2011 SUPER GT : S Road MOLA GT-R wins SUGO GT race

2011 SUGO GT 250 km. GT-500 Race Winners : Masataka Yanagida / Ronnie Quintarelli No. 46 S Road MOLA GT-R - NISSAN GT-R R35

MIYAGI : July 31, 2011 - The "SUGO GT 250km RACE," Round 4 of the 2011 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place at Sportsland SUGO circuit (one lap: 3.704 km x 68 laps) in Miyagi Prefecture on July 31. In the GT500 class race the S Road MOLA GT-R driven by Masataka Yanagida and Ronnie Quintarelli, starting from pole position and running away to a perfect win without ever being threatened by the competition.

Unlike the Saturday qualifying that had been cursed by heavy rains, today's race was run under cloudy skies but free of rain. The race started at 14:00 with the air temperature at a cool 22 degrees C. for this time of year.
Having won pole position in yesterday's qualifying in the S Road MOLA GT-R, Ronnie Quintarelli started the race from the front of the first row and executed a good start. For Quintarelli, the conditions with a dry track and low track temperature where very different from the rainy conditions he had won the pole position in the day before. Nonetheless, he was able to pull away from the pack at a fierce pace.

After all the teams had finished their routine pit stops the S Road MOLA GT-R was more than 20 seconds ahead of the DENSO SARD SC430 running in 2nd place. At the wheel of the MOLA GT-R for the second stint, Masataka Yanagida ran on steadily without losing any of that margin. This perfect pole-to-checkered victory was the team's first win since moving up to the GT500 class. The victory also put the Yanagida/Quinarelli driver pair on top of the point ranking as the eight-race series moves into its second half.
For the Nissan GT-R this was the third win this season. For Yanagida, who was champion of the GT300 class last season, this is his first victory in the GT500 class.

2011 SUGO GT 250 km. GT-300 Race Winners : Ryo Orime / Alexandre Imperatori No. 14 SG CHANGI IS350 - LEXUS IS350

In the GT300 class, the SG CHANGI IS350 driven by Ryo Orime and Alexandre Imperatori came from 3rd-position on the starting grid to give their team its first win. For the Lexus IS350 this is the third win, and the first since 2009, and for Imperatori it is his first win in SUPER GT competition.

(Spectators: 27,000)

Winner Comments

2011 SUGO GT 250 km. GT-500 Race Winners : Masataka Yanagida / Ronnie Quintarelli No. 46 S Road MOLA GT-R - NISSAN GT-R R35

No.46 S Road MOLA GT-R [GT500]

Masataka Yanagida: "It has been a long road [to this first GT500]. Time and again we came close but couldn't win. I want to take this momentum and carry it on to the coming races. I want to say how grateful I am to Nissan and Nismo and all the fans for their support, and to the team and Quintarelli for creating an environment where we were able to win. I also want to say a word of thanks to Masahiro Hasemi, who was my mentor in GT300 until last year. In the race, Ronnie had built us up such a margin of lead that there wasn't much risk, so I just tried to keep concentrated on my driving. I would say that I was more nervous during yesterday's Super Lap, even though I was just watching. I am not going to let myself be satisfied with this win, because there is more to come and our ultimate goal is to win the series title."

Ronnie Quintarelli: "[Watching from the pit] the second half of the race was a very long. The car was in such good condition that I was able to push hard from the very first lap. I believe I was able to build up a good margin of lead and the pit stop and driver change went very well with no misses on the part of the team, and then Yanagida-san managed the machine well all the way to the checkered. I was very happy to see it all. During the race it was slippery on the last curve and I had one dangerous moment. But there was enough of a margin that I was able to take it easy and run a clever race. Since the Michelin tires are known for being good in hot conditions, I was a bit worried about today's cool temperatures, but once I started racing I found their performance was excellent. I am really grateful to Michelin for that."

2011 SUGO GT 250 km. GT-300 Race Winners : Ryo Orime / Alexandre Imperatori No. 14 SG CHANGI IS350 - LEXUS IS350

No.14 IS CHANGI IS350 [GT300]

Ryo Orime: "I'm happy and relieved at the same time. We hadn't been able to deliver good results thus far this season, and personally I was feeling a bit anxious. But we didn't let it defeat us and we kept meeting as a team and worked to improve the machine. This time we were able to show good speed from the qualifying and in the race Alex [Imperatori] gave a good performance. I think all of this is evidence of how hard we have worked. That is why I am so relieved with this result. It was a clean battle between me and Takagi in car No.43 and I think it must have been an enjoyable one to watch for the fans."

