Welcome back, race fans, to Round 3 of the 2003 Autobacs JGTC GT Championship held at Sportsland Sugo. The challenging 2.3-mile circuit is located on the rolling hills of Sendai in the Miyagi Prefecture, making for some intense elevation changes. Forty-eight thousand fans came out to watch Japan's top drivers battle for 81 laps in their quest to win the race. Some drivers even swapped paint with little regard for these magnificent beasts, but as DW might say, "rubbin's racin'." He also said, "... if we can get enough wheels squeaking, then we might get a little grease to it," and we have no idea what that means. GT500 So far this season, the JGTC has been an all Supra and Skyline show, leaving the NSX to play the role of a bit player. But at an earlier Sportsland Sugo test session, the team Honda cars auditioned for a starring role as the number 18 Dome Racing NSX threw down the quickest time. But, as is sometimes the case in these sessions, many of the teams tested their cars with additional weight. This intentional handicapping is done to plan for the possibility of any weight penalties the GT Association will assign for a high qualifying or finishing position.
The number 22 Skyline GT-R proved this point well. Drivers Masami Kageyama and Richard Lyons were third quickest in the early season test session, but after a Round 2 victory at Fuji (see "Phew! Gee!," Oct. '03) their Motul Pitwork Nissan was saddled with a not-so-insignificant 60-kilogram (132-pound) handicap. Coming into the Sugo race were two other top Skylines pushing maximum density. The number 23 Xanavi Nismo GT-R carried an additional 50 kilograms (110 pounds), and the number 12 Impul car was heavier by 40 kilograms (88 pounds). Much like trying to get Jonny to run uphill, the extra weight cannot be a good thing considering Sportsland Sugo's undulating terrain.
Although the 2003 version of the car has undergone some severe changes (naturally aspirated V-8 instead of turbo'ed I-4), the Supras have won at Sugo for the past two years, and these Toyotas looked to continue the streak during qualifying. Juichi Wakisaka showed the form that earned him the 2002 Driver's Championship as he drove his number 1 Esso Ultraflo Supra into the pole position with a 1:17.805, which also happens to be a new GT500 circuit record. When the early morning clouds burned off no one (including Wakisaka) was able to better this time in the afternoon session. Akira Iida held Wakisaka's number 1 position as he took the wheel of the number 1 Supra, and Satoshi Motoyama pushed hard in the number 23 Skyline. These two cars pulled away from the field and easily controlled the first half of the race. Takeshi Tsuchiya led the rest of the GT500 machines in the number 36 Woodone Tom's Supra.
During the typical chaos of the routine pit stops and driver changes that is the midway point, the Woodone Tom's Supra entered in Third and went out in First with Erik Comas behind the wheel. Credit the crew with a faster stop than the amount of time it takes us to mouth our "righty tighty, lefty loosie" mantra. But Wakisaka was now manning the controls of the Esso Ultraflo Supra, and he was right behind Comas in Second place. Michael Krumm took over the Xanavi Nismo GT-R in Third.
Nelson Muntz would have given the Team Gainer Ferrari crew a hearty "Ha!" following their devastating loss. |  |
The GT300 Winning Reckless MR-S appeared on our Nov. '02 Cover in ARTA colors. | |
Soon the two Supra drivers were engaged in an epic struggle even more ferocious than the great Hot Pocket skirmish of 2002 where Ricky accused Jonny of stealing his lunch. Krumm tried to pursue, but at Sugo, the Supras continued to show their dominance and the Skyline could not keep up. Comas managed to hold off Wakisaka until the first corner of lap 48 when a bobble through a spot of oil was the opportunity the defending champion needed to take the lead. But unlike that popular girl in school, Comas would not go down so easily. Instead, he closed the gap and pushed Wakisaka hard enough to cause a misstep.
That misstep came on lap 69 when Wakisaka bumped a lapped car, giving the lead back to Comas. But Wakisaka would not give as he drafted right up behind the Woodone Tom's car. As they exited the last corner, Wakisaka made a move on the inside. The two Supras were door-to-door and it looked like Comas would be able to hang on, but a slower car entered the fray again, and this time it proved to be Comas' undoing. As Comas lifted slightly, his back end stepped out and Wakisaka's car made contact with his Supra. Comas saved it, but he dropped two wheels into the dirt, and that was all Wakisaka needed.
After 81 laps of intense racing, the margin of victory was a mere 0.082 seconds, giving Wakisaka and Iida their second GT500 victory of the season. In true Japanese fashion, Wakisaka approached Comas after the race and apologized for the contact. The Woodone Tom's driver accepted the apology and the two shook hands. While the sportsmanship is admirable, it just doesn't compare to the helmet-throwing temper tantrums of those fine gentleman of the NASCAR ilk.
GT300 In the GT300 test sessions at Sugo, Nobuteru "No One Better" Taniguchi and Takashi Ohi were fastest in their number 7 Amemiya Matsumoto/Kiyoshi Aspara RX-7. The team was looking to repeat its 2001 victory at this same circuit. Mitsuhiro Kinoshita was second fastest in the number 3 Hasemi Motorsport Fairlady Z, but when the series came back to Sugo for the race, the Nissan gained 50 kilograms (110 pounds) in handicap weight. The number 11 JIM RodeoDrive Advan F360 was third quickest and the team wanted vengeance after losing a podium position at Fuji because of a pit stop error.
In the morning qualifying session, the number 11 Ferrari driver Tetsuya Tanaka showed the team's fire with his 1:24.689--a new GT300 track record. Kouta Sasaki put the number 31 Reckless MR-S into the Second spot, and Taniguchi zoom-zoom-zoomed his FD into the third best qualifying slot. But in the afternoon session, the number 31 MR-S and the number 7 RX-7 were both bumped down a position as Go Mifune put the number 5 Banpresto B-1 Mach-Go GT 320R Vemac into the Second spot.
In the first half of the GT300 race, the JIM F360 with Hideshi Matsuda behind the wheel held a strong lead from the pole. Sasaki followed in the Reckless MR-S and Ohi settled the number 7 Seven into Third. Each car maintained its own pace; there was absolutely no drama in the first half of the race.
The drama, or rather, heartbreak, came during the mid-race pit stops. As Tanaka took the helm of the Ferrari, it suddenly died before it could even exit the pit lane. Electrical problems retired the number 11 car and, once again, the team was denied a top finishing position. Much like in GT500, quick pit work and a flawless driver exchange put the Reckless MR-S into the lead, which it held all the way to the finish. On lap 60, Mifune's number 5 Vemac made a great pass to steal Second place from Taniguchi in the number 7 Mazda. 0