2010 SUPER GT Round5
Preview
2010-07-22
Series enters mid-season! The heat gets even hotter!!
What can be expected at this year's SUGO?
Have a good memory of summer vacation with SUPER GT!
On July 24th and 25th, 2010 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Round 5 "SUGO GT 300km RACE" will take place at Sportsland SUGO (Miyagi prefecture). Located in the mountains of Tohoku region, the lush green environment is one of the features that Sportsland SUGO is known for. Stage is set and the heat will get hotter for SUPER GT as the series enters into the mid stage of the season. There always have been "something unexpected" happening at the Miyagi round every year. So, what kind of drama is waiting to be seen this year?
How will HSV-010 GT take its first race at SUGO?
No.8 ARTA HSV-010
Sportsland SUGO has a track layout with large mid- and high-speed range turns and huge elevation difference. For that, the track is considered to be favorable to the cars with big power, but the battle on track usually gets closer compared to other circuits, as the maximum powers of SUPER GT cars are fairly even. It is also said that the track is advantageous to the cars good at cornering, and it gave enough reason to pick mid-engined NSX for the top favorite. But since all GT500 cars have FR layout (front engine, rear drive) this season, the condition should be all even. Nevertheless, HSV-010 GT should be the first pick of everyone as it is said to have outstanding cornering ability compared to the rivals, which it inherited from its ancestor NSX. But, of course, it still is the debut year for HSV-010 GT thus first time to race at SUGO. Lacking in data could be a concern, but No.8 ARTA HSV-010 (Ralph Firman/Yuji Ide) and No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 (Takuya Izawa/Naoki Yamamoto) need close attention considering their performances at the previous round in Sepang and that they tend to favor the circuit. Certainly, No.18 Weider HSV-010 (Takashi Kogure/Loic Duval) could well be a major force in the top group as they should be looking to gain some advantage in the series title contention.
No jinx for GT-R anymore?
No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R
Speaking of cornering, GT-R is no less than its rival. For GT-R and Nissan, SUGO had been a circuit they couldn't win in their SUPER GT/JGTC endeavor. But the jinx has been broken last year with No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer) bringing in a win for the manufacturer. Once again, MOTUL AUTECH GT-R may go wild this year along with CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli) that carries the momentum from the win at previous round.
No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430
Unfavorable at a technical track is the established reputation of SC430, but it's been said that the handling has been improved on this year's machine, so the car should have a quite chance to win. With impressive footprint at the track, No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 (Yuji Tachikawa/Richard Lyon) could come up in the top group, so is No.39 DENSO DUNLOP SARD SC430 (Andre Couto/Kohei Hirate) with a light handicap weight.
Watch out for mid-engined Ferrari and Shiden.
No.11 JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP F430
Dead heat situation is no different for GT300 class. Out of all, mid-engined European cars top the list for their suitability to the track. Cars like No.11 JIMGINER DIXCEL DUNLOP F430 (Tetsuya Tanaka/Katsuyuki Hiranaka), No.66 triple a Vantage GT2 (Hideshi Matsuda/Hiroki Yoshimoto), and No.86 JLOC Lamborghini RG-3 (Koji Yamanishi/Yuhi Sekiguchi) could take their place in the top positions
No.2 Apple·K-ONE·Shiden
Looking into others, No.2 Apple·K-ONE·Shiden (Hiroki Katoh/Hiroshi Hamaguchi) with disappointing retirement at the previous round in Sepang should be keen to win at SUGO. For domestic cars, it would be No.31 EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 apr COROLLA (Koki Saga/Kosuke Matsuura) and No.3 HASEMI SPORT TOMICA Z (Kazuki Hoshino/Masakata Yanagida). Defending champion No.19 WedsSport IS350 (Manabu Orido/Tatsuya Kataoka) better score a win soon otherwise their quest to defend the title would see a yellow light.
No.31 EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 apr COROLLA
Porsches also have been successful at SUGO backed by its RR (rear engine, rear drive) layout and the horsepower. Unfortunately, last year's winning team No.33 HANKOOK PORSCHE (Mitsuhiro Kinoshita/Masami Kageyama) will not participate in the upcoming round, but a brand new latest model Porsche is set to make its debut at SUGO with No.9 HATSUNEMIKU X GSR PORSCHE (Taku Bamba/Masahiro Sasaki). Considering all the factors that their machine's performance compares favorably with HANKOOK, Bamba has sufficient experience in SUPER GT, and SUGO is the home track for rookie Sasaki who is from adjacent Iwate Prefecture, they have a great chance to be in the top group if things go in their way, despite the uncertainty inherent in a debut race.
It's been repeatedly stated already, but things always happen in the race at Sportsland SUGO. Do not miss this important race in the midpoint of the 2010 season.