NISSAN GT-R finishes third in the Championship

November 8th, Twin ring Motegi (Tochigi prefecture)
Sunday, November 8th saw the final round of the 2009 SUPER GT series taken place at Twin Ring Motegi. Aiming at title glory, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#1 – Satoshi Motoyama / Benoit Treuyer) qualified in fifth place and put in a spirited drive in the race until tyre trouble slowed the car's progress. The results netted third place for Satoshi Motoyama in the Driver's standings, while NISMO were third in the Team's title fight.

The final race of the season saw over 35,000 race fans crowd into the circuit. Under cloudy skies that occasionally allowed the sun to peek through, the 250-km event got underway. Being the final round of the year, all entries ran without the customary ‘handi-weight' (success ballast), and the race itself was 50kms shorter than the norm. The ambient temperature stood at 20 degrees Celsius, under dry track conditions. Starting from fifth on the grid, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#1 – Satoshi Motoyama / Benoit Treluyer) began the race leading the championship. “We plan to move up the order right from the start” related NISMO Team Director Yutaka Suzuki before the race began. Starting driver Benoit Treluyer immediately attacked the car in front, resulting in a thrilling battle for 4th place with the #38 LEXUS SC430. On lap 4, he got past the #38 car, but because of excessive tyre wear due to his extreme, offensive driving he was forced to slow his pace.

From there he waited patiently, expecting to stop on lap 18. However, unable to endure, his tyre went flat on the lap before his stop. Following this, the burst tyre tore apart the front fender, which was repaired at the pit stop. It was at this point the title slipped from the team's grasp. After repairs were completed, Motoyama returned to the track, finishing the event in 14th place.

Starting from 10th on the grid, the IMPUL CALSONIC GT-R (#12 – Tsugio Matsuda / Sebastien Philippe) had Matsuda behind the wheel for the first stint, but on the first lap he was tapped into a spin by the #100 NSX. The car was now at the tail end of the GT500 pack. Without any major damage, Matsuda returned to the race, setting a blistering pace in his aim to make up places. By lap 21 he had risen to 8th. He had moved up another four spots to 4th by the time he pitted on lap 30, where Sebastien Philippe took the wheel. Philippe ran steadily in 8th position through the middle part of the race, until lap 35 when the Safety Car was called out due to oil left on the track by a GT300 machine. The incident virtually guaranteed an eighth-place result. In the closing stages, a car ahead pulled off, moving the GT-R up to seventh, where it remained to the flag.

Starting from 12th on the grid, Oliveira put in an assertive drive in the opening stint in the HIS ADVAN KONDO GT-R (#24 – Joao Paolo de Oliveira/Seiji Ara), rising to 3rd by lap 23. A gamble by KONDO RACING to double-stint the tyres in this last race meant a much shorter pit stop. However, the car returned to the race in 7th place, Ara circulating steadily until a lack of grip dropped the car to eleventh by the flag.

Qualifying seventh, the HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R (#3 - Ronnie Quintarelli/Hironobu Yasuda) saw Yasuda drive the opening stint for the first time. Unfortunately, the tyres did not match the conditions - making it impossible right from the start to improve the car's pace. Quintarelli took charge for the latter half, running to an eventual 12th-place finish.

*Supervisor to the NISSAN Teams Kunihiko Kakimoto's comment:
"The 2009 SUPER GT is now finished. The #1 GT-R came into this, the final race leading the championship. Regrettably, we leave here third in the season's standings. However, since we exhausted all our power in our attempt, there is no regret. Looking towards next year, you can rest assured we'll be back with as strong a desire as ever. Thank you all for your continued support throughout this season."

*#12 GT-R driver Tsugio Matsuda's comment:　
"The car was really good today, making the spin on the first lap all the more painful. Throughout this season, we haven't been able to create a good flow, which is regrettable as my self-confidence was solid, and I believe that next year we'll be able to show well in the races. We'll really be pushing hard, so please give us your support."

*KONDO RACING Masahiko Kondo's comment:
"We've never dared to try a no tyre-change strategy in the pit stop before, and it all started to unravel in the latter half. We weren't able to end the year on a high, but I think that as a team we've definitely raised our game this season. Next year we very much want to join the title fight. Please root for us."

Related URL: NISSAN MOTORSPORTS

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