Super GT Round 3 in SIC – Action Round-up
Round 3 of the 2011 Autobacs Super GT, held at the Sepang International Circuit over the weekend of 18-19 June 2011, came to a conclusion with Weider Honda Racing delivering a first Honda victory of the season for the GT500 class, thanks to near flawless driving from Takashi Kogure and Loic Duval.
Starting from pole, Duval pulled ahead in the first six laps, but was held back when he ran into the the slower GT300 crowd. An error-free pitstop, and consistent driving from his replacement, Kogure, saw them clock a combined time of 1:33:34.849, 14.198 seconds ahead of second-placed MOLA, piloted by Ronnie Quintarelli and Masataka Yanagi.
To prevent any one team from assuming season-long dominance of the campaign, Super GT regulations require teams leading the standings to compete with weight handicaps. Carrying the largest handicap in the GT500 class top three this weekend was Keihin Real Racing, who had to settle for 3rd place having to carry 28kg of added weight throughout the race.
The weekend’s results saw Keihin move to second place in the team standings with 33 points, behind top-placed Team Nismo on 35 points. Weider Honda Racing’s win moves them to third place with 31 points.
In the GT300 class, Nobuteru Taniguchi and Taku Bamba steered the BMW Z4 GT3 of GSR & Studie with TeamUKYO to the chequered flag. They started from pole position, but it was by no means smooth-sailing, as a nervous Bamba almost squandered a healthy lead built up by Taniguchi. Team JIMGAINER’s Ferrari 458 threatened to punish Bamba’s careless on a few occasions, but ultimately failed to make the kill and had to settle for second.
Pictures: Official Super GT release.
