JAF Grand Prix SUPER GT & Formula NIPPON FUJI SPRINT CUP 2011
15 Nov, 2011
Race 1 of the JAF Grand Prix SUPER GT & Formula NIPPON FUJI SPRINT CUP 2011, bringing together Japan's premier production car race, the SUPER GT, and Japan's premier formula car race, Formula Nippon, took place on November 12 at Fuji Speedway (one lap 4.563 km) in Shizuoka Pref. As the first JAF Grand Prix in 20 years, this event has been especially full of interest, with the two big race categories competing on the same days again this year.
Unlike the regular season SUPER GT series races competed by a relay of two drivers for each machine, this event is competed in two races on the 12th and 13th driven by one driver each. The final team standings for the event are determined by the point totals of each team's two drivers in these two races.
Race 1 of the GT500 class (22laps / 100.386 km) started at 15:15. Starting from pole position, Ronnie Quintarelli in the S Road MOLA GT-R made a good to take the lead, despite this race using a standing start as opposed to the rolling starts of the regular SUPER GT series. He was followed in 2nd by Kazuya Oshima in the ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 until Joao Paulo Lima de Oliveira in the CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R passed Oshima and began to chase the S Road early on in the race.
At one point Quintarelli built up a 4-second lead, but as his tires wore down in the latter stages of the race, his pace dropped. This allowed De Oliveira to close the gap gradually. Over the last three laps less than a second separated the two lead machines, but Quintarelli managed to hold off the charging De Oliveira and take the checkered first. With this perfect pole-to-win race, the newly crowned 2011 SUPER GT champion proved his credentials. De Oliveira finished 2nd and 3rd place went to Juichi Wakisaka in the D'STATION KeePer SC430 after a fierce last-lap battle with another Lexus SC430.
Race 1 of the GT300 (22 laps /100.386 km) saw the pole sitting JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP 458 driven by Katsuyuki Hiranaka fall off the pace and lose the lead to the HATSUNEMIKU GOODSMILE BMW driven by Nobuteru Taniguchi.
In the latter stages of the race Taniguchi was caught by a hard-charging Tomonobu Fujii in the HANKOOK PORSCHE and the two staged a dead-heat dash over the last lap. Fujii managed to move into the lead coming off the last corner, but Taniguchi came back to nip him at the finish line by a mere 0.092 of a second and claim the win.
========== inner comments ==========
Race 1
No. 46 S Road MOLA GT-R [GT500] Ronnie Quintarelli: For this race we had almost no data to base our tire choice on. So we measured the track temperature before the start and based our choice on comparison with data from previous races this season. Besides the data, my feeling for the tires and the machine had been very good in the warm-up and that gave me the feeling that I could probably win the race. After the start, the machine the tires and everything felt good and I was able to run at a very good pace in the early stages of the race. In the second half of the race car No. 12 was closing in on me at a very fast pace, and with the wear on my tires also being a factor, it was able to catch up to me. With three or four laps remaining the tire grip improved a bit and I was able to push harder again and go on to the win with assurance."
No. 4 HATSUNEMIKU GOODSMILE BMW [GT300] Nobuteru Taniguchi: “I pushed very hard in the early stages of the race, but being on softer tires I began to lose grip (due to wear) part way through the race and it was tough going. So I changed to a strategy of watching the gap between me and cat No. 33 and go easy on the tires so they would last to the finish. But, coming out of the last turn on the last lap of the race, Fujii pulled ahead of me. So I made full use of my BMW Z4's famed speed on the straight. It may not be the coolest way to win, but I'm glad I won all the same. Also, since I think the standing start is one of the things that really makes racing exciting, I love this Fuji Sprint Cup. I hope they will continue to run it this way."
Race 2 of the JAF Grand Prix SUPER GT & Formula NIPPON FUJI SPRINT CUP 2011, bringing together Japan's premier production car race, the SUPER GT, and Japan's premier formula car race, Formula Japan, was run on November 13 at Fuji Speedway (one lap 4.563 km) in Shizuoka Pref. About 40,500 fans gathered to watch and cheer for their favorite teams on the third and final day of hot competition.
The regular season SUPER GT series races are competed by a relay of two drivers for each machine, but in this Sprint Cup event they compete separately in one race each, held this time on the 12th and 13th. The final winners of the JAF Grand Prix are determined by the point totals of each team's two drivers in these two races.
Race 2 of the GT500 class (22 laps / 100.386 km) started at 15:25. Starting from 4th position on the grid, Takuya Izawa in the RAYBRIG HSV-010 got the best start. Izawa managed to pass the pole-starting Masataka Yanagida (S Road MOLA GT-R) half way through the first lap and take the lead.
From there it became a match race with Yanagida chasing the leader, Izawa. Later, when it looked as if there would a strong charge by the 2011 SUPER GT champion S Road, but Izawa, a new recruit for the winless RAYBRIG team this season, wouldn't let that happen. He gradually edged away from Yanagida to build up a lead of just under three seconds.
He ran on that way to the finish of the 100 km race to claim the win in Race 2 for the RAYBRIG team. Yanagida in the S Road machine finished 2nd. The battle for third was decided when the SC430 machines vying for that spot collided with each other and both sun out, allowing Toshihiro Kaneishi in the KEIHIN HSV-010 to move into 3rd.
From the results of this Race 2 and Race 1 held the day before, the GT500 class JAF Grand Prix went to the S Road MOLA GT-R(Masataka Yanagida / Ronnie Quintarelli) . As the overall winners of the GT500 class, the MOLA team was also awarded the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Prize.
In Race 2 of the GT300 class (22 laps / 100.386 km) the HATSUNEMIKU GOODSMILE BMW driven by Taku Bamba made a brilliant charge from 12th position on the starting grid to take the lead with the race sill in its early stages. Later, Bamba held off the challenge by Masami Kageyama in the HANKOOK PORSCHE to take the victory.
This was the second win in the two days of races for the HATSUNEMIKU GOODSMILE BMW GT300 team (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Taku Bamba) and it secured them the GT300 class JAF Grand Prix title.
========================== Race 2 Winner Comments ==========================
No. 100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 [GT500]
Takuya Izawa: “All I can say is that I am just simply happy. Since I came to this team things have been good some times and bad at other times. But overall, I haven't been able to deliver vary good results this season. So, I glad I was able to deliver with a good race today. I haven't seen [our team manager] Kunimitsu [Takahashi] san yet since the race ended, so I want to really rejoice when I see him. The biggest point in today's race was that I was able to make a good start. After that, the car's balance, the condition of the tires, everything was great and I was able to push hard all the way from the first lap to the last. That was the key to everything, I believe. I can't say that this last race made everything OK for the season, but since I was finally able to turn all the efforts that Yamamoto san and I have made together into a win, I actually feel a bit sad that we are now entering the off-season. Still, I think t was a race that will connect positively to next
season."
No. 4 HATSUNEMIKU GOODSMILE BMW [GT300]
Taku Bamba: “I am really tremendously happy. I believe that we have been able to win because of all the private sponsors that have supported us, and I am just very happy that we were able to win the JAF Grand Prix. In yesterday's qualifying I chose the dry-condition tires, but the choice was not a good one. So I was determined to make up for that mistake by fighting back to win the race. The competition was really fierce in the early stages of the race, so I focused on staying calm and setting one objective at a time. And I think was successful in driving according to the image I set. It has been a very rewarding year for me and I am grateful for that. All in all I think it was a very good year."
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