2013 SUPER GT : ARTA HSV-010 STAGES DRAMATIC REVERSAL FOR FIRST VICTORY IN 3 YEARS AT SUGO

SUGO GT 300km RACE GT500 Winners : Ralph Firman/ Kosuke Matsuura : 

#8 ARTA HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG

• Sudden rain turns SUGO into a severe battle of survivors
• ARTA HSV-010 stages dramatic reversal for first victory in 3 years!
• ARTA CR-Z GT takes GT300 win for a double ARTA triumph

The SUGO GT 300km RACE, Round 4 of the 2013 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, was run at Sportsland SUGO (one lap: 3.704 km x 81 laps) in Miyagi Prefecture on July 28. In the GT500 class race the ARTA HSV-010 driven by Ralph Firman and Kosuke Matsuura won the team's first victory in three years. In the GT300 race, the ARTA CR-Z GT driven by Shinichi Takagi and Takashi Kobayashi took its second straight series win to make ARTA victorious in both classes.

Saturday's qualifying had been run in intermittent rain, but race day brought blue skies and summer sun to the SUGO circuit. A crowd of over 25,000 spectators was on hand to watch the racing begin in Round 4 of the series.

The early stages of the race were led by the pole-starting REITO MOLA GT-R after a well executed start by its GT500 rookie driver, Yuhi Sekiguchi. It was only after the teams had been through their routine pit stops halfway through the race that the first big developments began to take place. Rain started to fall suddenly and made the track very slippery, but it wasn't enough to send the cars back to the pit to change to rain tires. This forced the drivers to fight on in treacherous conditions. At the same time, the battles for the lead were now more intense than in the first half of the race, and while fighting for 2nd position with Yuji Tachikawa in the ZENT CERUMO SC430, a slip sent Satoshi Motoyama and his REITO MOLA GT-R off the track and out of contention at the front. This accident turned the contest for the lead into a duel between the Juichi Wakisaka in the DENSO KOBELCO SC430 and the pursuing Tachikawa in the ZENT. In the heat of this battle, the two machines collided while trying to get around a GT300 back marker. In the aftermath of this collision, the two cars battling for third, the Weider Modulo HSV-010 (Frederic Makowiecki) and the RAYBRIG HSV-010 (Takashi Kogure) also collided. In a matter of seconds the four lead cars were suddenly out of the race for the lead.

Emerging from this upset as the new leader was the KeePer TOM'S SC430 driven by Daisuke Ito and the ARTA HSV-010 with Kosuke Matsuura at the wheel. With the rain falling harder at times and less at others, the slipperiness of the track was constantly changing. Matsuura in the ARTA proved capable of handling these tricky conditions, and in the later stages of the race he was able to pass Ito in the KeePer and take the lead. From that point, Matsuura raced home to victory and gave the team its first win in three years.

For the Honda HSV-010 GT it was the second win of the season, following a victory in the opening round. For Firman it was his 11th career GT500 win and for Matsuura his momentous first win.

SUGO GT 300km RACE GT300 Winners : Shinichi Takagi /Takashi Kobayashi: 

#55 ARTA CR-Z GT / Honda CR-Z / J35A

In the GT300 class, the pole-starting SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Tetsuya Yamano) led in the early going with the MUGEN CR-Z GT (Hideki Mutuh) and the ARTA CR-Z GT (Shinichi Takagi) in hot pursuit. The timing and speed of their routine pit stop put the ARTA CR-Z GT in the lead in the second half with Takashi Kobayashi at the wheel. Kobayashi kept control through the severe conditions as rain fell with varying intensity and he was able to run on to victory. For the ARTA CR-Z GT it was a second consecutive win following the victory at Sepang in the last round. It was also the second win of the season for the Honda CR-Z and the third win in four rounds for the two hybrid rivals combined.

(Spectators: 26,500)

Winner Comments

No.8 ARTA HSV-010 [GT500]

Ralph Firman : "It is our first victory in some time and I am really thrilled. Because, it is not only my first win but also my first podium finish in quite some time. I want to thank Honda and AUTOBACS for the support they have continued to give me, and thank the team for preparing the car so well. And, most of all, thanks to Matsuura for driving so well in the rain. Recently, we have had some bad luck and haven't been able to produce the results we should. But finally, thanks in part to some lucky developments, we were able to win. From now on I want us to make our own luck and go for the title."

Kosuke Matsuura : "It is the first [GT500] win in a long time for the team, but it is also my first win in ten years, going back to 2003 in my Formula Renault V6 days. And, since I didn't have any wins in GT300, this is my first SUPER GT win ever. Although we were helped by some good luck today, I want to forget all the bad luck we have had until now and start with a new determination that the race for the championship starts here. I can't let this first win go to my head, because I am actually a rookie when it comes to GT500 and there is still so much work I have to do and things to learn here, and from Firman in many ways as well."

