Round 7 of the 2005 AUTOBACS SUPER GT was the scene of a lights-to-flag victory for the #8 ARTA NSX from Team Honda Racing ahead of a brace of Nissan 350 Z machines, followed by the sister #18 Takata Dome NSX.

The morning warm-up session was a good precursor to the afternoon's action, the bright orange AUTOBACS-backed car taking the top spot - as it had done on both Friday and Saturday.

Under blazing sunshine and temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius, the GT500 pack took the start in front of 49,700 fans gathered at this circuit in the northern part of the island of Kyushu. Ralph Firman immediately built up a gap over the chasing pack, and was running with a cushion of some 3.7 seconds over the second-placed #22 Motul Pitwork machine with Masataka Yanagida at the wheel after only two laps.

The start was unkind to the #100 Raybrig NSX, punted off at the first corner by the #38 ZENT Supra - for which the Toyota would later pay with a drive-through penalty.

The lead pair were chased by the #25 Eclipse ADVAN Supra; while the #18 Takata Dome NSX fell behind the #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z and the #12 Calsonic Impul Z to run sixth by the end of the second tour of the 4.674-km track.

Meanwhile in GT300, the battle at the head of the field was a tail-to-nose affair, the #43 ARTA Garaiya fighting to keep the pursuing #46 Dream Cube's ADVAN Z at bay. It was a battle that would last nearly the entire two hours of the race. Third in the category was the #11 Jim Gainer Ferrari Dunlop, with the #30 Reckless MR-S hot on the heels of the Italian machine. In sixth place behind the #10 Mach-Go Dunlop Ferrari, the reigning champions wrestled with the #0 EBBRO NSX, its 100-kg weight handicap clearly slowing its otherwise brisk pace.

Back in GT500, James Courtney had taken the #36 Open Interface TOM'S Supra from 15th to 12th in the opening half dozen laps. He would move up another five positions before handing the car over to partner Takeshi Tsuchiya twenty laps later.

The other TOM'S Supra had a violent shunt on lap 7 after over-cooking it at Turn Three, the car spearing off track and into the tire barriers at considerable speed. Luckily for driver Tatsuya Kataoka, the only injury was to his pride.

Andre Couto was moving steadily up the order in the #39 DENSO SARD SUPRA GT from his starting position of 13th, battling with Andre Lotterer in the #32 EPSON NSX for seventh place by lap 8. Toward the head of the field, another battle raged between the #25 Eclipse ADVAN Supra, the #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z and the #12 Calsonic Impul Z as the trio fought for third place.

The #8 ARTA NSX was clearly controlling the race, running 1-minute, 45-second laps - quicker than many drivers manage in qualifying under the same track conditions! By lap 18, Firman was 13.3 seconds up the road and showing no signs of slowing his pace. Erik Comas had moved the #3 GZOX Hasemi Z up to third on the same lap, and was chasing hard.

The first of the mandatory driver switches happened when veteran Akira Iida brought the #6 ESSO Ultraflo Supra in on lap 22. Next was James Courtney in the #36 TOM'S Supra, four laps later. The Australian driver caught a severe bout of food poisoning earlier in the week, and was visibly fatigued when he stepped out of the car.

There was soon a flurry of activity in the pitlane as the bulk of cars made their stops within the next handful of laps. When the leading #8 NSX made its stop, Erik Comas was promoted to the top spot, albeit over 18 seconds behind the Honda - such was the pace of the ARTA machine.

When the order had once again settled down a few tours later, it was the #8 ARTA NSX leading the #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z car, now with Toshihiro Kaneishi at the wheel, followed by the #12 Calsonic Impul Z and the #6 ESSO Ulraflo Supra, the Toyota's early pit strategy seeming to have paid off after a starting position of 14th.

The order in GT300 hadn't changed throughout the first half of the race - but the battle was as fierce as any in recent memory. The top four cars were separated by a matter of millimeters as they jostled for position around the twisty and technical track. On lap 34, the #30 Reckless MR-S got by the hitherto leading car, the #43 ARTA Garaiya, while the #46 Dream Cube's ADVAN Z continued to hound the pair from only a few inches away. Next up, the #0 EBBRO NSX similarly wasn't giving any quarter, holding off the very quick #7 Re: Amemiya Aspara Drink RX-7, itself only a hair's breadth ahead of the #19 WedsSports Celica in sixth.

