2017.10.15

GTA Chairman Bandoh and ITR Chairman Berger hold Press Conference after DTM Final Round

On October 15th (Sun.), after the completion of the final round of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) championship series held in Hockenheim, Germany, GTA Co.,Ltd Chairman Masaaki Bandoh and Internationalen Tourenwagen Rennen e.V. (ITR) Chairman Gerhard Berger held a joint press conference. The two Chairmen said the joint demo run by GT500 cand DTM cars was another positive step forward in the collaboration between the two series to establish a unified “Class One” regulation.

 

 

At the press conference, Chairman Bandoh commented: “We were able to bring our GT500 cars to the final round of the DTM series and successfully do demo runs yesterday with no problems. I believe the events of that day, October 14, 2017, have opened a new page in the history of automobile racing for the countries of Germany and Japan. What’s more, we were able to have two GT500 cars, the Nissan GT-R and Lexus LC500, run together on the same track with three DTM cars. Watching the five cars running together became a very emotional moment for me and made me very happy.” Reflected in these words was clearly a deep satisfaction in the results of a long period of negotiations to realize this kind of significant exchange between the two series.

Chairman Berger expressed his agreement with Chairman Bandoh’s words in calling yesterday an historic day. He went on to say that he was glad to have been able to show the fans gathered for race weekend the sight of Japan’s GT500 cars running on the track and show the progress that was being made in the collaboration between the two championships.

About the demo run this time, Chairmen Bandoh said, “When ITR asked us if we could actually bring some GT500 cars to Germany to deepen understanding of the significance of the two series’ collaboration, I thought that, indeed, the time was right, and I decided to do it. I believe this is concrete evidence of the progress that has steadily been made in our talks with ITR. And I think that in addition to the ongoing talks (between the two series), actually bringing the GT500 cars here (and having them run together with the DTM cars) has been very meaningful.”

 

 

Chairmen Berger was asked about his impression of seeing the demo runs of the two GT500 cars that have already adopted the 2000cc in-line 4-cylinder turbocharged engines that will become the standard regulation from 2019. Chairman Berger replied with a wry laugh that because he was also once a race driver, it is frustrating to see a car that is faster than DTM cars. So, he said that the German side would have to get to work too. He went on to say that the GT500 cars have direct injection intake and big horsepower too, and once the regulation is unified the German cars will surely be the same. He also commented that the sound of the GT500 engines was very good. He commented that the German car manufacturers were now working on the development (of the new DTM specification engines) and that he felt the progress was going well.

Chairman Berger went on to say that many manufacturers face cost issues and that formulating feasible visions of the future of new regulations is an important issue for them. He said that he supported the collaboration between the two series and wants to continue to make progress with it. Chairman Berger also said he thinks it will be a good thing if the Japanese and German manufacturers can work toward the same goal of unifying the race regulation in a way that will bring costs down, and he hoped that other manufacturers would join them to make this a worldwide program.

 

Chairman Bandoh expressed his hopes for continued collaboration between GTA and ITR: “We are nearing completion of talks to finalize the Class One regulation. I want to see us continue to strengthen the cooperation between SUPER GT and DTM, and after seeing the demo runs this time, I am sure that the collaboration will become deeper and stronger. And I am sure that it will succeed.”

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