2008 SUPER GT Round4

Will it be GT-R vs NSX?

No.1 ARTA NSX
Sepang International Circuit sports many flat mid-speed corners that turn in toward almost opposite direction. With the characteristics of its layout, the circuit pays favor to machines that are quick in going around corners. Considering the characteristics of this year’s machine, GT-R and NSX would be the cars to take most out of it. Ralph Firman of No.1 ARTA NSX (Ralph Firman/Takuya Izawa) may be the driver who favors this Malaysian circuit the most, capturing pole-positions and contending for victory almost every year. For this year, especially, his car will only mount a light 5kg of handicap weight and his teammate Izawa has become a promising force to back him up. So, enough success factors are set for No.1 ARTA NSX. Also, last year’s pole-sitter No.18 TAKATA Dome NSX (Ryo Michigami/Takashi Kogure) would be another strong force to be on top of the podium.


No.22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R
Looking at GT-Rs, No.24 WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R (Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira/Seiji Ara) clinched their first-ever SUPER GT victory here last year (Though, last year’s winning machine was Z). With the resurfacing work done on the track right before last year’s SUPER GT event and the heat, many teams suffered from extreme wear on their tires which forced them to make two pit-stops. In the midst of confusion, though, the No.24 car was able to cross the finish line first owing to the advantage their tires had over their rivals and the sophisticated and fast, easy-to-tires driving style of De Oliveira and Ara. But, for this year, the story might not be the same as all other teams and their tire suppliers are not likely to let the same problem happening again. Nevertheless, No.24 is no doubt one of the favorites, but certainly not the only favorite either. Other GT-Rs that deserve attention would be No.22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Michael Krumm/Masataka Yanagida) with no handicap weight and No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Sebastien Philippe), who continued to put up some great race at the Round 3 Fuji where other GT-Rs had hard time. For No.23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer), the consecutive winner of the season opener and round 2, the fourth round in Malaysian will most likely to be another hardship as they still need to carry 95kg of handicap weight.


No.39 DENSO DUNLOP SARD SC430
Sepang is certainly not the most favorable circuit for SC430. But it doesn’t mean that there isn’t any chance. No.25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SC430 (Takeshi Tsuchiya/Hiroaki Ishiura) carrying no handicap weight and a past winner, No.39 DENSO DUNLOP SARD SC430 (Toranosuke Takagi/Andre Couto), may be an interesting underdogs. On the other hand, No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 (Yuji Tachikawa/Richard Lyons) and No.36 PETORNAS TOM’S SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer), the winner and second place of round 3, respectively, will may be settle for points. But, considering one of the local oil majors is sponsoring No.36, they may show some bravery to place themselves on the podium.

Without a doubt, it is Amemiya 7. Or is it CUSCO IMPREZA?

No.7 ORC雨宮SGC-7
When it comes to Sepang, No.7 ORC AMEMIYA SGC-7 tops the list in the GT300. They boast an amazing record of 4 out of 7 winning ratio in Sepang. The handicap weight that they have to mount on their car is not that much, and if they win the race, it would be a boost for them to be the champion for the second time, so they can be very much eager to win the race in Malaysia. Now let’s talk about machine characteristics that suit Sepang. Most suitable would be midengined cars, and Vemac and MR-S fall into this category in GT300, which indicates that these vehicles may, with a great chance, stand up against RX-7. Out of these contenders, No.62 WILLCOM ADVAN VEMAC 408R (Haruki Kurosawa/Shogo Mitsuyama) would be the most favorite. Made its debut in last event, No.19 WedsSport IS350 (Manabu Orido/Tsubasa Abe) may find their place in the upper part of the list. On the other, it may be a race of patience for No.95 apr MR-S (Kohei Hirate/Keisuke Kunimoto) with a heavy handicap weight and No.43 ARTA Garaiya (Morio Nitta/Shinichi Takagi).


No.77 クスコDUNLOPスバルインプレッサ
You can never forget No.77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA (Tetsuya Yamano/Kota Sasaki) who has been like the center of a storm in SUPER GT this season. They may again pull off some spectacles in Sepang. As mentioned above, midengined vehicle suits the Sepang International Circuit better, but Impreza, with its unique flat-4 engine that allows lower center of gravity, rather favors the kind of circuit like Sepang also. Yamano and Sasaki also rate Sepang as one of their favorite circuits. The fact is that the more the condition gets tough on tires due to heat and other elements, the higher the advantage that the 4WD would have over rivals.

There are favors and unfavors of the track layout as stated, but, after all, the race in Sepang is more like a battle against “heat” and “passion.” There are always some drivers who suffer from heatstroke every year, and machines and tires, too, are always forced to compete in beyond their limits. As to prepare for the race, some drivers conduct exclusive training for Sepang from a month before the event where they sit in sauna with racing suits on or jog in a sauna suits under the sun to enhance their endurance ability in the heat. A win in Sepang would award the driver the title of Iron Driver. Who would be named the Iron Driver this year?