In what was aptly called 'the Spa of Japan' by one of the track announcers during the morning's opening session, wet and foggy weather was the deciding factor in proceedings throughout today's action at Autopolis.

QUALIFYING SESSION 1

The rain was already coming down hard and fast when the cars took to the track at 10:30 for the first of the day's two Official Qualifying sessions. With fog enveloping the circuit and its environs, visibility had been less than optimal before action even got underway; and it steadily deteriorated throughout the day.

The morning was action-packed as all manner of cars spun off track in the ultra-slick and very misty conditions, stopping the session briefly on a few occasions as machines were extricated from the kitty litter.

By the end of the hour, only six of the seventeen GT500 cars had been able to get both drivers within the mandatory 107% of their machine's quickest time, such was the pace of the rapidly worsening weather. GT300 wasn't much better, as only 13 of the 24 cars in the class made the cut.

The #12 CALSONIC IMPUL lead the way in GT500, with the #37 TEAM TOM'S SUPRA second, six tenths back. Third was the #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z, 1.7 seconds in arrears, with the #38 ZENT Cerumo SUPRA in fourth. To illustrate the toll the weather took on driver's times, the gap to the fifth-placed machine of Takeshi Tsuchiya and James Courtney (the #36 Open Interface TOM'S Supra) was 3.5 seconds, with the #39 DENSO SARD SUPRA GT another tenth back in sixth.

GT300 saw the #43 ARTA Garaiya top the timesheets, with the pair of Ferrari F360s in second and third. The #10 Mach-Go Ferrari Dunlop machine lead the identical #11 Jim Gainer Ferrari Dunlop; with the 2004 class winners, the #7 Re: Amemiya Aspara Drink RX-7 in fourth. Fifth and sixth went to the #46 Dream Cube's ADVAN Z and the #0 EBBRO M-TEC NSX.

By lunch, it was obvious the brighter conditions that had been forecast for the afternoon were not going to materialize. Race officials decided to revert to the qualifying format used last season, where competitors' grid positions were decided by their best time from a twenty-minute session, instead of the one-lap shoot-out format in use this season.

It didn't take long however - about fifteen minutes - before proceedings were halted altogether as the circuit became so socked in it was deemed too dangerous to continue.

QUALIFYING SESSION 2

While drivers, teams and fans waited patiently for the shroud to dissipate, visibility only got worse; and at 4:00pm, it was announced that on-track action was done for the day. Sunday's starting grid would be determined by the times set in the very brief afternoon mixed session.

To say that those who were quick in the morning lost out with this arrangement would by an understatement. The results in GT500 were practically turned on their head, with the top six cars from the a.m. session falling to 6th, 8th, 5th, 12th, 15th, and 13th. Meanwhile, the afternoon's top six had risen from 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 3rd, 1st, and 7th - the exceptions being the #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z (falling from 3rd to fifth) and the #12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z (falling from 1st to sixth)

The biggest losers in this were drivers' championship leaders Takeshi Tsuchiya and James Courtney as they plummeted from 5th to 15th, while their TEAM TOM'S stable mates Takashi Kataoka and Sakon Yamamoto fell from 2nd to 8th. A protest was lodged by the team, but was thrown out by race officials.

Conversely, the big winners were the #8 ARTA NSX as it took pole after running eighth in the morning, the #22 Motul Pitwork Z, moving up to second (from 9th), the #25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SUPRA (from 12th to third), and the #18 Takata Dome NSX (13th to 4th).

GT300 too, saw some changes, though the quickest machine in the morning (the #43 ARTA Garaiya) ran undisturbed in the much-shortened second session to secure pole. The pair of Ferrari F360s went from 2nd to fifth (the #10 Mach-Go Ferrari Dunlop), with the sister machine, the #11 Jim Gainer Ferrari Dunlop, dropping from third to fourth. Moving up from fifth in the morning, the #46 Dream Cube's ADVAN Z settled into third place, while the #7 Re: Amemiya Aspara Drink RX-7 went from fourth to seventh. Reigning GT300 champions, the #0 EBBRO M-TEX NSX, leapt to second after running sixth in the morning.

With both classes' grids set like this for the race tomorrow afternoon, it should be nothing less than exciting - and unpredictable - when the lights go out at 2:00pm. As ARTA machinery leads both categories, the team will no doubt be hoping for the double win they so sorely missed earlier this season in Sepang.

Weather is expected to be clear - and possibly even sunny! But if conditions so far this weekend are any indication, it would be very unwise indeed to make any predictions.

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

Driver comments:
Ralph Firman - #8 ARTA NSX - GT500 Pole Position
"We had a very good test here 10 days ago, so we felt the car should be quick despite the conditions. Daisuke has done a fantastic job here these two days, running quickest on both. I was also pleased to run second this morning.
We're looking forward to the race tomorrow; but what we need is a clear start and run to the first corner. The last 5 or 6 corners of the lap can be tricky also, particularly if you get caught behind a GT300 car that doesn't want to let you past. We're fifth in the championship, and there's always pressure to do well. If we can win here, we could be leading the championship. Our car is very strong at Suzuka, so even with some weight (success ballast from a strong performance here), we should be able to pick up points there as well - and that could be enough for the championship."

Shinichi Takagi - #43 ARTA Garaiya - GT300 Pole Position
"The car was pretty good in the rainy conditions yesterday, and while we were confident of a good position today, we didn't know if we could get the top time.
When I went out on track, there was a lot more rain than yesterday! Luckily, our director chose the perfect rubber for the conditions, the heavy rain tires. After checking their performance for the first few laps, I attacked at the perfect time - just before the downpour!
Had it been fine today, Nitta would have done the qualifying run, but as it was wet, it was my job. I'll be depending on him for everything tomorrow (sunny weather is forecast). With our present weight handicap of 85kgs, we'd have been nowhere near the front had it been clear this afternoon.
I'll be making the car as wide as possible in an effort to keep the others behind us in the race tomorrow, and we'll be relying on perfect teamwork for the best result. What happens tomorrow is very important for our championship goals, before the last round at Suzuka in a few weeks' time."