Alexandre Imperatori: "I feel very happy. We didn't have a good start to this season but I am happy to say that we got a very good result this weekend. This is my first season competing in SUPER GT and it took me a while to get used to this type of race. But SUPER GT has so many more spectators and fans than the other races I have participated in Europe and in Japanese Formula 3 Championship. That gives me great motivation. This atmosphere is the greatest and I am very happy to have been able to win here. I want to keep winning like this."

2011 SUPER GT : Round 4 - SUGO GT 250 km. Race - GT 500 Race result

Po	No	Machine	Drivers	Time/Diff	Lap	Best lap	Tire	WH
1	46	S Road MOLA GT-R NISSAN GT-R R35 / VRH34A	Masataka Yanagida Ronnie Quintarelli	1:33'14.162	68	1'17.420	MI	42
2	39	DENSO SARD SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Hiroaki Ishiura Takuto Iguchi	0'22.360	68	1'18.054	MI	10
3	32	EPSON HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Ryo Michigami Yuhki Nakayama	0'23.854	68	1'18.638	DL	2
4	24	ADVAN KONDO GT-R NISSAN GT-R R35 / VRH34A	Hironobu Yasuda Bjorn Wirdheim	0'35.516	68	1'18.345	YH	28
5	6	ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Daisuke Ito Kazuya Oshima	0'43.890	68	1'19.183	BS	36
6	17	KEIHIN HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Toshihiro Kaneishi Koudai Tsukakoshi	0'45.934	68	1'19.118	BS	50
7	100	RAYBRIG HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Takuya Izawa Naoki Yamamoto	1'15.181	68	1'19.461	BS	38
8	19	WedsSport ADVAN SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Tatsuya Kataoka Seiji Ara	1Lap	67	1'19.506	YH	22
9	36	PETRONAS TOM'S SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Andre Lotterer Kazuki Nakajima	1Lap	67	1'19.722	BS	42
10	8	ARTA HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Hideki Mutoh Takashi Kobayashi	1Lap	67	1'19.636	BS	8
11	38	ZENT CERUMO SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Yuji Tachikawa Kohei Hirate	1Lap	67	1'19.222	BS	30
12	23	MOTUL AUTECH GT-R NISSAN GT-R R35 / VRH34A	Satoshi Motoyama Benoit Treluyer	1Lap	67	1'19.659	BS	52
13	12	CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R NISSAN GT-R R35 / VRH34A	Tsugio Matsuda J.P.L.de Oliveira	3Laps	65	1'19.054	BS	40
Classified (GT500: 47 Laps)
	35	D'STATION KeePer SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG	Juichi Wakisaka Andre Couto	33Laps	35	1'19.352	BS	2
	1	Weider HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG	Takashi Kogure Loic Duval	48Laps	20	1'19.381	BS	48

