GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R takes 3rd win

Suzuka Circuit, Mie-pref. (October 25-26, 2014) - Round 5 of the Super Taikyu Series 2014, second to last of the season, was held at Suzuka Circuit under mild conditions with the Autumn sun occasionally peaking through the clouds. Here, the #81 "GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R" (Kazuki Hoshino / Naofumi Omoto / Takayuki Aoki) began from pole position and, despite losing the lead, performed a stunning comeback to achieve its 3rd lights-to-flag victory of the season. Coming in 2nd was the #24 "ThreeBond Nissan Technical College GT-R" (Tomonobu Fujii / GAMISAN / Mitsunori Takaboshi), making it a one-two finish for the NISSAN GT-R.

The stage for this round was Suzuka, the venue for this year's World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). Unlike other races, the starting grids for group 1 (ST-X, ST-1, ST-2, and ST-3 classes) and group 2 (ST-4 and ST-5 classes) were determined by point rankings and qualification rounds were not carried out. Within the 140-minute race, it was mandatory to carry out a minimum of 2 pit stops and a total of 4 tire changes.

Behind the wheel of the #24 GT-R, Fuji immediately seized the lead right from the start of the race and began to rapidly build a margin over the chasing drivers. After Hoshino took the final stint for the #81 GT-R, which had been slowly catching up from the middle stages of the race, he gradually began to reduce the more than 20 second difference with the #24. Towards the end, at lap 60, he was hot on the heels of the #24 GT-R. He continued to exert pressure on his opponent and when the #24 went off course at the S-bend on lap 64 he jumped up into the top spot. Maintaining this position, he passed the checkered flag.

In the ST-3 class the #14 "Okabe Jidousha Suntrack 195 My Cars Z33" (Manabu Yamazaki / Isao Ihashi / Mitsunori Ataka) finished the race in 2nd place but, after the top car was disqualified for technical violations, was moved up to make this their first win of the season.

The # 35 "Asset ings Z34" (Shuji Maejima/ Masahiro Sasaki / Kazuki Hirokawa) which achieved a 4-race winning streak from the season opener and secured the class championship in the previous round, experienced technical troubles and finished 3rd. The #34 "Asset ings Z34" (Takao Onishi / Satoshi Matsubara / Kiyoto Fujinami) took 2nd to leave the Fairlady Z dominating the podium.

Kazuki Hoshino (#81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R, Race 1st)
"I was confident that I could take back the lead. In the end I thought, with three laps there is bound to be a place where I can overtake, but ultimately my opponent made a mistake and I managed to retake our position without any difficulty. This is, for me, my 3rd win in a row (including at the SUPER GT)."

Naofumi Omoto (#81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R / Race 1st)
"Today became a one man show for Kazuki (Hoshino), didn't it. I was on the edge of my seat just watching him. We've been able to open up a big gap with the competition in the championship fight."

Takayuki Aoki (#81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R / Race 1st)
"To be able to take victory on my 42nd birthday is awesome. We're going to move into the next race as the ranking leader but I still intend to go into the final race prepared for anything."

• [Race Results] - Round 5 ST-X class
• [Race Results] - Round 5 ST-3 class

<Related Link>
NISSAN MOTORSPORTS Web Site

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