Super GT 2012 Round 3 action round-up
The eagerly anticipated action of Super GT 2012 Round 3 took place at the Sepang International Circuit last weekend, with three days of solid motorsport action and carnival atmosphere for visitors and spectators. Some 80,000 fans attended the two-day event, substantially exceeding last year’s turn out of 60,000.
A cloudy Saturday led to concerns of a downpour dampening the action on Sunday, but the reversed proved true with bright sunny skies on race day roasting the track up to a temperature of 47 degrees Celsius, presenting driver and car with a different hurdle to face – endurance against heat.
In the GT500 class, car number 18 of Team Weider Honda Racing took pole position during qualifying, before going on to win. It was by no means easy, however; the Honda HSV-010 GT piloted first by Takashi Kogure in the first 28 laps and Carlo Van Dam in the race’s latter half had to fend off a spirited challenge from the Lexus SC 430 of Team Zent Cerumo. Weider eventually won the GT500 category with a time of 1:47:52.531.
Speaking at the Post-Race Press Conference, Van Dam explained an apparent lack of pace shortly after taking over from Kogure, “I went more slowly at the beginning because I was trying to preserve the tyres so I took it easier – maybe a little too easy. Even so, I could see that the car behind me (No. 38 Zent Cerumo SC430) was just keeping up, so I decided I would push the car a little more and it couldn’t follow anymore.”
It was a similar story in the GT300 arena, with Team Hankook KTR winning from a pole start after 49 laps of racing. Drivers Masami Kageyama and Tomonobu Fujii drove a flawless race and took the team’s Porsche home in a time of 1:47:57.011.
In addition to the racing action, there were plenty of activities off-track to generate a carnival-like atmosphere for visitors. There was another record setting attempt to organize the Biggest Super and Performance Car Gathering. A turn out of 608 cars recorded by the Malaysia Book of Records exceeded last year’s turn out by 203 cars.
There was also the Affin Bank Motor Show, supported by the Sime Darby Group, Naza World, Honda Malaysia, Edaran Tan Chong Motor and Bermaz Motor. The Sime Darby Group brought seven brands to the show, whilst Naza Group showcased their collection of exotic Italian supercars. The motor show also witnessed the launch of three new models into the Malaysian market, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Nissan Livina X-Gear Tuned by Impul, and Nissan Sylphy Tuned by Impul.
The Super GT stage area played host to a Dance Competition on the first day and also the final round of the Super GT Queen Search 2012. Winning the contest was Ms Julie Tan, who will represent Malaysia as a GT Queen next year. Second and third-placing went to Ms Cookies Yap and Ms Mico Lee respectively.
As Round 3 concludes, the Super GT entourage will move on to Round 4 in Sugo, set to take place on 28-29 July. With six races to go, Yuji Tachikawa and Kohei Hirate are leading the GT500 drivers standing, while Kyosuke Mineo and Naoki Yokomizo are leading in GT300.
Pictures: Yong Ting Yi.
