2010 SUPER GT Round6

Taking revenge for the season opener! Can HSV-010 GT prove itself?

Honda's new weapon, HSV-010 GT, made its debut at the same Suzuka Circuit where the season opener was held. No.18 Weider HSV-010 (Takashi Kogure/Loic Duval) clinched a sensational first pole in first event. But only one HSV-010 GT out of five was able to get on to the podium in the race with rain sweeping away its road ahead, which only left the manufacturer a miserable memory.


No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010
All HSV-010 GT teams must be keen to take on the revenge, especially with the circuit being Honda's home track. Out of the teams, No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 (Takuya Izawa/Naoki Yamamoto) with third place podium finish at the season opener would be the first team to watch for. Two young drivers have earned many experiences through the battles they were engaged for the leading position at every race this year, and the team should be fired up to be back at their favorite circuit of Suzuka. Considering that another young duo had grabbed their first win at the same event last year, winning factors are there already for Izawa/Yamamoto duo. No.8 ARTA HSV-010 (Ralph Firman/Yuji Ide/Takashi Kobayashi) has not being able to pull off a good result despite the speed it has shown up to this point in the season, but they are sure contender for the endurance race. The team must be looking ahead to get back on the road with a win at their favorite Suzuka and they are giving a shot at a rising youngster from F3 racing, Kobayashi, as their third driver in expectation to get a boost from the young gun. Looking back at the past, Izawa as well as Koudai Tsukakoshi (No.17 KEIHIN HSV-010, pairing up with Toshihiro Kaneishi), who made a come-from-behind win at previous round in Sugo, had turned their opportunity to drive as a third driver into obtaining a regular seat in the SUPER GT, so the rookie Kobayashi may pull off his future likewise. However, heat management is bit of a concern for HSV-010 GT. Many Honda teams had problems with cool suit that drivers wear in the Round 4 Sepang as well as Round 5 SUGO. Cool suit is a device to cool down driver's body and does not directly relate to the mechanism of the car, but after a sequence of problems, it becomes a huge concern for the teams and requires a countermeasure than can be applied to all Honda teams. What kind of countermeasure or workaround will the manufacture come up with? That's another key point to watch in the race.

MOTUL NISMO GT-R is considered to be the top favorite.

No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R
No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer) is considered to be the top favorite not only in the GT-R fleet but in the whole GT500 class. At previous round in SUGO, the team successfully carried the race in their way starting from the pole and it looked as if they were to win it in perfection up until 7 laps to go. But the victory slipped out of their hands after encountering a rare accident where flying tire debris hit the car and turned off the external power switch on the hood. That gives enough reason for the team to come to Suzuka with a great commitment. Given the speed they have shown at Sepang and SUGO where their rivals were struggling with the heat, the Nissan team must be keen to win at "Hot" Suzuka. No, they must win because otherwise would mean the ace team of Nissan falling off from the series title contention. With good track record in the Pokka GT event, No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli) with 2 wins in the season could be a strong contender too.

MJ KRAFT SC430 looking for a back-to-back Pokka GT victory.

No.35 MJ KRAFT SC430
Hiroaki Ishiura and Kazuya Oshima of MF KRAFT SC430 reigned last year's Pokka GT by completing a pole-to-win. The first win for the two drivers in their 20's gave them a leap to become a strong part of the title contenders, which they have proven by winning the Round 3 Fuji this season. Their first ever title will be in their range if the two can bring in a win at their fortunate event, Pokka GT. Team KRAFT has proven its potential at endurance races by winning last year's 700km (Suzuka) and this year's 400km (Fuji) distance, which is a great complement to their confidence.

For No.6 ENEOS SC430 (Daisuke Ito/Bjorn Wirdheim) and No.1 PETRONAS TOM'S SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer), ranked 1st and 4th in the driver's ranking, respectively, it would be a difficult race with the handicap weight both teams have to carry, but with the skill and experience both drivers and teams have, they may turn the long distance of 700km into their advantage and find their way to be in the top group at the chequer. How to cross the finish line ahead of other rivals is the main objective for the two teams as well as the second ranked team, No.18 Weider HSV-010. Their nip-and-tuck battle may offer exciting actions during the race.

Keep your eyes on top-ranked Z, RX-7, and Garaiya.

No.3 TOMICA Z
When it comes to Pokka GT for GT300 class, Fairlady Z should come to the top of list in terms of model for its 2 consecutive win at the event. Both wins were driven by Kazuki Hoshino. Although Hoshino competes with different team this season, No.3 TOMICA Z (Hoshino/Masataka Yanagida), he continues to drive Z and takes on the challenge for a 3-peat. On the other side, the team that completed back-to-back win, No.46 UP START MOLA Z (Naoki Yokomizo/Tsubasa Abe), is having a good season as well. With the leader in ranking, No.7 M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7 (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Ryo Orime), the battle among the three top rankers are likely to become the main focus of the race.

No.2 Apple K-one Shiden
For others, the winner of previous round, No.2 Apple K-one Shiden (Hiroki Katoh/Hiroshi Hamaguchi/Kazuho Takahashi), and No.43 ARTA Garaiya (Morio Nitta/Shinichi Takagi/Kyosuke Mineo) should not be underestimated. Two Corolla Axios of No.31 EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 apr COROLLA (Koki Saga/Kosuke Matsuura) and No.74 COROLLA Axio apr GT (Takuto Iguchi/Yuji Kunimoto) should also be added to the list for their recent performances.

No.9 HATSUNEMIKU X GSR PORSCHE
Out of the foreign cars competing in the SUPER GT, No.9 HATSUNEMIKU X GSR PORSCHE (Taku Bamba/Masahiro Sasaki/Mitsuhiro Kinoshita) has a good potential for the endurance race. Exclusively for the Suzuka event, Kinoshita, who is a regular driver of No.33 HANKOOK PORSCHE, will join the team as third driver. Putting together Kinoshita, who has rich experiences with Porsche and Hankook tire, with Bamba, who is known for the speed, will definitely increase the overall strength of the team. Team's main objective may be a podium finish, but they can be a dark horse of the race.

Heat, long distance, night session in the final hour of the race, third driver, etc, Round 6 Pokka GT offers a full of unique elements which can't be seen at other event in the series. Don't miss the dramatic consequence the event provides every year!

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