The qualifying for the FUJI GT 300km Race, Round 4 of the AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place at Fuji Speedway (one lap 4.563km) in Shizuoka Pref. on Aug. 8th. In the GT500 class, the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F driven by Yuji Tachikawa and Hiroaki Ishiura won pole position. In the GT300 class, the No. 55 ARTA CR-Z GT driven by Shinichi Takagi and Takashi Kobayashi won the class pole. These two cars will start from the first position on the front row of their respective class grids for the race on Aug. 9th.
The SUPER GT qualifying is run in a 2-session (Q1 and Q2) “knock-out” format. It is a stringent type of qualifying in which only those cars finishing among the designated number of slots in Q1 qualify to compete in Q2 for the top grid positions. In the GT500 class, only the top eight Q1 qualifiers of the 15 participating teams move on to Q2.
This day at Fuji Speedway saw a break in the extreme heat wave that had gripped Japan in recent weeks. Although the morning was still hot and muggy, afternoon brought increasing cloud cover and the air temperature dropped to a more comfortable 27 degrees C. Due to a delay in the GT300 class Q1 session, the GT500 class Q1 began eight minutes late at 2:43 in the afternoon. In this Q1 session, the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F driven by Hiroaki Ishiura recorded a time of 1’28.929 near the end of the session to finish with the fastest time. The second fastest time went to the No. 8 ARTA NSX CONCEPT-GT driven by the new driver Tomoki Nojiri just 0.023 seconds behind Ishiura.
In the ensuing GT500 class Q2 session, the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F was driven by Yuji Tachikawa, the record holder for most pole positions in the GT500 class and a driver known particularly for his successes at Fuji Speedway. Tachikawa aced his two time attacks, recording the fastest laps of the session each time. Driving the No. 8 ARTA NSX CONCEPT-GT that had shown great speed in Q1, Kosuke Matsuura recorded a time of 1’28.733 but failed to beat Tachikawa’s time of 1’28.579. This gave pole position to the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F
For Tachikawa, this was his 21st pole position in the GT500 class and it extended his record for most poles by a driver. It was also his ninth pole position at Fuji Speedway, far more than any of his rivals. For the Lexus RC F, this was the sixth pole position in the GT500 class.
In the GT300 class, the No. 55 ARTA CR-Z GT had the fastest time in Q1, driven by Takashi Kobayashi, and also in Q2, driven by the veteran Shinichi Takagi, thus claiming the GT300 class pole position. For Takagi, this was his ninth pole position in the GT300 class, putting him in a tie for third place in total GT300 poles. For the Honda CR-Z GT, this was its 5th pole position in GT300 class competition.
■Pole Position Winner Comments
No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F [GT500]
Yuji Tachikawa: “The condition of the machine itself had improved compared to the last round. Having a new engine spec and the results from the tests run at SUGO, there was good power and things felt good to me from the morning practice stage. And in fact, results showed that the performance had indeed gotten better. I felt that I could get pole position this time if I didn’t make any mistakes, but in actuality I think this was a pole that the two of us drivers won by working together. I want to defend this position in tomorrow’s race.”
No. 55 ARTA CR-Z GT [GT300]
Shinichi Takagi: “Based on our experience until now, we are usually passed by a couple of machines in the race. But, even if that happens again, I believe that we can make up for it with gains in our pit work (time). In the race, I want to be careful to avoid anything like a crash at the start and manage to keep this pole position so I can hand over the machine to [teammate Takashi] Kobayashi-san with a lead. If I can do that, I hope that Kobayashi-san can manage to do what it takes [to win].”