Two weeks ahead of the opening round of the 2006 SUPER GT season, Suzuka Circuit (Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture), played host to the SUPER GT official test, held over two days, March 3rd and 4th, and open to the public.
A total of 36 cars took part, including 16 official entries in the GT500 class, alongside 2 development cars; the No. 350 machine from Nissan and the no. 99 Honda NSX development car.
There were a total of 18 cars from the GT300 class also. Making its series' debut was the Shiden and the new model Toyota MR-S, as well as its V6 engine.
Session 1 Weather : clear/cloudy, Air : 6°C, Track : 9°C/Dry
In this session, the No. 66 Triple a SARD SUPRA conducted repeated aggressive runs in what was a good showing for the car that, until last season, had abundant data; but will be without this year as Toyota switches its focus to the new SC430 this season. Running in GT300 until last season, Katsuyuki Hiranaka was chosen as second driver for the team. Andre Couto set a best time of 1:54.011, garnering the squad second spot in the morning.
Top time went to the No. 100 RAYBRIG NSX. Running a '06 setting, the car posted consistent times during repeated runs. Half way through the session, driver Sebastian Philippe took the top time of the morning with a 1:53.761. Philippe ran consistently in the 1:54-1:55 range after this. Rookie Shinya Hosokawa then took the wheel toward the end of the session. Third place went to the No. 8 ARTA NSX, with fifth going to the No. 18 TAKATA DOME NSX. The power of the NSX was clearly evident.
In GT300, it was the No.11 JIM CENTER FERRARI DUNLOP and the No.13 ENDLESS ADVAN Z that set the best times, the No.13 car reaching the top in the middle of the session. Sporting new aerodynamics, driver Masami Kageyama pushed hard to set a best time of 2:05.744. However, Tetsuya Tanaka in the No. 11 car deprived him of the top spot with a best time of 2:05.660, and the power that allowed him to win in the wet final race of last year was clearly felt. Besides this, the No. 777 Ryozanpaku apr MR-S ran the new V6 engine for drivers Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi for whom the machine hasn't yet been prepared. The day's running substantially resembled more of a shakedown than a test.
Session 2 Weather : clear/cloudy, Air : 6°C, Track : 9°C/Dry
Rain fell before the afternoon session. However, the sun and blue skies returned before the session got underway, remaining dry and clear for the two hours from two to four pm.
The '05-spec No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z set a top time of 1:55.290 in the first half of the two-hour session, with the No.100 RAYBRIG NSX continuing its strong showing from the morning with a 1:54.123, recorded one hour into the session.
However, in the last 30 minutes of the afternoon test session, both the Z car and the NSX went into attack mode. Benoit Treluyer in the No.12 improved his time to 1:53.514, surpassing the track record of 1:53.801. Also setting a time that beat the track record was Satoshi Motoyama in the No.23 XANAVI NISMO Z, with his 1:53.633 best; making for an old-new Z car 1-2. The prowess of the Z car continued in this Official test.
Among the Toyotas, the most significant showing came from the No. 25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SUPRA, in sixth. With track and air temperatures low, there was little in the way of data on the SC430, the car unable to set an indicative time.
In the GT300 class meanwhile, the No. 110 TOTALBENEFIT GREENTEC BOXSTER set a 2:05.694 forty minutes into the session for the top time. New driver this season Hideshi Matsuda was very upbeat about the possibilities of the car.
As it was the No.110 stood at the top of the timesheets. In the last 30 minutes however, the No.13 ENDLESS ADVAN Z of Masami Kageyama set a 2:04.514, going ahead of the Boxster. After a number of pitstops, Kageyama came out to shrink the time to a 2:04.258.
For the Z car, this test has seen the cars top both classes ahead of the season start. Meanwhile, the No. 777 Ryozanpaku apr MR-S made a huge improvement over its morning best time of 2:08.013 when, in the last 20 minutes, the car ran in the 2:05 bracket. At the end of the first day it was second quickest with a best time of 2:05.215, behind the No. 13.
Comments
GT500 Class
- Benoit Treluyer No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z
- We're still using the '05 car. At the last test (February 22nd, 23rd) - Suzuka - Manufacturers test) we searched for a good set up in the morning. It was ok I suppose. Satoshi (No. 23) hit traffic during his best time attempt, he didn't go top. In reality, that probably wasn't the best time. Today, the '05 car was faster but the guys in '06 machinery were quick. I drove the '06 car in Sepang and it felt great. I'm looking forward to getting the new car.
GT300 Class
- Masami Kageyama No.13 ENDLESS ADVAN Z
- We set the top time but I'm not at all satisfied. Since the final round of last season, the driver and engine have been replaced, and we're not running the same conditions and the team ranked high. Therefore, we only came up by chance. On the car, we changed the fender in an effort to create more downforce.
In accordance to the regulations, we've reduced the size of the front lip and rear wing to counterbalance each other, but we've still got a mountain ahead of us. When the opening race has been run, we'll be able to see where we stand (in relation to the other teams).
