2010 SUPER GT Round4

Battle in heat means an advantage to GT-R?

No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R
Malaysia, a country located near the equator and the hosting country of the SUPER GT Round 4 at Sepang Circuit. It usually turns out to be one of the toughest races in a season where many drivers get knocked out from heat stroke or massive fatigue almost every year. Hence, measures against the heat are crucial for both cars and drivers. Last year, some teams of the GT-R squad installed a small air-conditioner in their cars, which is not a common device in racing. For that, GT-R's may have some advantage in the heat compared to others. In addition, with Sepang's layout being flat with many mid- and high-speed turns, it is the track that GT-R should nail a win considering how the car is stable in braking and turning. Indeed, GT-R has won consecutively at the circuit last year and the year before. Especially for No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer) who has yet to score a win this season, the team has to win here to stay in the contention for the title. Good news is that their tires, Michelin, is known to be good in severe conditions like in heat, and it was the winning tires of last year. The Nissan team is the first to be in the center of attention.

Expectations are high for ARTA HSV-010

No.8 ARTA HSV-010
Speaking of cornering, Honda's brand new machine HSV-010 GT is also good in turns. Despite being left in the dust of GT-R in recent years, Sepang was one of the tracks that NSX favored. Inheriting all the know-how from NSX, the HSV-010 GT can be expected to show good performance at the circuit. Especially, No.8 ARTA HSV-010 (Ralph Firman/Yuji Ide) driven by Ralph Firman, who loves the track, and runner-up of last year No.17 KEIHIN HSV-010 (Toshihiro Kaneishi/Koudai Tsukakoshi) can be noted as a part of the top candidates for the win.

No.1 PETRONAS TOM'S SC430
Although dominating the podium at previous round in Fuji, Sepang is not seen as a favorite circuit for SC430 fleet, to say the least. They also have to carry a lot of handicap weights this weekend, so their strategies would be to pick up as many points as possible. With rather lighter weight on the car, No.39 DENSO DUNLOP SARD SC430 (Andre Couto/Kouhei Hirate) would be a hope for a win. Couto and TEAM SARD have won at Sepang in 2004, so the combination is not a bad one. To name another, it would be a triumphal return with champion number on their car for No.1 PETRONAS TOM'S SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer) as well as its sponsor, Malaysia's very own PETRONAS. They can no way finish the race with disappointing result, and, besides, they would get much closer to consecutive titles if they can finish the race in top position. Without a doubt, the car is one to follow on the track.

Is RX-7 the favorite? Don't forget Shiden and IS350 either

No.7 M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7
When it comes to Sepang, No.7 M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7 (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Ryo Orime) should come to the mind of everyone. They have outstanding track record of 4 wins out of 9 Sepang races. Moreover, they also have a Malaysian company as their sponsor. Last year, the team fought strong again and finished third, but they will not be satisfied unless they can pull off a win. In rivalry against the toughest contender must be last year's winner No.2 I.M. JIHAN CO.LTD・APPLE・Shiden (Hiroki Katoh/Hiroshi Hamaguchi). Despite their second driver is a SUPER GT rookie, Hamaguchi, the team accomplished unbelievable turnaround, winning the race after coming all the way from the end of the grid. With Hamaguchi, who grabbed a podium finish in only his third SUPER GT race, the team should have a fair chance winning in Malaysia if they can start from top position in the grid.

No.365 365 ThunderAsia MT900M
With Sepang being a track with many turns, mid-engined machines have a slight advantage. From that, last year's second qualifier No.11 JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP F430 (Tetsuya Tanaka/Katsuyuki Hiranaka) and second finisher No.19 WedsSport IS350 (Manabu Orido/Tatsuya Kataoka) also form the group of victorious candidates. Considering that both teams have not win yet this season, their thirst for a win must be at maximum level.
Lastly, there is a team that should not be forgotten, No.365 365 ThunderAsia MT900M (Melvin Choo/Tim Sugden). They could not finish the race with a good result due to a machine problem last year, but they caught many by surprise when they came so close to the leading position at one time after starting from 8th position on the grid. For being a Singaporean team, Sepang is a familiar track to them and it's not too much to say their home track. Their expectation must be high for the race at Sepang, especially after finishing races with unsatisfactory results up to this point of their first season of full participation to the series.

2010 season is battled out in a total of 8 rounds, a round less than last year. The Malaysian round is already the turning point of the season. There were squalls last year, and many teams struggled with unstable conditions of the tires caused by massive heat 2 years ago. Of course, it is incredibly tough race for drivers too. What kind of drama awaits the SUPER GT at this year's Sepang?