2015.08.29

MOTUL AUTECH GT-R sets new course record to win pole position

Round5 Suzuka : Qualifying GT500

The official qualifying for the 44th International SUZUKA 1000km race, Round 5 of the 2015 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, was held at the Suzuka Circuit (Mie Prefecture) on August 29 (Sat.). In the GT500 class qualifying, the No. 1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R driven by Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli won pole position with a course record time despite carrying a handicap of 68 kg. In the GT300 class, the No. 2 SYNTIUM Apple LOTUS driven by Kazuho Takahashi, Hiroki Katoh and Hiroshi Hamaguchi won the team's first class pole, also with a course record.

 

From morning, a heavy cloud cover hung over Suzuka Circuit, and when time came for the qualifying to begin in the afternoon there was still no sign of clearing. However, the sky was gradually growing lighter and by starting time the air temperature had risen to 27 degrees Celsius. As for the track, it was by then completely dry and the surface temperature was up to 32 degrees Celsius.
The 15-minute GT500 class Q1 session began five minutes after the end of the GT300 class Q1 at 2:50 in the afternoon. The No. 8 ARTA NSX CONCEPT-GT (Kosuke Matsuura) that had suffered mechanical trouble during the morning's practice took to the track as soon as the session started, partly with the aim of checking the machine's performance, while the other machines and drivers waited a while in their pits as usual. With just under ten minutes remaining in the session, the other cars began to leave the pits with the No. 19 WedsSport ADVAN RC F (Yuhi Sekiguchi) moving out first. Around the time all of the cars had begun to make their first timed laps, the No. 6 ENEOS SUSTINA RC F (Yuji Kunimoto) ran straight off the track in the first right-hand turn of the "S" curve, plowed across the gravel and crashed into the sponge barrier. This accident brought out the Red Flag to suspend the session. All of the cars were in the midst of flying lap attacks at the time, and the forced break was especially unfortunate for the No. 15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT (Takashi Kogure) that had run the first to third sectors of the track in the fastest time of the session.
The session was eventually restarted at 3:10 with just five minutes remaining for the teams to make their time attacks. With the pits of the Lexus teams being located closest to the first corner, it was the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM'S RC F (Daisuke Ito) who led what was expected to be a rush back onto the track by all of the cars in quick succession. However, Kogure alone took the bold move of waiting until just 3 min. 20 sec. remained in the session before finally leaving the pit. He was literally betting everything on one time attack.
Meanwhile, as the other cars made their attacks, Daisuke Ito was the first to record a time in the 1'48 range and was soon joined by fellow Lexus driver Ryo Hirakawa in the No. 37 KeePer TOM'S RC F at the top of the time board in 1st and 2nd places. However, the No. 17 KEIHIN NSX CONCEPT-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi) soon beat their times with a 1'48.149 lap, only to lose the top spot immediately to the 1'48.022 time recorded by the No. 64 Epson NSX CONCEPT-GT (Bertrand Baguette). While the top spot changed hands rapidly in this way, the competition suddenly broke through the 1'48 barrier when Satoshi Motoyama in the No. 46 S Road MOLA GT-R recorded a time of 1'47.749, giving him the provisional pole. After that, the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F (Hiroaki Ishiura) ran a time of 1'47.941 but failed to beat Motoyama's time. When the session ended, the top eight cars that would move on to Q2 were filled out by the No. 64 Epson NSX CONCEPT-GT, the No. 15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT, No. 17 KEIHIN NSX CONCEPT-GT, No. 37 KeePer TOM'S RC F and the No. 1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda) and No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira).

 

 

The No. 64 Epson NSX CONCEPT-GT that had made a strong 3rd-place showing in Q1 was first to take to the track in Q2, now with Daisuke Nakajima at the wheel. As the other cars followed suit, the No. 1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Ronnie Quintarelli) was the last to leave the pit with about eight minutes remaining in the session, in a move that left a large gap between it and the cars ahead. Having been the fourth machine to enter the track, the No. 17 KEIHIN NSX CONCEPT-GT (Hideki Mutoh) was now suffering machine trouble and had to return to the pit without making a time attack. Meanwhile, the other drivers slowly warmed up their tires and prepared for their final timed laps. Although the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F (Yuji Tachikawa) managed to record a time in the 1'47 range, it wasn't fast enough to beat the time recorded by Quintarelli. After that, the No. 46 S Road MOLA GT-R (Masataka Yanagida), the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda), Daisuke Nakajima and others managed to better their own times but failed to match that of Quintarelli. This gave the No. 1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R the top qualifying time. For the team, it was a dramatic come-from-behind pole win after finishing 7th in Q1.
Qualifying 2nd came the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F and 3rd place went to the No. 64 Epson NSX CONCEPT-GT, which meant that the top three places went to one car each of the three make, Nissan, Lexus and Honda, while the three tire makers Michelin, Bridgestone and Dunlop also managed to get a car in the top three. With a long 1,000 km race to compete, it will be fascinating to see which faces make it to the winners' podium after Sunday's noon start.

 

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