No.55 ARTA CR-Z GT [GT300]

Shinichi Takagi : "I am happy for our win, but I'm even more happy that AUTOBACS (ARTA) got its first double win [in GT500 and GT300]. For us it is the second straight victory in the series, but in the last race we were slower than our rivals in the routine pit work. So, the team practiced our pit stops over and over, and in this race we were actually able to complete the pit work and return to the race in the lead after entering the pit in 2nd place. The fact that [Takashi] Kobayashi was then able to hold on to that lead to the finish was also a great achievement. So, this was truly a victory won by the entire team."

Takashi Kobayashi: "For being able to win like this for the second round in a row, I want to thank all the people involved at Honda and M-TEC, at Bridgestone and at AUTOBACS. [Shinichi] Takagi pushed hard and brought us to the routine pit stop in a nose-to-tail battle for the lead, and then we were able to get back into the race with the lead in our hands. At the end, the rain made it so difficult to even keep the car on the track that I was seriously debating whether we should return to the pit and change to rain tires, but the word came from the pit to keep on driving, so I did. This race was the first double win for the [ARTA] team and I am really thrilled that I was able to take the checkered first."

2013 AUTOBACS SUPER GT - R4 SUGO GT 300km RACE - Race result

GT500 Class

Po	No	Machine	Driver	Time/Diff.	Laps	Best Lap	Tire	WH
1	8	ARTA HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Ralph Firman Kosuke Matsuura	1h51'41.342	81	1'18.328	BS	16
2	37	KeePer TOM'S SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Daisuke Ito Andrea Caldarelli	2.534	81	1'18.133	BS	12
3	23	MOTUL AUTECH GT-R NISSAN GT-R / VRH34B	Masataka Yanagida Ronnie Quintarelli	5.536	81	1'18.231	MI	26
4	39	DENSO KOBELCO SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Juichi Wakisaka Hiroaki Ishiura	1 Lap	80	1'17.359	BS	52
5	24	D'station ADVAN GT-R NISSAN GT-R / VRH34B	Hironobu Yasuda Michael Krumm	1 Lap	80	1'18.295	YH
6	6	ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Kazuya Oshima Yuji Kunimoto	1 Lap	80	1'18.515	BS	38
7	1	REITO MOLA GT-R NISSAN GT-R / VRH34B	Satoshi Motoyama Yuhi Sekiguchi	2 Laps	79	1'17.039	MI	16
8	32	Epson HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Ryo Michigami Daisuke Nakajima	2 Laps	79	1'17.887	DL
9	19	WedsSport ADVAN SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Seiji Ara Andre Couto	2 Laps	79	1'18.568	YH
10	36	PETRONAS TOM'S SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Kazuki Nakajima James Rossiter	2 Laps	79	1'18.318	BS	40
11	38	ZENT CERUMO SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Yuji Tachikawa Kohei Hirate	8 Laps	73	1'18.053	BS	46
12	100	RAYBRIG HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Takuya Izawa Takashi Kogure	11 Laps	70	1'17.789	BS	70
13	18	Weider Modulo HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Naoki Yamamoto Frederic Makowiecki	12 Laps	69	1'17.667	MI	30

