Round 6 of SUPER GT, the “INTERNATIONAL Pokka SUMMER SPECIAL” (Suzuka

700km Race) took place at Suzuka Circuit. After qualifying 2nd, the HASEMI

TOMICA EBBRO GT-R (#3 Ronnie Quintarelli/Hironobu Yasuda) ran a strong race

to take the second step on the podium. In addition, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R

(#1 Satoshi Motoyama/Michael Krumm), which had qualified 12, finished 6th,

protecting its position at the top of the championship points’ standings.

This season has seen strong performances from the HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R

(#3) in the races, particularly when the temperature is high – as it was

at the previous round at SUGO, the car briefly leading before falling back

due to rain, the squad showing its eagerness to secure good results at any

cost this season.

Start driver Quintarelli continuously repelled rivals as he defended 2nd

place throughout the early stages. He handed the car over to his teammate

Yasuda on lap 31. From this point, a battle with the #8 NSX ensued, re-

emerging for 3rd place once again on lap 85. After this, fire broke out

onboard the #8 machine, ending its race. This brought out the safety Car

(SC), which circulated for a number of laps. All cars used this to dive

into the pits for fuel. At about 18:30, the signboard instructing “Lights

On” was shown, and from this point it became a night race. Once the race

re-started, Yasuda in the #3 machine chased the leading #35 car, about 15

seconds up the road. His maintained effort brought the gap own to 10.6

seconds at the finish.

Having taken its second victory of the season at the previous round in

SUGO, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#1 Satoshi Motoyama/Michael Krumm) started the

race in 12th, enduring a tough battle early on without moving up the order.

From start driver Motoyama, regular partner Benoit Treluyer was unable to

take over, Michael Krumm taking his place and running in 9th and 10th in

the middle part of the race. After an accident on lap 85 brought out the

Safety Car, Motoyama was back in the car. With impeccable timing, Krumm had

bought the car up to 7th as night fell. A subsequent penalty for another

competitor up ahead advanced the GT-R one more position, so that after 121

laps, the car crossed the finish line in 6th.  The result means the #1 car

remains in the top position in the championship as it heads into the final

few events of the season.

Starting 11th, the IMPUL CALSONIC GT-R (#12 Tsugio Matsuda/Sebastien

Philippe) saw Matsuda take the race start, tyre damage early on deciding

the outcome of their race. Good timing when the SC came out meant they ran

6th, and then moved up a position to end the race with 5th place.

Qualifying in 10th, the HIS ADVAN KONDO GT-R (#24 Joao Paolo de

Oliveira/Seiji Ara) made a superb start, crossing the control line in 8th

place after the first lap. After this, the car showed a powerful

performance. At the 2nd pit stop, on lap 65, Oliveira moved up to 5th. It

was up to 4th position just before the Safety Car came out. But then,

trouble occurred when trying to advance further. Repairs in the pits meant

the car was unable to take part in the fight for the podium. In the end,

the car finished in 11th place.

- NISMO Team Director Yutaka Suzuki’s comment:

“In the early stages, Motoyama was able to run at a faster pace, and

though we wanted to be quicker, we concentrated on not overusing the tyres,

dictating our pace as scheduled. Also, in Krumm’s case, though we’d

planned a rather short stint for him, the Safety Car coming out threw that

into disarray and we had to run a lot of laps outside what we’d planned.

However, he did a great job of treating the tyres well, contributing to our

points tally more than we’d expected. In terms of the latter half of the

season, this was a great race for us.”

- #3 GT-R driver Ronnie Quintarelli’s comment:

“Second place on the podium is a great result for us. Also, the air-con

system was really good this time, so that I didn’t even know it when I

became tired. Because we’ve also moved up in the point rankings, we’ll

really be pushing in the next round at Fuji. Thank you everybody for your

support.”

- #3 GT-R driver Hironobu Yasuda’s comment:

“Due to everyone’s effort it was possible to take the second in the

Suzuka 700km event today. We won in Sepang, and have come 2nd here. It’s

incredibly pleasing. The air-con system developed by NISMO was absolutely

superb, I was able to concentrate the whole way. From this point on we’ll

be looking seriously at taking the championship. Thank you very much.”