Qualifying Session 1

The first qualifying session began at 10:00 in the morning. Despite a high thin layer of clouds, there was spring warmth to the sunlight as the cars took to the course. At the start of the session the air temperature was 15 degrees C. and the track temperature was 20 - 23 degrees.

The first 20-minute session was for the GT300 class. The first machine to record a time under 1.32 sec. and lead the competition was the No. 27 direxiv ADVAN 320R. After that, the No. 11 JIM center FERRARI DUNLOP, No. 62 WILLCOM ADVAN VEMAC and No. 2 Priv_e Zurich Apple Shiden machines all turned in times under 1.32 sec. As the pace of the time attacks quickened in the last three minutes of the session, the No.13 ENDLESS ADVAN CCI Z driven by Masami Kageyama turned in a 1.31.229 sec. time to lead the qualifiers.

In the following 20 minutes of GT500 class qualifying, the action was rather quiet at first, with only six or seven cars out on the track. But, with ten minutes remaining in the session the action picked up as all the teams intensified their efforts. It was the No.23 XANAVI NISMO Z that took the early lead with a 1.24.807 sec. lap. In the last five minutes, the number of fast time attacks increased, with the No.35 BANDAI DIREZZA SC430�Athe No.3 Yellow Hat YMS TOMICA Z and the No.18 TAKATA Dome NSX dipping under the 1.25 sec. barrier one after another and the order on the time board changing with each passing minute. Finally, it was Naoki Yokomizo in the No.3 car who edged past the rest with a 1.24.014 sec. lap to finish the session in first place, just a hair short of the 1.24 sec. barrier.

The last 20-minute session of the morning had both the GT500 and GT300 machines running together. This session was the last opportunity for the teams with times outside the top ten to try to record a top-ten lap time and qualify for the Super Lap session. However, none of those teams were able to break into the top ten.
The final results showed a very tight GT500 competition, led by No.3, with less than one second separating the top 13 cars in the 1.24 sec. range.
In the GT300 class the No.13 ENDLESS ADVAN CCI Z finished fastest, while the No.26 MOTO TAISAN ENDLESS GT3R became the first Porsche 911 to qualify for a Super Lap session.

As for the No.7 Amemiya Aspara Drink RX7 and No.111 ARKTECH GT3 that had crashed in the previous day's practice, they officially withdrew from the race.

Qualifying Session 2

The afternoon qualifying session began at 14:20. The weather conditions were the same as the morning session, with a thin layer of clouds overhead. But the winds were blowing stronger now, raising a cloud of yellow dust that veiled the surrounding mountains. It was hard on the drivers and team crew members who suffered from hay fever, and you could see a good number of them wearing sunglasses and surgical masks to try to ward off the wind-borne pollen as best they could. The air temperature at the start of the session was 17 degrees C. and the track surface temperature 25 degrees.

The first 15 minutes of the session were for the GT300 cars and the next 15 minutes for the GT500s. Although the Super Lap qualifiers were decided by the top ten times recorded in each class in the morning session, this afternoon session gave the teams that had not recorded a race qualifying time in the morning session to get under the qualifying standard and win a place on the starting grid for the final race.

After an interval for course inspection, the Super Lap session was held for the top ten teams in each class.

The first machine to take to the track in the GT300 class was the No.26 Porsche GT3R driven by Shinichi Yamaji. As the first Porsche 911 ever to qualify for the Super Lap, it recorded a time of 1.32.296 sec. The next three machines were unable to beat this time, but the fifth machine out on the track, the No.11 FERRARI driven by Tetsuya Tanaka, recorded a 1.31.698 sec. lap, breaking the 1.32 sec. barrier for the first time in the Super Lap session. Then the seventh runner of the session, Kota Sasaki in No. 46 Fairlady Z, beat No.11's time by more than a second with a 1.30. 664 sec. lap. The next two machines were unable to break the 1.31 sec. barrier, leaving only one machine left with a chance. The final runner was the No.13 Fairlady Z driven by Masami Kageyama, who had scored the fastest time in the morning session. Driving hard, he was able to dip under the 1.31 sec. mark, but his 1.30.939 sec. time wasn't fast enough to beat Sasaki's time with the No.46 Z. This gave the No.46 Kicchouhouzan DIREZZA its second consecutive pole position following the opening round.

The GT500 Super Lap session started at 15:28. At this point there was little change in the air or track temperatures and the track remained dusty as a result of the wind. The first runner was Satoshi Motoyama in the No.23 XANAVI NISMO Z, and he was followed by Andre Couto in the No.66 triple a SARD Supra GT. Both ran times in the 1.25 sec. range and were unable to improve on their morning times. The third driver, Loic Duval in the No.32 EPSON NSX, did succeed in bettering his morning time by 0.3 sec. to take the initial lead. But, the fourth driver out, Yuji Tachikawa in the No.1 ZENT CERUMO SC, ran a fast second half of his lap to score a top time of 1.24.219 sec. The next driver out, Ralph Firman in the No.8 ARTA NSX, recorded a 1.24.316 sec. lap to move into second position. The sixth driver out, Benoit Treluyer in the No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z, suffered from some machine instability and ended up in the 1.25 sec. range. Michael Krumm in the No.22 MOTUL AUTECH Z also failed to break into the top times, running a 1.24 sec. range lap.

That left only the two NSX machines and the No.3 Nissan with a chance to go for the pole position. Ryo Michigami took to the track first in the No.18 Honda NSX. In the opening round at Suzuka, the NSX machines had suffered aerodynamically from the strong winds. This time Michigami ran aggressively through the strong and shifting winds and came close to the 1.24 sec. barrier with a leading time of 1.24.043 sec. Next it was Sebastien Philippe's turn in the No.100 RAYBRIG NSX. He ran a close 1.24.074 sec. lap to move into 2nd position.
The last runner was Naoki Yokomizo in the No.3 Fairlady Z. The pressure was surely great on the young Yokomizo, who is only in his second year of GT500 competition and was running a Super Lap for the first time. But, he came through with a 1.24.155 sec. time to place 3rd.
This gave the pole position to the No.18 TAKATA Dome NSX machine. For its driver, Ryo Michigami, this is his first pole position since the first round of the 2001 season at TI Circuit Aida�ipresent Okayama International Circuit�j. And, it is the second straight pole for the NSX camp this season.

R.Michigami, T.Kogure, K.Sasaki, T.Banba

GT500 Class Pole Position

No.18 TAKATA DOME NSX

Ryo Michigami

Things had been going well this week, so I thought I could win the pole position with some luck. The first time out, the feeling was a bit off. But, when we changed the settings for the Super lap, it got a lot better. I think it has been about five years since I won a pole position, so I'm very happy. I hope to be able to run into the lead from the pole and outrun the competition in tomorrow's race.

GT300 Class Pole Position

No.46 Kicchouhouzan DIREZZA Z

Kota Sasaki

Last year I was able to show "strength" by winning the championship, but this year I want to show that I have "speed" as well. Some people might have thought that my pole in the first round was a fluke because the weather worked in my favor, but this time I won the pole straight out. For this round the machine set-up is good, so in tomorrow's race you won't see the kind of embarrassing result I got in round one. I'm going to go all out tomorrow.