2010 SUPER GT Round8

Fight among contrasting rivals, Weider HSV-010 and ENEOS SC430

Amazingly, 9 teams still have a possibility to win the drivers' title in GT500 class. However, it seems that the contention is left to the top ranked No.18 Weider HSV-010 (Takashi Kogure/Loic Duval) and No. 6 ENEOS SC430 (Daisuke Ito/Bjorn Wirdheim), trailing 1 point behind the leader, in terms of the points, because whoever wins the race in Motegi will claim the series champion.
Weider has shown both the speed and weakness this season, finishing at first, second, and third one time each as well as 3 seventh or below finishes. On the other hand, though winless, ENEOS has been consistent and finished five races out of six at between second to fifth place. How will these contrasting two teams execute strategy and fight at Motegi is definitely one of the top interests this weekend.

But the defending champion and GT-R's are formidable too.

No.1 PETRONAS TOM'S SC430
Indeed, you never know what will happen in SUPER GT. No guarantee that these two teams will finish the race in top positions easily. Which means No.17 KEIHIN HSV-010 (Toshihiro Kaneishi/Koudai Tsukakoshi), 10 points behind the leader, and the defending champion No.1 PETRONAS TOM'S SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer) would still have a chance for the title, only if they can get a podium finish at least.


No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R
Also, No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli) and No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer) are trailing 11 points and 14 points behind the leader Weider HSV-010, respectively. Since some sees that the drivability of GT-R suits the track layout of Motegi, the two Nissan teams may have a chance if they secure top positions in the qualifying and finish the race at second or above, but all depends on how the situation turns out for the teams ahead of them in the point ranking, Other teams behind them in the ranking, No.35 MJ KRAFT SC430 (Hiroaki Ishiura/Kazuya Oshima), No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 (Yuji Tachikawa/Richard Lyons), and No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 (Takuya Izawa/Naoki Yamamoto), would need to win the race and have top rankers lag behind in the classification, so the situation is not too bright for them; they would need to push 100% at full throttle from the qualifying, put pressure on their rivals, and wait for the result.
Looking back at the history of Motegi, Honda NSX had left a tremendous record of 8 wins out of 10 races. So the question is "Is HSV-010 GT also strong at Motegi?" as it has taken up the place from NSX. The answer remains unknown until the car actually takes a run on the circuit. At a tire testing held in early October, ENEOS SC430 marked the fastest time, but it is not appropriate to simply compare since its biggest rival Weider HSV-010 did not participated in the test. Indeed, no one can make any prediction until the final round undertakes.

A slight advantage for ARTA Garaiya in GT300 title contention?

Six teams have captured the right to battle for the drivers' title in GT300 class. Current point leader is No.43 ARTA Garaiya (Morio Nitta/Shinichi Takagi). No.7 M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7 (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Ryo Orime) and No.74 COROLLA Axio apr GT (Takuto Iguchi/Yuji Kunimoto) are following behind at 6 points and 8 points gaps, respectively. Basically, these 3 teams will carry out the race with eyes on each other's situation.
ARTA will clinch the title if it finishes the race at third or above, so the team has plenty advantage over its rivals. But if ARTA drops down to middle group or behind during the race with AMEMIYA or COROLLA Axio running at fourth place or above, the situation will quickly change and become difficult for ARTA, because ARTA has not scored a win this season where AMEMIYA scored two wins and COROLA Axio with one win. According to the rulebook, if two or more teams finish the season at the same amount of points, a team with more number of wins will be placed above the other team. ARTA Garaiya must secure appropriate position with the rule in consideration.

Apart from above, teams at fourth and below places in the point ranking, No.3 TOMICA Z (Kazuki Hoshino/Masataka Yanagida), No.46 UP START MOLA Z (Naoki Yokomizo/Tsubasa Abe), and No.2 Apple_K-one_Shiden (Hiroki Katoh/Hiroshi Hamaguchi), must take on the race at Motegi with a victory and nothing else in their minds considering the point difference.
Six cars mentioned above are the key point of the race, but there are always some ambushes in GT300. At Motegi, Ferraris have claimed the winner last year and the year before. Porsches are showing good performances in recent races, and, in that sense, you should never forget No.11 JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP F430 (Tetsuya Tanaka/Katsuyuki Hiranaka), No.25 ZENT Porsche RSR (Akihiro Tsuzuki/Takeshi Tsuchiya), No.9 HATSUNEMIKU X GSR PORSCHE (Taku Bamba/Masahiro Sasaki), and No.26 CINE CITTA' TAISAN PORSCHE (Shogo Mitsuyama/Masayuki Ueda). If any of the teams wins or finishes the race at top positions, it will create turmoil in the title contention. This is definitely the point to watch in GT300.

After all, the final round is the final. In addition, cars that have participated in all races up to this point will not need to carry any handicap weight at the final round again this year, which allows corresponding cars to run at full speed. But one mistake can blow everything away as the race distance of Motegi race will be slightly shorter than other SUPER GT races at 250km and the track is hard to overtake and challenging.
There have always been some dramatic scenes in the final round of SUPER GT, but something tells that more thrilling and unbelievable dramas wait at this year's final round in Motegi. This is the wrap-up of the season, don't miss it.