No.36 OPEN INTERFACE TOM'S SC430 Sportsland SUGO, located in the mountains, is characterized as an up-down circuit with many elevation changes throughout its 3.704-kilometer lap.
With this in mind, cars with more grunt are generally expected to do better here than machines with less power. However, with the power restriction measure used in SUPER GT, any advantage between makes is greatly reduced. Also, the layout of the track, featuring many big, sweeping corners is another equalizer. The race always produces some controversy however, and unexpected accidents and other dramas can quickly make it a memorable event.


No.8 ARTA NSX For an accurate reading of who will do well on Sunday afternoon, a few points must first be made: One car whose compatibility at the track cannot be overlooked is the SUPRA. The cars entered from TOYOTA TEAM TOM'S and Mobile 1 TOYOTA TEAM LeMans were particularly strong. Have they carried that performance over to its new challenger, the Lexus SC430 (the No. 36 OPEN INTERFACE SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer) and Team LeMans with its No. 6 Mobil 1 SC (Akira Iida/Tatsuya Kataoka))?. This is the first point.
Meanwhile, though it's not a weak circuit for the Honda NSX entries, the series points' leaders Ralph Firman and Daisuke Ito in the No. 8 ARTA NSX and their stable mates Ryo Michigami and Takashi Kogure in the No. 18 TAKATA DOME car will both face a tough battle as the amount of ballast in both machines is heavy for this race.

However, looking back to the 2000 season, Juichi Wakisaka drove the No. 18 TAKATA DOME to pole position despite carrying a whopping 90kgs of lead onboard. If either the ARTA or TAKATA cars do well here this coming weekend, it sets the stage for the second half of the season where their strong lead could possibly be enough to carry them to the end of the year. How well will they go here? This is the second point.


No.23 XANAVI NISMO Z On the other hand, this is a circuit that hasn't been kind to the NISSANs, though it's not due to any lack of performance on the part of the car. Sportsland SUGO is the only track that hasn't given the make a victory in the age of the GT-R. Why is it, that after 12 visits to the track in the JGTC/SUPER GT era, they haven't crossed the line first on a single occasion?

While one has to bear in mind the fact the car hasn't taken a victory yet this season, it shouldn't remain that way for long. With their ace No. 23 Xanavi NISMO Z and drivers Satoshi Motoyama and Tsugio Matsuda at the wheel, the pair look odds-on favorites for a certain victory. Also the weather: if it's stormy, the No. 24 WOODONE KONDO Z in the hands of Erik Comas and Masataka Yanagida will be a force to be reckoned with. That's the third point.

No.2 Privée Zurich Apple Shiden In GT300, it is the midship cars that are the clear favorites. At the recent SUGO test, it was the No. 2 Priv_e Zurich (Kazuho Takahashi/Hiroki Katoh) and the No. 27 direxiv 320R (Shogo Mitsuyama/Nobuteru Taniguchi) that topped the timesheets, with the No. 11 JIM CENTER FERRARI DUNLOP (Tetsuya Tanaka/Takayuki Aoki) also setting strong times. Whether it's the MR-S that took victory here last season or the Z as favorites, the Celica is also well-suited to the track and should be strong as well.


No.7 Amemiya Aspara Drink RX-7 In addition to the above, the No. 7 Amemiya Asparadrink RX-7 (Tetsuya Yamano/Hiroyuki Iiri), winners at the last round in Sepang, cannot be discounted. Their battle for the championship has just heated up with victory in Malaysia, and SUGO is a course which suits the car. It remains to be seen however, how well they'll go with 50kgs of success ballast to carry around. If a strong result is achieved here, they'll really be setting their sights on the title. At the top of the ranking, the battle is clearly between the no. 27 direxiv 320R and the No. 7 Aspara RX-7. The fight between these two rivals is a must-see part of the race in GT300.