While the ARTA NSX maintained is iron grip on proceedings, it wasn't so smooth for a couple of the other Honda machines: The #100 Raybrig NSX lost its steering and headed into retirement after earlier contact meant an upright failed, sending Jeremie Dufour into the gravel only two laps into his stint. The #32 EPSON machine meanwile spent an inordinate amount of time in the pits with an unscheduled stop on lap 37, the pitcrew frantically trying to locate the exact cause of an electrical problem that sidelined the car for over two laps, the machine plummeting down to 29th place by the time it ventured back out on track.

With 20 laps to go, the #39 DENSO SARD SUPRA GT tapped the identical #36 TOM'S Supra from behind, causing both cars to wobble slightly and the TOM'S car to lose two places; though both machines continued unabated. The incident resulted in a drive-through penalty for Ronnie Quintarelli in the #39 machine, ruining his chances of points this afternoon after a very strong run by he and partner Andre Couto.

GT300 continued to be an intense fight at the front of the pack, the #43 Garaiya having taken back the lead from the #30 machine on lap 35. It wouldn't last however, and the top six cars sliced and diced around the track lap after lap, creating some of the most exciting scenes of the day.

After running a strong second for most of the race, the #46 Dream Cube's ADVAN Z started to fall into the clutches of the pursuing cars over the final tours of the 65-lap race. It would end the day in an inglorious sixth place.

Conversely, it was an out-and-out attack by the #30 Reckless MR-S that saw the car take the lead of GT300 a mere two laps from the end after a masterful pass from third place in the category.

As the last laps wound down, the ARTA set quicker and quicker times. When the chasing Nissans upped their pace, the Honda simply blasted an even faster time than had previously been set throughout the day. The race clearly belonged to the dayglo orange NSX this afternoon and the car would cross the line over 33 seconds ahead of its nearest rival, the #22 Motul Pitwork Z car from the factory Nissan squad. The NISMO machine also picked up a couple of very valuable positions in the final two laps of the event - no doubt pleasing the Nissan bosses as we head into the final round at Suzuka Circuit in mid-November.

Behind this lead pair, the final order saw another couple of Nissan Z cars; the #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z in third, ahead of the #12 Calsonic Impul Z which took fourth. The #18 Takata Dome NSX, sister machine to the winning car, took fifth, while sixth place went to the other factory Nissan, the #1 machine with Richard Lyons.

These race results mean a fundamental change in the driver's points' standings. The #36 TOM'S machine falls to an equal second place on 54 points (with the #22 Motul Pitwork NISMO machine), while today's winners move up to first from fifth place. In fourth place, the #3 ZENT Cerumo Supra has 47 points.

With Suzuka Circuit exceptionally well-suited to the Hondas, even the 90 kilos of success ballast on the #8 ARTA car shouldn't hinder its progress altogether - both in the event, and for the overall title. The Motul Pitwork Z goes to Suzuka with 60kgs; while the #36 TOM'S machine will be carrying 20 kilos..

Ralph Firman - #8 ARTA NSX / GT500 class winner
"I feel really, really good. Although the car was understeering all day, I was able to push 100% right from the start. It's very rarely that everything goes perfectly, but today was one of those times when it all fell into place just as we had wanted. Honda's done a great job with the car, as have Bridgestone with the tires. We found the prefect compound at the recent test here, and this is what made all the difference today. I'm extremely pleased to have taken this win; it gives us the perfect place from which to stake our claim on the title at the final event at Suzuka Circuit next month."

Kouta Sasaki - #30 RECKLESS MR-S / GT300 class winner
"My first season in the MR-S was 2003, and we were fortunate to score a podium that year. In 2004, we were unable to repeat that success, so our aim for this season was clearly to improve on past results. Team Reckless created the right environment that allowed us to fight for wins. I had told fans and everyone how much I wanted a victory now to finally have one makes me extremely happy. I honestly wasn't sure we could do it here in Autopolis as I didn't think we had the necessary confidence. To take the championship, we definitely need to have a win under our belts. While the GT500 race was a clear win for the #8 ARTA machine, I'm pleased that our race-long duel with the others at the front was so exciting and enjoyable for the fans. For me, Suzuka is my home circuit; so with this lead in the driver's points' battle, we're now really hoping to take the title there."