2011 SUPER GT : Round 4 - SUGO GT 250 km. Race - GT 300 Race result

Po	No	Machine	Drivers	Time/Diff	Lap	Best lap	Tire	WH
1	14	SG CHANGI IS350 LEXUS IS350 / RV8J	Ryo Orime Alexandre Imperatori	1:33'14.532	63	1'25.756	YH
2	74	COROLLA Axio apr GT TOYOTA COROLLA Axio / 2GR-FSE	Morio Nitta Yuji Kunimoto	0'28.729	63	1'25.981	YH	28
3	43	ARTA Garaiya ARTA Garaiya / VQ35DE	Shinichi Takagi Kosuke Matsuura	0'33.138	63	1'25.983	BS	22
4	25	ZENT Porsche RSR PORSCHE 911GT3 RSR / M97/81	Akihiro Tsuzuki Takeshi Tsuchiya	0'57.889	63	1'26.534	YH	22
5	33	HANKOOK PORSCHE PORSCHE 911GT3 R MY2010 / M97/79	Masami Kageyama Tomonobu Fujii	1'00.690	63	1'26.018	HK	44
6	4	HATSUNEMIKU GOODSMILE BMW BMW Z4 GT3 / P65B44	Nobuteru Taniguchi Taku Bamba	1'01.784	63	1'25.612	YH	68
7	11	JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP 458 Ferrari 458 GTC / F142GT2	Tetsuya Tanaka Katsuyuki Hiranaka	1'02.632	63	1'26.044	DL	90
8	66	triple a Vantage GT2 Aston Martin V8 Vantage / V8	Hiroki Yoshimoto Kazuki Hoshino	1'13.053	63	1'26.394	YH	40
9	5	Mach GoGoGo Syaken RD320R VEMAC 320R / M97/77	Katsuhiko Tsutsui Haruki Kurosawa	1Lap	62	1'26.559	YH
10	88	JLOC Lamborghini RG-3 Gallardo RG-3 / 07L1	Hiroyuki Iiri Yuhi Sekiguchi	1Lap	62	1'25.556	YH	22
11	26	Verity TAISAN Porsche PORSCHE 911GT3 RS / M96/77	Kyosuke Mineo Junichiro Yamashita	1Lap	62	1'26.596	YH
12	41	NetMove TAISAN Ferrari Ferrari F430 GT / F136GT	Shinichi Yamaji Hiroshi Koizumi	1Lap	62	1'26.471	YH	8
13	2	EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 Apple Shiden Shiden MC/RT-16 / 1UZ-FE	Kazuho Takahashi Hiroki Katoh	2Laps	61	1'25.855	YH	10
14	7	EVANGELION RT PRODUCTION MODEL-02 DIRECTION PORSCHE 911GT3 R MY2011 / M97/79	Carlo Van Dam Akira Mizutani	11Laps	52	1'26.711	YH
15	86	JLOC Lamborghini RG-3 Gallardo RG-3 / 07L1	Yuya Sakamoto Takayuki Aoki	18Laps	45	1'26.794	YH	2
16	87	RIRE Lamborghini RG-3 Gallardo RG-3 / 07L1	Atsushi Yogo Manabu Orido	18Laps	45	1'26.920	YH	30
Classified (GT300: 44 Laps)
	27	PACIFIC NAC IKAMUSUME Ferrari Ferrari F430 / F136GT	Yutaka Yamagishi Hideki Yamauchi	21Laps	42	1'26.610	YH	34
	31	HASEPRO MA IWASAKI apr COROLLA TOYOTA COROLLA Axio / 2GR-FSE	Koki Saga Yuki Iwasaki	28Laps	35	1'27.083	YH	16
	62	R&D SPORT LEGACY B4 SUBARU LEGACY B4 / EJ20	Tetsuya Yamano Kota Sasaki	40Laps	23	1'26.154	YH	12
	22	R'Qs Vemac 350R VEMAC 350R / ZK348	Hisashi Wada Masaki Jyonai	41Laps	22	1'27.108	YH
	69	ThunderAsia MT900M Mosler MT900M / XV	Naoki Yokomizo Hiroki Yoshida	60Laps	3	1'25.699	YH

2011 SUPER GT - GT-500 : Drivers' Championship Standing

Po	No	Drivers	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Total	1st Diff	WH
1	46	Masataka Yanagida Ronnie Quintarelli	5	1	15	20					41	-	82
2	17	Toshihiro Kaneishi Koudai Tsukakoshi	11	3	11	5					30	-11	60
3	23	Satoshi Motoyama Benoit Treluyer	6	20							26	-15	52
4	1	Takashi Kogure Loic Duval	4		20						24	-17	48
5	6	Daisuke Ito Kazuya Oshima		15	3	6					24	-17	48
6	100	Takuya Izawa Naoki Yamamoto	15		4	4					23	-18	46
7	36	Andre Lotterer Kazuki Nakajima	8	8	5	2					23	-18	46
8	24	Hironobu Yasuda Bjorn Wirdheim	2	4	8	8					22	-19	44
9	12	Tsugio Matsuda Joao Paulo Lima de Oliveira	20								20	-21	40
10	39	Hiroaki Ishiura Takuto Iguchi		5		15					20	-21	40
11	38	Yuji Tachikawa Kohei Hirate	3	6	6						15	-26	30
12	19	Tatsuya Kataoka Seiji Ara		11		3					14	-27	28
13	32	Ryo Michigami Yuhki Nakayama	1			11					12	-29	24
14	8	Hideki Mutoh Takashi Kobayashi		2	2	1					5	-36	10
15	35	Juichi Wakisaka Andre Couto			1						1	-40	2

