Skyline GT-R Finishes Second, Pole-to-Victory for Silvia

SUPPLEMENTAL NISSAN NEWS
A30-SN-9055
From: Corporate Communications Dept.
Date: September 27, 1999

Skyline GT-R Finishes Second, Pole-to-Victory for Silvia

Round 6 of the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) was held at the technical course, TI Circuit Aida, in Okayama Prefecture on September 26th. The Nissan driver pair of Aguri Suzuki and Michael Krumm drove a fantastic race taking their Skyline GT-R to a second-place finish. The young driver duo of Takeshi Tsuchiya and Yuji Ide had a perfect day driving their Silvia from the pole to the finish line leading the GT 300 class.

Race Development
The weather on race day in Okayama Prefecture was warm and sunny following the passing of Typhoon 18, and TI Circuit Aida welcomed a huge spectator crowd of 48,800 (organizer announced) for the 82-lap event. All of the Nissan drivers got off the line smoothly when the green light for the start was lit. In spite of carrying an 80kg handicap weight, Erik Comas in the No.1 Skyline GT-R was running in eighth as the Nissan pacemaker after qualifying as the fastest Nissan driver in the Saturday qualifying sessions. Michael Krumm started out from 13th in the No.2 Skyline, but staged a brilliant bit of skillful driving as the race progressed, moving up and closing the gap separating him from the cars leading the field.

In GT 300 class, pole sitter Takeshi Tsuchiya in the No.15 Silvia maintained his lead from the green light. In spite of a heavy 80kg of handicap weight, the young Nissan hopeful drove steadily over the first half of the race, lapping consistently quicker to stay out in front. Hideo Fukuyama in the No.81 Silvia also drove well, holding his position in the top group of the class.

By the time race reached the first-quarter mark, Krumm had caught up with teammate Comas, overtook the No.1 Skyline for eighth, and picked up his pace lapping courageously quicker in a bid to run with the leaders. Aided by some fantastic work by the Nismo team mechanics during the routine pit stop at mid-race, co-driver Aguri Suzuki re-entered the track with a substantial gain on the top runners. Obviously the fastest driver on the track during the intermediate stage, Suzuki fought his way through the pack in a challenge for the lead.

After all routine stops had been made, the No.2 Skyline was running in fourth and, not long after, Suzuki made his was to third. The chase leading to the battle for second was hard, and Suzuki was given no respite as he worked rundown the Honda NSX driven by Takahashi. And moving in close behind was the Toyota Supra driven by Sekiya. But the strenuous drive paid off. Suzuki overtook Takahashi's Honda on lap 72 and held off further challenges to the end of the race for a hard earned second place finish at the checkered flag. Satoshi Motoyama put in a consistent drive in the No.1 Skyline during the second half of the race, finishing in seventh. With this result, Comas gained an important four points and retained the lead in the championship points standing.

In the GT 300 class, Yuji Ide took over the wheel of the No.15 Silvia for the second half of the race and drove steadily to keep the lead and take the checkered flag to complete a perfect start-to-finish victory. With the win, the young driver duo (Tsuchiya/Ide) moved to the top of the series point standings for the first time this season. Hideo Fukuyama and Nobuyuki Oyagi ran well, too, finishing the No.81 Silvia in fourth place.

Aguri Suzuki: 
"We had a turbo problem during the Saturday qualifying sessions. But today, the Skyline GT-R ran well. Michael did a good job, and the mechanics as well. Thanks to that, I joined the race with good positioning. I think we proved that we can take a podium place if there's no bad luck during pit stops for example."

Michael Krumm: 
"I'm very happy with the result. The car ran well, the mechanics did a good job, and Aguri was so quick. If we could have started from a little better place on the grid, we would've had a chance to win the race."

The results of the race are as follows:

TI Circuit Aida : 3.703km 
Entry/Start/finish : 37/36/30