MOTEGI, Japan – Nissan has completed the 2017 Super GT championship in the best possible way with an incredible pole to checkered flag victory at the final round of the 2017 series at Twin Ring Motegi.
The victory elevated Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda to second place in the championship – the duo finishing the year only three points away from claiming their third championship as a duo. The win was the 19th for Matsuda, giving him the record for the most wins ever in the history of Super GT. Quintarelli's 13th victory also gives him the record for the most wins by a non-Japanese driver.
🏁 @Nissan wins! Victory goes to the No. 23 #OMGTR of @R_Quintarelli and @TsugioMatsuda at @motegi_official. Dominant performance in the final race of the year! #NISMOnation pic.twitter.com/i5MUvdJftx
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) November 12, 2017
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Quintarelli put the pair in contention for the win by a record-breaking lap in qualifying to earn the pole. However, contact from behind on the warm-up lap damaged the rear of the No. 23 Nissan GT-R.
Despite this, the Italian leaped into the lead off the start and opened up a gap at the front of the field. He handed over to Matsuda on lap 24, and the Japanese driver continued the stunning pace through to the checkered flag on lap 53 to record a victory by more than six seconds.
The pair's championship hopes were dashed by point leaders Nick Cassidy and Ryo Hirakawa, who finished second. Had the duo finished one spot behind in third, Quintarelli and Matsuda would have been champions.
"I was a little worried with that contact at the start of the race, but there was no problem with the balance of the car and I was able to run perfectly from then on," said Quintarelli. "I'm glad we were able to win this race but to be honest, I also wanted to win the championship. So it's a little disappointing that we missed out on it by such a small margin. Still, considering the difficult struggles we had at the beginning of the season, I think it's amazing that we could come this far. Thank you so much to the fans for their continued support."
Nissan completed two more top tens with Satoshi Motoyama and Katsumasa Chiyo finishing sixth and Jann Mardenborough and Hironobu Yasuda seventh. The final Nissan GT-R of Daiki Sasaki / JP de Oliveira qualified fifth fastest, but contact and a penalty pushed them down to 12th in the race.
Great way to finish the season with victory from pole position. Many thanks to all the #NISMOnation fans for all your support. See you at #NISMOfest17 in 2 weeks. pic.twitter.com/MO046KAJfb
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) November 12, 2017
Congratulations to @NISMO @motul for never giving up and fighting for the last race win! Proud to be part of this team! Let’s enjoy Nismo Festival next. https://t.co/jjHn6M1PO5
— Mike Carcamo (@nismo_mike) November 12, 2017
NISMO Calendar
NISMO Festival, Fuji International Speedway, Japan
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Newcastle, Australia
Contact
Anna Teslik
Nissan
Global Motorsports Communications Manager
Phone: +33 7 7614 7286
ATeslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Global Motorsport Communications
Nissan/NISMO
Marketing and PR Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
paul@nismosupport.com
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