The 2011 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Series kicked off with Round 2 FUJI GT 400km RACE at Fuji Speedway (one lap 4.563 km x 66 laps) in Shizuoka Pref. on May 1. The come-from-behind winner in the GT500 class was the 6th-place qualifying MOTUL AUTECH GT-R driven by Satoshi Motoyama and Benoit Treluyer.
This race was scheduled as the second round of the 2011 series, but became the season opener when the first round at Okayama originally scheduled for April 3rd was postponed to 21 and 22 May 2011 because of the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster. Also, the race distance was shortened from the originally planned 400 km to 300 km.
The race started under the worst of conditions with heavy rain and strong winds, which meant that everything hinged on the teams' choice of tires. Bad tire choices by a number of teams, including the pole-sitting (first qualifying) DENSO SARD SC430, and spin-outs in the wet conditions hampered one team after another. One driver who seemed to be unaffected by these bad conditions was Benoit Treluyer, who started from 6th position on the grid in the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R. In the early stages of the race he moved up steadily to take the lead.
Before returning to the pit and turning the wheel over to teammate Motoyama, Treluyer managed to build up a lead of 16 seconds over the 2nd-place machine. Motoyama continued to stay in control in the lead during his stint until the rain increased in fury with about 10 laps remaining in the race. Judging the conditions to be too dangerous to continue the race, the officials stopped the competition with six laps remaining. Eventually, that signaled the end of the race and the finishing order was that at end of the 59th lap. This gave the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R team the first win of the season.
This victory extended Motoyama's record of most wins for a driver in the GT500 class to 13.
The GT300 class race became an impressive runaway victory for the pole-starting HANKOOK PORSCHE driven by Masami Kageyama and Tomonobu Fujii. The team's Hankook tires fit the track conditions perfectly and enabled the drivers to build a 30-second lead over the field by the end of the race.
(Spectators: 36,000)
Round 3 of the SUPER GT will take place in the Sepang International Circuit on 18 and 19 June 2011.
Tickets for the SUPER GT in Sepang are priced at RM100 (for two day Grand Stand passes). JP Performance Motorsport, the event organisers are currently offering an early bird price of RM 88 per ticket. The SUPER GT tickets can be conveniently purchased at all 7-11 outlets nationwide. For more information on the SUPER GT or on how to get your tickets, log on to www.supergt.com.my / www.facebook.com/SUPERGT.my
Source: Official Press Release from JPM Motorsport
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