GT300 Class

Po	No	Machine	Driver	Time/Diff.	Laps	Best Lap	Tire	WH
1	55	ARTA CR-Z GT Honda CR-Z / J35A	Shinichi Takagi Takashi Kobayashi	1h51'41.527	77	1'23.298	BS	40
2	16	MUGEN CR-Z GT Honda CR-Z / J35A	Hideki Mutoh Yuhki Nakayama	8.958	77	1'22.949	BS	68
3	0	ENDLESS TAISAN PORSCHE PORSCHE / M97/79	Kyosuke Mineo Naoki Yokomizo	1'08.380	77	1'24.241	YH	2
4	52	OKINAWA-IMP SLS Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 / M159	Hironori Takeuchi Takeshi Tsuchiya	1 Lap	76	1'23.963	YH	32
5	87	LA SEINE LAMBORGHINI GT3 GALLARDO GT3 / CEH	Hideki Yamauchi Hiroki Yoshimoto	1 Lap	76	1'23.350	YH	30
6	61	SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT SUBARU BRZ GT300 / EJ20	Tetsuya Yamano Kota Sasaki	1 Lap	76	1'22.681	MI	28
7	62	LEON SLS Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 / M159	Haruki Kurosawa Tsubasa Kurosawa	1 Lap	76	1'23.946	YH	22
8	21	ZENT Audi R8 LMS ultra Audi R8-LMS ultra / CJJ	Akihiro Tsuzuki Richard Lyons	1 Lap	76	1'24.246	HK
9	3	S Road NDDP GT-R NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 / VR38DETT	Kazuki Hoshino Daiki Sasaki	1 Lap	76	1'24.170	YH	2
10	10	GAINER Rn-SPORTS DIXCEL SLS Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 / M159	Tetsuya Tanaka Masayuki Ueda	1 Lap	76	1'23.886	DL	10
11	48	DIJON Racing IS GT-R NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 / VR38DETT	Hiroshi Takamori Katsumasa Chiyo	1 Lap	76	1'24.056	YH	4
12	86	CRYSTAL CROCO LAMBORGHINI GT3 GALLARDO GT3 / CEH	Kouji Yamanishi Shinya Hosokawa	2 Laps	75	1'24.211	YH	26
13	11	GAINER DIXCEL SLS Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 / M159	Katsuyuki Hiranaka Bjorn Wirdheim	2 Laps	75	1'23.794	DL	72
14	50	Exe Aston Martin Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 / V12	Masaki Kano Hideto Yasuoka	3 Laps	74	1'23.955	YH
15	4	GSR HATSUNEMIKU BMW BMW Z4 GT3 / P65B44	Nobuteru Taniguchi Tatsuya Kataoka	3 Laps	74	1'24.342	YH	44
16	2	EVA RT TEST-01APPLE MP4-12C McLaren MP4-12C GT3 / M838T	Kazuho Takahashi Hiroki Katoh	3 Laps	74	1'23.628	YH
17	33	HANKOOK PORSCHE PORSCHE 911 GT3 R / M97/79	Masami Kageyama Tomonobu Fujii	3 Laps	74	1'24.309	HK	6
18	88	MonePa LAMBORGHINI GT3 GALLARDO GT3 / CEH	Manabu Orido Takayuki Aoki	3 Laps	74	1'24.208	YH	12
19	22	GREENTEC SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 / M159	Hisashi Wada Masaki Jyonai	3 Laps	74	1'23.867	YH
20	30	IWASAKI OGT Racing GT-R NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 / VR38DETT	Yuki Iwasaki Igor Sushko	4 Laps	73	1'24.240	YH	12
21	9	NAC KOUKAKUKIDOUTAI ARISE DR PORSCHE PORSCHE 911 GT3 R / M97/79	Shogo Mitsuyama Yu Yokomaku	4 Laps	73	1'24.761	YH
22	31	Panasonic apr PRIUS GT TOYOTA PRIUS / RV8K	Morio Nitta Koki Saga	5 Laps	72	1'24.325	YH	40
23	360	RUN UP GROUP GT-R NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 / VR38DETT	Takuya Shirasaka Atsushi Tanaka	6 Laps	71	1'24.364	YH
24	96	DIJON WAKO'S ENDLESS Z06R GT3 CALLAWAY CORVETTE Z06R GT3 / LS7	Masaki Tanaka Makoto Ikegami	7 Laps	70	1'28.466	YH

GT500 - Championship Ranking

Po	No.	Driver	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Rd4	Rd5	Rd6	Rd7	Rd8	Total	Behind	WH
1	100	Takuya Izawa Takashi Kogure	20	4	11						35	-	70
2	39	Juichi Wakisaka Hiroaki Ishiura	3	8	15	8					34	-1	68
3	12	Tsugio Matsuda Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira	5	6	20						31	-4	62
4	8	Ralph Firman Kosuke Matsuura	2	3	3	20					28	-7	56
5	23	Masataka Yanagida Ronnie Quintarelli	11		2	11					24	-11	48
6	6	Kazuya Oshima Yuji Kunimoto	4	11	4	5					24	-11	48
7	38	Yuji Tachikawa Kohei Hirate	8	15							23	-12	46
8	36	Kazuki Nakajima James Rossiter		20		1					21	-14	42
9	17	Koudai Tsukakoshi Toshihiro Kaneishi	15		6						21	-14	42
10	37	Daisuke Ito Andrea Caldarelli		5	1	15					21	-14	42
11	18	Naoki Yamamoto Frederic Makowiecki	6	1	8						15	-20	30
12	1	Satoshi Motoyama Yuhi Sekiguchi	1	2	5	4					12	-23	24
13	24	Hironobu Yasuda Michael Krumm				6					6	-29	12
14	32	Ryo Michigami Daisuke Nakajima				3					3	-32	6
15	19	Seiji Ara Andre Couto				2					2	-33	4

