2008 SUPER GT Round6

Weather:Rain | Course:Wet | Air Temp. 22°C | Track Temp. 23°C

Close battle between the GT-R and NSX machines

The first qualifying session started at 9:50 in the morning. The rain that had been falling since the night before had turned into a drizzle by start time but never stopped and the track was completely wet. The temperature at start time was 22 degrees C., with a track temperature of 23 degrees C.

The first 20 minutes were for the GT300 class. In the early minutes of the session the track condition was so bad that some cars ran off the course about three minutes after the session.
The first car to take the lead was the No.43 ARTA Garaiya (Morio Niita). Being the winner of the last race, No. 43 was carrying 85 kg of handicap weights, but the wet conditions seemed to minimize the effect. Meanwhile, the No.77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA (Kota Sasaki) was unable to fully utilize its AWD advantage because of tires that didn't fit the track condition and ended up with the second fastest time. Recording the third fastest time was the No.95 Lightning McQueen apr MR-S (Keisuke Kunimoto).

At 10:10 the 20-minute session for the GT500 class began. The first machine to take the lead was the No.36 PETRONAS TOM'S SC430 (Andre Lotterer) with a lap time of 2 min. 9.781 sec. Lotterer had outrun the field here with exceptional speed in the rain at this race last year as well. But this time his record was soon bettered by the No.22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Michael Krumm) and the No.23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R (Benoit Treluyer).
About ten minutes into the session the No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda) took the lead with a time of 2 min. 8.706 sec. Around this time the rain had let up enough to enable runs with shallow tread rain tires. In response to this change in conditions, the teams had their second drivers (the drivers not competing for the Super Lap) run their qualifying times and then return to the pit to change tires and drivers for another attempt at a top time. The first to do this and record a fast time was the No.1 ARTA NSX (Ralph Firman) with a 2 min. 8.703 sec. lap, a mere 0.003 sec. faster than Matsuda's time in No.12.
Shortly after the GT500 class' 20-minute session ended and GT300 class cars began to re-appear on the track for the final mixed session, Krumm in No.22 became to the first to break the 2 min. 8 sec. barrier with a 2 min. 7.753 sec. lap and take the lead. The No.17 REAL NSX (Toshihiro Kaneishi) also ran a fast time after that to claim second position but failed to break the 2 min. 8 sec. barrier.
After that the course became crowded with machines from both classes, making it difficult to run clear laps. Nonetheless, Ide in No.100 was able to maneuver a nearly clear lap and record a time of 2 min. 7.474 sec. to claim the lead and the tentative pole position.

Meanwhile there was a rush of GT300 class machines battling to get a time in the top ten to qualify for the Super Lap. Although the leader from the earlier GT300 class session, the No.43 ARTA Garaiya driven by Niita made another attempt, he was not able to better his own time, but Tetsuya Yamano in the No.77CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA was successful in improving his time to 2 min. 22.432 sec. and grab the lead.
The No.9 NISSO SERVICE C6 and the No.110 KUMHO BOXSTER-GT were unable to get qualifying times in this session, and the debuting No.808 Hatsune Miku Studie GLAD BMW Z4 team chose not to run in the qualifying due to deficiencies in the machine's set-up.

No.77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA

Weather:Rain | Course:Wet

Bad weather forces cancellation of the Super Lap and second qualifying session

The second qualifying session had been scheduled to start at 14:40, but the continuing rain from the night before that was falling on the circuit at times in squalls, made driving dangerous.

During the interval between the morning and scheduled afternoon session the SUPER GT Driving Standard Observer, Mr. Naoki Hattori, drove the course in the safety car to assess the conditions from the drivers' standpoint. Then an emergency meeting of race officials was called, and finally an official decision was made at 15:15 to cancel the Super Lap. As for the second qualifying session, a decision was made to postpone it until 16:20 awaiting improvement in the weather, but unfortunately this session also had to be cancelled.
As a result, the qualifying order from the morning qualifying session became the official order for the race starting grid, making the RAYBRIG NSX the tentative pole sitter in the GT500 class. However, due to the fact that engine trouble on Friday had forced this team to change engines, SUPER GT regulations dictated that the team's starting position for the race be dropped ten places, which means that it will start from 11th position in Sunday's race.
This gave the pole position to the morning's second fastest qualifier, MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Michael Krumm). Also, because of a change in its chassis for this round, the No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 will have to start from the pit lane regardless of qualifying results, as dictated by SUPER GT regulations.

As for the teams that were unable to have one of their three drivers get a qualifying time due to the canceled afternoon session, they will have a chance to get a qualifying time in the morning free session before tomorrow's race, and if successful will be able to retain the starting grid position won in today's morning session. Sunday's free session will start at 8:30 and will last ten minutes longer than originally scheduled to end at 9:10.

When the final decision was made to cancel the afternoon session at 16:25, Mr. Hattori explained the situation to the fans who had been waiting all that time in the rain and GTA representative Masaaki Bandoh made an apology and thanked everyone for staying so long. In addition, a special opportunity was created for the long-waiting fans to meet and shake hands with the team managers, and the GT Kids Walk was held according to schedule.