GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R scores third step on the podium

Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi prefecture (20-21 July,2013) - In the third round of Super Taikyu Series, held at Twin Ring Motegi, the #81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R (Takayuki Aoki, Kazuki Hoshino, Naofumi Omoto, Hiroki Yoshida), racing in the GT3 class, claimed the third step on the podium.

In contrast to the previous round's sprint race at Inje Autopia in Korea, this round was an endurance race lasting five hours. In the qualifying session, Katsumasa Chiyo in the #24 ThreeBond Nissan Technical College GT-R (Tomonobu Fujii, Katsumasa Chiyo, GAMISAN), who set a new course record at the SUGO season-opener, once again displayed his agility and set a new track record. Although he secured pole position from the combined time set with Fujii, his effort was marred in the final session by fuel problem found just before the start, which resulted in a pit lane start.

The race began at 12:22 p.m. In the early stages of the event, the #81 GT-R, after qualifying in second position, took the lead of the GT3 class. In the final stages, having completed the compulsory three pit stops, it was lying third. The temperature exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, but despite the harsh conditions, the #81 GT-R continued to run stably. However, six minutes before the finish, the car's rear end started showing signs of trouble. Aoki, in charge of the final stint, was forced to run slowly. Keeping constant attention to the distance it had with the competing car in fourth position, he managed to carry the out-of-whack machine to the checkered flag, and secured a position on the podium for the second time this season.

The #24 GT-R started from the pit, and Chiyo's aggressive pursuit in the opening stages saw him quickly rise through the ranks to 12th place. He returned to the pit after completing 33 laps to change tires and drivers and fuel up when mechanical trouble struck. The repairs took time, and the car fell down the order. They later ran without any further delays, and Chiyo, behind the wheel again for the final stint, posted the race's fastest lap. They crossed the finish line in seventh. For the students accompanying the team, their first five-hour endurance race was a grueling battle, but driver Tomonobu Fujii said of their work, "Even though this was their first race of the season, because the first round was cancelled while they didn't attend on previous Korean round, the students weren't unusually tense, and I felt their level has improved overall. Even doing the same work as last year, I thought the quality has improved."

Five Fairlady Z34s competed in the ST-3 Class, and while many cars met with trouble or accidents, the #15 Okabe Jidosha DIXCEL Team Tetsuya Z34 (Masaaki Nagashima/Toru Tanaka/Tetsuya Tanaka) carried on at a steady pace to take second place on the podium, while the #5 car from the same team, the Okabe Jidosha Makers Z34 (Daisuke Imamura/Mitsunori Atake/Tsuyoshi Shirai/Hideki Iriguchi) took third place on the winners' stand.

Takayuki Aoki (#81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R/Race: 3rd)
"The car suddenly started acting strangely in the final stint, and I wasn't able to keep it at race pace. I conferred with the team, and I ended up driving at a slow pace while minding the gap to the car in fourth, just so I could get onto the podium, and I'm really glad I was able to make it to the checkered flag without stopping on the way. This was my first endurance race this season, so I had to pay attention to a lot of different areas during the race, but we were able to get a lot of data by completing the race. The next race is even longer at seven hours, and we want to analyze the data from this round and put it to good use next time out."

• Super Taikyu Series Round 3 GT3 class
• Super Taikyu Series Round 3 ST-3 class

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