GT300 - Championship Ranking

Po	No.	Driver	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Rd4	Rd5	Rd6	Rd7	Rd8	Total	Behind	WH
1	16	Hideki Mutoh Yuhki Nakayama	4	15	15	15					49	-	98
2	55	Shinichi Takagi Takashi Kobayashi			20	20					40	-9	80
3	11	Katsuyuki Hiranaka Bjorn Wirdheim	20	5	11						36	-13	72
4	52	Hironori Takeuchi Takeshi Tsuchiya	8	8		8					24	-25	48
5	4	Nobuteru Taniguchi Tatsuya Kataoka	15	2	5						22	-27	44
6	87	Hideki Yamauchi Hiroki Yoshimoto	11	4		6					21	-28	42
7	31	Morio Nitta Koki Saga		20							20	-29	40
8	61	Tetsuya Yamano Kota Sasaki	6		8	5					19	-30	38
9	62	Haruki Kurosawa	5	3	3	4					15	-34	30
10	86	Kouji Yamanishi Shinya Hosokawa		11	2						13	-36	26
11	0	Kyosuke Mineo Naoki Yokomizo	1			11					12	-37	24
12	62	Masanobu Kato	5	3							8	-41	30
13	62	Tsubasa Kurosawa			3	4					7	-42	30
14	88	Manabu Orido Takayuki Aoki			6						6	-43	12
15	30	Igor Sushko		6							6	-43	12
16	7	Yuji Ide		6							6	-43	12
17	10	Tetsuya Tanaka Masayuki Ueda		1	4	1					6	-43	12
18	21	Akihiro Tsuzuki Richard Lyons				3					3	-46	6
19	33	Masami Kageyama Tomonobu Fujii	3								3	-46	6
20	3	Kazuki Hoshino Daiki Sasaki			1	2					3	-46	6
21	48	Hiroshi Takamori Katsumasa Chiyo	2								2	-47	4

GT500 - Team Championship Ranking

Po	No.	Team	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Rd4	Rd5	Rd6	Rd7	Rd8	Total	Behind	WH
1	100	TEAM KUNIMITSU	23	7	14	1					45	-	70
2	39	LEXUS TEAM SARD	6	11	18	10					45	-	68
3	12	TEAM IMPUL	8	9	23						40	-5	62
4	8	AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI	5	6	6	23					40	-5	56
5	6	LEXUS TEAM LeMans ENEOS	7	14	7	7					35	-10	48
6	38	LEXUS TEAM ZENT CERUMO	11	18	3	1					33	-12	46
7	23	NISMO	14		5	14					33	-12	48
8	37	LEXUS TEAM KeePer TOM'S	1	8	4	18					31	-14	42
9	36	LEXUS TEAM PETRONAS TOM'S	2	23	3	2					30	-15	42
10	17	KEIHIN REAL RACING	18		9						27	-18	42
11	18	Weider Modulo DOME RACING	9	3	11	1					24	-21	30
12	1	MOLA	4	4	8	5					21	-24	24
13	24	KONDO RACING	2	2	3	8					15	-30	12
14	32	NAKAJIMA RACING	3	1	3	4					11	-34	6
15	19	LEXUS TEAM WedsSport BANDOH	2	2	3	3					10	-35	4

GT300 - Team Championship Ranking

Po	No.	Driver	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Rd4	Rd5	Rd6	Rd7	Rd8	Total	Behind	WH
1	16	Hideki Mutoh Yuhki Nakayama	4	15	15	15					49	-	98
2	55	Shinichi Takagi Takashi Kobayashi			20	20					40	-9	80
3	11	Katsuyuki Hiranaka Bjorn Wirdheim	20	5	11						36	-13	72
4	52	Hironori Takeuchi Takeshi Tsuchiya	8	8		8					24	-25	48
5	4	Nobuteru Taniguchi Tatsuya Kataoka	15	2	5						22	-27	44
6	87	Hideki Yamauchi Hiroki Yoshimoto	11	4		6					21	-28	42
7	31	Morio Nitta Koki Saga		20							20	-29	40
8	61	Tetsuya Yamano Kota Sasaki	6		8	5					19	-30	38
9	62	Haruki Kurosawa	5	3	3	4					15	-34	30
10	86	Kouji Yamanishi Shinya Hosokawa		11	2						13	-36	26
11	0	Kyosuke Mineo Naoki Yokomizo	1			11					12	-37	24
12	62	Masanobu Kato	5	3							8	-41	30
13	62	Tsubasa Kurosawa			3	4					7	-42	30
14	88	Manabu Orido Takayuki Aoki			6						6	-43	12
15	30	Igor Sushko		6							6	-43	12
16	7	Yuji Ide		6							6	-43	12
17	10	Tetsuya Tanaka Masayuki Ueda		1	4	1					6	-43	12
18	21	Akihiro Tsuzuki Richard Lyons				3					3	-46	6
19	33	Masami Kageyama Tomonobu Fujii	3								3	-46	6
20	3	Kazuki Hoshino Daiki Sasaki			1	2					3	-46	6
21	48	Hiroshi Takamori Katsumasa Chiyo	2								2	-47	4

Images : 2013 AUTOBACS SUPER GT - R4 SUGO GT 300km RACE


[Source : SUPER GT - Official]