Twin Ring Motegi

Round 5 of the 2005 AUTOBACS SUPER GT gets underway this weekend at Twin Ring Motegi, Honda's high-tech motorsports theme park a couple hours' north of Tokyo. As well as the state-of-the-art oval, the complex features a challenging road course - one favored by the drivers for its variety of track a characteristics.

New Driver
For the Motegi Round, there's an added attraction in terms of drivers. Former All-Japan F3 champion and recent DTM driver Peter Dumbreck will take the wheel of the #35 Yellow Hat SUPRA. The Scot will drive alongside veteran Japanese ace Naoki Hattori.

New Engine
In the GT300 class, the #11 Jim Gainer Ferrari F360 will be sporting a new motor this weekend. The team switched from the 3.5 liter F131 powerplant they had been campaigning, to the larger 4498cc MUGEN-MF408S.

Trends To Date
This season has so far seen three Supra wins, punctuated by a NISSAN Fairlady Z victory in June's Sepang scorcher. The second half of the season is expected to produce something of a twist - and its name is clearly Honda.

The opening Round featured German driver Dominik Schwager and partner Manabu 'Max' Orido, the pair taking the checkered flag first at Okayama International Circuit in their #25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SUPRA at the end of March.

Round 2 was the first event at the completely-renovated and now ultra-modern Fuji Speedway. The Toyota-owned circuit had reason to cheer as the 300-kilometer race produced a dominant win for the #38 ZENT CERUMO SUPRA. Formula One, CART and IRL refugee Toranosuke Takagi took his first-ever victory in the GT category, the international Japanese driver partnering 2001 GT500 champion Yuji Tachikawa.

The #8 ARTA NSX's performance in June's Sepang, Malaysia Round, when it was still the only Honda car to have the N.A. engine, set the benchmark time in no fewer than five of the weekend's six sessions. The dayglow orange machine ended up second in the race after leading the first 30 laps comfortably.

Although the NSXs were expected to go well at the latest round, (the Sportsland SUGO event in late July), a bit of an 'own-goal' by Honda Racing driver Takashi Kogure took out the previously-leading #100 RAYBRIG NSX of Jeremie Dufour, to instantly halve the strength of the Honda onslaught in one fell swoop. This, at the halfway point of the race.

The two other NSXs fared not a lot better, as the previously dominant #8 ARTA car, which had a disastrous qualifying, fell further down the order after spinning in the opening laps. Ralph Firman was the sole Honda runner able to salvage points after a torrid race for the former champion. The #32 EPSON NSX ran well throughout, only to be tapped into a spin in the latter stages - and a two-lap delay as a result - knocking the car from 2nd, to a disappointing 12th (and out of the points) at the flag.



An NSX fest?
Predictions, never 100% accurate in motorsport, state that this event should be something of an NSX podium fest. Indications are that the recently-switched powerplants in the Hondas are likely to fare extremely well at the track that so obviously suits the Japanese supercars.

Last year, when they were running the ill-fancied turbo units, Andre Lotterer still managed to pull off a decisive win with a splendid victory in changeable and generally very wet conditions. His battles, particularly those with Australian TEAM TOM'S driver James Courtney, were the sensations of the race, one that was action-packed from lights to flag.

All eyes are going to be on the Honda machinery in a few days' time. This is where the recent switch - from the 3.0 liter Twin Turbo units to the 3.5 liter N.A. (normally-aspirated) powerplants - really comes into play.

Once Honda have the kinks worked out - and it would appear they have by this stage - it should be no great surprise to see a brace of NSXs crowding the podium come Sunday, September 4th.