![Super GT Round. 7 [Autopolis, Japan]](https://wieck-nissanao-production.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/46b660dfb85e38c00e80ced2d001aff19b890508/preview-768x432.jpg)
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Nissan Motorsport International Co., Ltd.
#22 Z climbs to 2nd position in the series championship
SUPER GT 2005 Rd. 7 "SUPER GT in KYUSHU 300km"
| Date: | October 16, 2005 |
| Place: | AUTOPOLIS International Racing Course (Oita) 4.674km |
| Weather: | Sunny (21c) (dry) |
Rd 7 of Super GT was held at Autopolis International Racing Course (4.674km/lap) in Hita city, Oita prefecture on October 16, Michael Krumm & Masataka Yanagida on #22 Motul Pitwork Z started the race from 2nd and finished the race in same position. The car is also ranked 2nd in the championship standing.
Yanagida started the race for #22 Z with a clean start and was immediately in pursuit for #8 NSX that started from pole position. #8 NSX kept such a fast pace in the beginning, it was not possible to catch them, but the car gradually created a comfortable gap with steady lap time between the 3rd placed car. Since the team chose softer compound for the car, Yanagida paid close attention to decrease of tire grip and returned to pit on lap 28 in 2nd place to pass the car over to Krumm. Krumm then took over the wheels but the team had a slight problem fastening the nut on the left rear wheel. With some loss of time, the car was in 4th place after majority of the field completed the pit stop on lap 42. Michael worked very had and in the long stint, he managed to keep focused and determined. On lap 63, he overtook #12 Z and on the final corner of final lap, he caught up with #3 Z suffering from loss of tire grip. Krumm successfully received checkered flag in 2nd place.
Yanagida on the podium said "I sought for a chance at start, but I couldn't get in front of #8 NSX. I am so disappointed I let it run away. But I am very glad I was able to pass the car to Michael keeping the position." Krumm continued "I am so glad to be on the podium. Although we could not beat #8 NSX, Z showed a great performance. I thank all the strong support of Nissan fans!"
The defending champions Satoshi Motoyama and Richard Lyons on #1 Xanavi Nismo Z qualified 7th and with delay at start, the car was mixed in the group of the cars and could not bring up the pace. After keeping 10th place in the beginning, Motoyama decided to pit early on lap 26 in 11th place and handed the car over to Lyons. In the middle of the race, many cars spun off or received penalty by pushing other cars. In the midst of this, Lyons was able to improve position to 5th place. On lap 54, he gave a way to #18 NSX but still managed to keep 6th place to finish.
#12 Calsonic Impul Z (Benoit Treluyer & Yuji Ide) started the race from 5th and #3 G'ZOX HASEMI Z (Toshihiro Kaneishi & Erik Comas) started from 6th. The two Z battled fiercely from the start and brought excitement to 49,700 spectators. #12 Z took the lead and was 4th until lap13 while #3 Z was 5th. on lap14, #3 Z took opportunity and overtook the lead. #12 Z then lose position to 7th place. Later, #3 improved to 3rd and #12 to 5th. After both cars enter pit and change drivers, #3 Z became 2nd and #12 Z 3rd in pursuit of #8 NSX. but during the chase, both cars suffered a abrasion of the tires trying to keep up with the fast pace. They both were eventually overtaken by #22 Z, and three Z; #22, #3 and #12 finished the race being 2nd, 3rd and 4th place winners.
"Well, it was a very tough race," recalled Hiroshi Degawa, NISMO Team Director. #1 could not raise the pace in the beginning as it was surrounded by cars but eventually climbed to 5th. It then developed a mechanical problem and we were prepared for emergency pit stop but Richard worked very hard to finish 6th to our relief. Yanagida on #22 worked so hard to keep the pace in the beginning, but we spoiled it with the pitwork.. Still, Michael did a fantastic job in recovering the position. We kept our promise to be on the podium, and moreover, we are still contestant in the series championship. In Suzuka, we will prepare our car to be as fast as #8 NSX."
[Race Results] 65 Laps
| Pos | No | Machine | Driver | Time / Gap |
| 1 | 8 | ARTA NSX | Daisuke Ito / Ralph Firman | 1:56'36.074 |
| 2 | 22 | MOTUL PITWORK Z | Michael Krumm / Masataka Yanagida | +1'02.983 |
| 3 | 3 | G'ZOX HASEMI Z | Toshihiro Kaneishi / Erik Comas | +1'03.494 |
| 4 | 12 | CALSONIC IMPUL Z | Benoit Treluyer / Yuji Ide | +1'04.901 |
| 5 | 18 | TAKATA DOME NSX | Ryo Michigami / Takashi Kogure | +1'16.409 |
| 6 | 1 | XANAVI NISMO Z | Satoshi Motoyama / Richard Lyons | +1'36.509 |
| 7 | 38 | ZENT CERUMO SUPRA | Yuji Tachikawa / Toranosuke Takagi | 1LAP |
| 8 | 36 | OPENINTERFACE TOM'S SUPRA | Takeshi Tsuchiya / James Courtney | 1LAP |
| 9 | 35 | Yellow Hat YMS Supra | Naoki Hattori / Peter Dumbreck | 1LAP |
| 10 | 6 | ESSO Ultraflo Supra | Juichi Wakisaka / Akira Iida | 1LAP |
[Championship Points] Driver's Ranking
| Pos | No | Machine | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 8 | ARTA NSX | Daisuke Ito / Ralph Firman | 61 |
| 2 | 22 | MOTUL PITWORK Z | Michael Krumm / Masataka Yanagida | 54 |
| 2 | 36 | OPENINTERFACE TOM'S SUPRA | Takeshi Tsuchiya / James Courtney | 54 |
| 4 | 38 | ZENT CERUMO SUPRA | Yuji Tachikawa / Toranosuke Takagi | 47 |
| 5 | 1 | XANAVI NISMO Z | Satoshi Motoyama / Richard Lyons | 45 |
| 6 | 36 | OPENINTERFACE TOM'S SUPRA | Tatsuya Kataoka / Sakon Yamamoto | 39 |
| 6 | 6 | ESSO Ultraflo Supra | Juichi Wakisaka / Akira Iida | 39 |
| 8 | 32 | EPSON NSX | Tsugio Matsuda / Andre Lotterer | 37 |
| 9 | 3 | G'ZOX HASEMI Z | Toshihiro Kaneishi /Erik Comas | 34 |
| 10 | 12 | CALSONIC IMPUL Z | Benoit Treluyer / Yuji Ide | 33 |
| 11 | 18 | TAKATA DOME NSX | Ryo Michigami / Takashi Kogure | 32 |
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