2011 SUPER GT - GT-300 : Drivers' Championship Standing

Po	No	Drivers	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Total	1st Diff	WH
1	11	Tetsuya Tanaka Katsuyuki Hiranaka	15	15	15	4					49	-	98
2	4	Nobuteru Taniguchi Taku Bamba	8	6	20	5					39	-10	78
3	74	Morio Nitta Yuji Kunimoto	5	4	5	15					29	-20	58
4	33	Masami Kageyama Tomonobu Fujii		20	2	6					28	-21	56
5	66	Hiroki Yoshimoto Kazuki Hoshino	20			3					23	-26	46
6	43	Shinichi Takagi Kosuke Matsuura		5	6	11					22	-27	44
7	14	Ryo Orime				20					20	-29	40
8	14	Alexandre Imperatori			-	20					20	-29	40
9	25	Akihiro Tsuzuki Takeshi Tsuchiya		11		8					19	-30	38
10	27	Yutaka Yamagishi Hideki Yamauchi	6		11						17	-32	34
11	87	Atsushi Yogo Manabu Orido	11		4						15	-34	30
12	88	Hiroyuki Iiri Yuhi Sekiguchi		3	8	1					12	-37	24
13	31	Koki Saga Yuki Iwasaki		8							8	-41	16
14	62	Tetsuya Yamano Kota Sasaki	3		3						6	-43	12
15	2	Kazuho Takahashi Hiroki Katoh	4		1						5	-44	10
16	41	Shinichi Yamaji Hiroshi Koizumi	2	2	-						4	-45	8
17	5	Haruki Kurosawa		-		2					2	-47	4
18	5	Katsuhiko Tsutsui	-	-	-	2					2	-47	4
19	86	Yuya Sakamoto Takayuki Aoki	1								1	-48	2
20	34	Hiroshi Takamori Michael Kim		1	-	-					1	-48	2

2011 SUPER GT - GT-500 : Teams' Championship Standing

Po	No	Team	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Total	1st Diff	WH
1	46	MOLA	8	3	18	23					52	-	82
2	17	KEIHIN REAL RACING	14	5	14	8					41	-11	60
3	23	NISMO	9	23	3	2					37	-15	52
4	6	LEXUS TEAM LeMans ENEOS	3	18	6	9					36	-16	48
5	36	LEXUS TEAM PETRONAS TOM'S	11	11	8	4					34	-18	46
6	100	TEAM KUNIMITSU	18	2	7	7					34	-18	46
7	24	KONDO RACING	5	6	11	11					33	-19	44
8	1	Weider Honda Racing	7	1	23						31	-21	48
9	39	LEXUS TEAM SARD	2	8	3	18					31	-21	40
10	12	TEAM IMPUL	23	1	2	1					27	-25	40
11	38	LEXUS TEAM ZENT CERUMO	6	9	9	2					26	-26	30
12	19	LEXUS TEAM WedsSport BANDOH	1	14	3	5					23	-29	28
13	32	NAKAJIMA RACING	4	1	3	14					22	-30	24
14	8	AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI	3	4	5	3					15	-37	10
15	35	LEXUS TEAM KRAFT	2	2	4						8	-44	2

2011 SUPER GT - GT-300 : Teams' Championship Standing

Po	No	Team	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Total	1st Diff	WH
1	11	JIMGAINER	18	18	18	7					61	-	98
2	4	GSR&Studie with TeamUKYO	11	9	23	8					51	-10	78
3	74	apr	8	7	8	18					41	-20	58
4	33	HANKOOK KTR	3	23	5	9					40	-21	56
5	43	AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI	1	8	9	14					32	-29	44
6	66	A speed	23			6					29	-32	46
7	14	Team SG CHANGI	3	1		23					27	-34	40
8	27	LMP MOTORSPORT	9	3	14						26	-35	34
9	25	SAMURAI Team TSUCHIYA		14		11					25	-36	38
10	87	JLOC	14	1	7	1					23	-38	30
11	88	JLOC		6	11	4					21	-40	24
12	31	apr	3	11	3						17	-44	16
13	62	R&D SPORT	6	1	6						13	-48	12
14	41	Team TAISAN CINECITTA	5	5	-	3					13	-48	8
15	2	Cars Tokai Dream28	7		4	1					12	-49	10
16	26	Team TAISAN CINECITTA	3	1	3	3					10	-51
17	5	TEAM MACH	1	-	3	5					9	-52	4
18	86	JLOC	4		3	1					8	-53	2
19	34	HANKOOK KTR	1	4	-						5	-56	2
20	22	R'Qs MOTORSPORTS	3	1	1						5	-56
21	69	ThunderAsia Racing	1	1	3						5	-56
22	360	TOMEI SPORTS	1	1	-						2	-59
23	7	DIRECTION RACING	-	-	-	1					1	-60