session, the 2nd-placed #30 RECKLESS MR-S was a mere 0.074 back; with the #7 AMEMIYA ASPARA DRINK RX-7 a further six-tenths adrift. The second of the MR-S machines, the #31 APEXERA machine, lined up 4th; with the first of the Vemac cars, the #27 direxiv ADVAN 320R one spot behind. Only five cars were within a second of the top time at the flag; and the wide spread continued down the order, the tenth-placed machine more than two seconds off pole time.

GT500 was a battle royale among the top competitors in SUPER GT. The first pair out saw the #25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SUPRA break the two-minute barrier, and the times tumbled from that point on. Though most competitors' positions didn't change much from the morning session, a notable exception was the #32 EPSON NSX, Andre Lotterer taking the car up to 2nd place from 6th. His efforts guaranteed an all-Honda front row for Sunday's main event. The second row on the grid went to the #6 ESSO ULTRAFLO SUPRA and the #1 Xanavi Nismo Z; with the fifth and sixth spots going to the #12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z and the other of the Dome-prepared Honda NSXs, the #18 TAKATA machine.

Behind the intensity of the Super Lap qualifiers, of particular note - and a warning to other competitors - is last year's winner Andre Couto in the #39 DENSO SARD SUPRA GT. Although the Portuguese driver is starting a seemingly lowly 17th, he and former driver partner Jeremie Dufour took a convincing win from 13th on the grid in 2004. This year he's teamed up with Italian hotshoe Ronnie Quintarelli, and the duo can be counted on for some exciting on-track action in this year's race.

(from left) R.Firman/D.Ito, M.Nitta/S.Takagi

Driver comments:
GT500
Ralph Firman - #8 ARTA NSX - 1st
"I admit to being a little surprised at the gap back to 2nd place. The car was very good in qualifying, and I had an excellent lap. I'm used to doing one-lap shoot-out qualifiers from my time in Formula One so I was able to get the most from the car, and the lap went very, very well. Seeing the 1:57.8 on the screen on my way back in did surprise me. In the cooling temperatures, everything worked perfectly. I hope tomorrow we can do the same in the race."

Andre Lotterer - #32 EPSON NSX - 2nd
"I think we managed to get more out of the car in each session. We were a little confused on the set-up yesterday, but today, we were pretty satisfied in the first qualifying session. Then we made a few small changes and I had a perfect lap.
You cannot compare the #8 car with ours - it has an N.A. engine and is basically a different car. They're on soft tires I think, and probably running a different strategy to us. We should be quite good overall for the whole race. The qualifying was a surprise because although the Dunlop tires are not bad, they're better-suited to race conditions. To qualify so far up the order means we did a really, really good job. We have a lot of downforce, which helps in a high-speed circuit like this. I'm surprised we beat Michigami who's running a bigger restrictor. We're feeling confident for the race; it should be a good fight."

GT300
Shinichi Takagi - #43 ARTA Garaiya - 1st
"The Michelin tires worked very well today, matching the track conditions perfectly. In the morning session, we didn't achieve the best balance on the car but for SL, the set-up was very good and everything went just perfectly. We haven't decided fully on the set-up we'll use in the race tomorrow, but the time we managed in SL was better than even we imagined. It was a very satisfying session this afternoon. The MR-S teams are also using the Michelin tires and both of them set good times, so we know we have the right tires for the race tomorrow."