NISSAN GT-R: Two Consecutive Wins In Opening Rounds AT Super GT
April 14, 2008 · Filed Under Achievements, MotorSports, News, Nissan Skyline
April 13th, Okayama International Circuit, Okayama Prefecture, Japan – Sunday April 13th, the 2nd round of the SUPER GT season was held at Okayama International Circuit in Okayama prefecture. XANAVI NISMO GT-R(#23 Satoshi Motoyama / Benoit Treluyer), starting from pole position led the race from the start, accomplishing a pole-to-flag victory, to get their second consecutive win after the first round of the 2008 season. Third in qualifying, Calsonic IMPUL GT-R(#12 Tsugio Matsuda / Sebastien Philippe) finished 2nd, and the NISSAN GT-R took its second consecutive 1-2 finish.
#23 leads from the start, despite an intense attack
Under light clouds and with 29,000 people watching, the 82-lap race began at 14:03. All machines finished the first lap safely, Benoit Treluyer leading in the #23 GT-R, followed by last year’s champion car, the #1 HONDA NSX, and then #12 GT-R. Fourth was the #3 GT-R, and 6th the #22 GT-R. The GT-Rs were leading the race. The #1 NSX was right behind the #23 GT-R, waiting for the moment to take over. For a while mid-race, they were right next to the #23 car, but Treluyer never gave them a chance, and held on to his lead.
Rain destabilizes race
Around the 20th lap, light rain started to fall. It wasn’t enough to make it a wet race, but there were dangerous points such as the painted rumble strips which took grip away from the cars, and spins and collisions occurred on track as a result. On lap 31, the #3 GT-R spun out after getting hit by a machine from behind. To avoid that incident, the #22 collided with another car, damaging its bodywork and suspension. The #22 had to head back to the pits for repairs, losing it a considerable amount of time.
#12 GT-R wins the battle for 2nd position
The highlight of the second half of the race was the intense battle for 2nd place between the #12 and #1 cars. Matsuda, who started 3rd in the #12 GT-R, was right behind the #1 and waiting for an opportunity. The thrilling battle continued for 15 laps, but the #1 car spun out on the 68th lap, concluding the battle. Matsuda pursued Motoyama’s #23 GT-R and caught up, shrinking the difference from 17 seconds to 2.5, but couldn’t overtake. The #23 car crossed the 82nd lap finish line first, followed by the #12, completing a 1-2 finish for the GT-R. It was the first time in SUPER GT history that two of the same cars won a GT race. Motoyama got his 9th GT race win in total and is now tied for the most wins.
The #24 GT-R, starting from 14th, got points for finishing 8th. The #3 finished 10th. The #22 car finished 15th with a 10-lap gap after coming back on track from the previous delay.
- #23 Satoshi Motoyama’s comment:
It’s the first time I’ve had consecutive wins. Benoit did really well in the first half to save the lead, so it was a great race. I’m thankful. I’m excited to have the most wins, but I’m more happy that we won here because I haven’t been doing too well in Okayama recently.
- #23 Benoit Treluyer’s comment:
Both the tires and the team were perfect. I feel great! I had thought that consecutive wins in GT was impossible so I’m very happy. I knew it would be tough unless I was in the lead by the 6th lap, and that was right. I was very careful so others couldn’t pass me. I used traffic to protect my position.
- NISMO Team Director Iijima’s comment:
Thank you for your support. Two consecutive wins from the start, pole-to-win, it all may sound easy, but the weight was heavy and it was a rough race on the tires too. The drivers did a wonderful job of controlling the race, and they ran a brilliant race. The #22 unfortunately had an accident, but we can unload the weight now, so the car will do better at Fuji. Thank you all, and I appreciate your continued support.
| Pos | No | Machine | Driver | Time / Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | XANAVI NISMO GT-R | Satoshi Motoyama / Benoit Treluyer | 2:01′56.605 |
| 2 | 12 | CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R | Tsugio Matsuda / Sebastien Philippe | +2.506 |
| 3 | 1 | ARTA NSX | Ralph Firman / Takuya Izawa | +30.920 |
| 4 | 36 | PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 | Juichi Wakisaka / Andre Lotterer | +33.310 |
| 5 | 32 | EPSON NSX | Loic Duval / Katsuyuki Hiranaka | +35.517 |
| 6 | 35 | Houzan KRAFT SC430 | Peter Dumbreck / Tatsuya Kataoka | +58.030 |
| 7 | 38 | ZENT CERUMO SC430 | Yuji Tachikawa / Richard Lyons | +58.255 |
| 8 | 24 | WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R | Joao Paulo De Oliveira / Seiji Ara | +1′08.586 |
| 9 | 100 | RAYBRIG NSX | Yuji Ide / Shinya Hosokawa | +1′09.230 |
| 10 | 3 | YellowHat YMS TOMICA GT-R | Ronnie Quintarelli / Naoki Yokomizo | 1Lap |
| 15 | 22 | MOTUL AUTECH GT-R | Michael Krumm / Masataka Yanagida | 10Laps |
| Pos | No | Machine | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | XANAVI NISMO GT-R | Satoshi Motoyama / Benoit Treluyer | 46 |
| 2 | 36 | PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 | Juichi Wakisaka / Andre Lotterer | 19 |
| 3 | 22 | MOTUL AUTECH GT-R | Michael Krumm / Masataka Yanagida | 18 |
| 3 | 12 | CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R | Tsugio Matsuda / Sebastien Philippe | 18 |
| 5 | 1 | ARTA NSX | Ralph Firman / Takuya Izawa | 14 |
| 6 | 38 | ZENT CERUMO SC430 | Yuji Tachikawa / Richard Lyons | 12 |
| 7 | 24 | WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R | Joao Paulo De Oliveira / Seiji Ara | 10 |
| 7 | 35 | Houzan KRAFT SC430 | Peter Dumbreck / Tatsuya Kataoka | 10 |
| 9 | 32 | EPSON NSX | Loic Duval / Katsuyuki Hiranaka | 8 |
| 10 | 18 | TAKATA DOME NSX | Ryo Michigami / Takashi Kogure | 4 |
| 11 | 17 | REAL NSX | KatsutomoKaneishi / Toshihiro Kaneish | 3 |
| 12 | 6 | ENEOS SC430 | Daisuke Ito / Bjorn Wirdheim | 2 |
| 14 | 3 | YellowHat YMS TOMICA GT-R | Ronnie Quintarelli/Naoki Yokomizo | 1 |
Source: Nissan
Latest Japanese Cars Headlines
- Nissan GT-R Takes Up Role as Emergency Response Vehicle
- Revisions for 2010 Nissan GT-R in its Sophmore Year
- Nissan GT-R and 370Z Named to “Edmunds’ Inside Line 2009 Readers’ Most WantedSM Awards” List
- Nissan GT-R Won 2009 World Performance Car Award Presented by Mobil 1
- 2010 Nissan GT-R Details and Pricing
Related Posts
toolbar powered by Conduit |
