GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R secures ST-X class championship

Autopolis Oita-pref. (November 8-9, 2014) - The 3-hour race, final round of the Super Taikyu Series 2014 was held at an overcast Autopolis where the #81 "GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R" (Kazuki Hoshino / Naofumi Omoto / Takayuki Aoki) started from pole position and, after retaking the lead at the mid-point of the race, continued to hold this position until the checkered flag to take victory. This, its third consecutive win and fourth lights-to-flag victory of the season, makes the #81 this year’s ST-X class champion.

The stage for this race was Autopolis, a technical course full of undulations that is located at the outer rim of Mt Aso. As the point leader, the #81 GT-R merely had to complete the race intact in order to take home its first title win. Despite this, however, it managed its fifth consecutive pole position start, meaning it has started from the front in every race it has competed in.

Starting behind the wheel of the #81 GT-R, Aoki temporarily had the lead stolen at the last corner of lap 10, but stayed hot on the heels of his competition and, at the second corner of lap 29, retook the top spot. Immediately after this, his rival experienced some suspension issues, which forced it into the pits for repairs that took some time. This left the #81 running unmatched in the lead. At the mid-point of the race he handed the car over to Omoto, after which fortunate timing of the safety car allowed them to pit once again. With this, Hoshino, who had built up a 1-lap difference with the chasing competition, drove with blistering speed to take home their third consecutive victory. This being their fourth win of the season makes them the champion in the ST-X class for FIA GT3 vehicles.
In the ST-3 class, the #34 "Asset ings Z34"(Kiyoto Fujinami / Satoshi Matsubara) marked a course record in qualification, which gave them a pole position start and, after displaying a phenomenal pace, they achieved their first victory of the season. The #14 “Okabe Jidousha Suntrack 195 My Cars Z33” (Manabu Yamazaki / Isao Ihashi / Mitsunori Ataka), which took its first win in the previous round, came 3rd to secure a podium finish.

Kazuki Hoshino (#81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R, Race 1st)
"Last year we competed with the same arrangement but weren’t able to win even once, which was very disappointing. However, this year we managed to secure pole position in 5 races and win 4 of them to take the championship so I’m ecstatic. For me personally, this is 4 straight victories in a row. I want to ride on this momentum and pull out my best performance in the SUPER GT as well."

Naofumi Omoto (#81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R / Race 1st)
"I’ve finally been able to take the title in the top class of the S-Tai. It’s also my first victory at Autopolis so I’m really happy. A huge factor in this was that this year’s GT-R model was overhauled and we were really able to drive with absolute confidence. The strategy that we had formulated before the race just worked out beautifully and the timing of the safety car’s dispatch couldn’t have been more fortuitous. Thank you to all the fans."

Kiyoto Fujinami (#34 "Asset ings Z34" / ST-3 class 1st)
"We managed to mark a course record and Matsubara also put in a fantastic race to enable us to finally grab our first win in the S-Tai. It feels fantastic. There’s a lot we need to reflect on from this year but I want to ride on this victory into the next season."

• [Race Results] - Round 6 ST-X class
• [Race Results] - Round 6 ST-X class

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