# 24 Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R KONDO RACING got the first pole position!
#24 Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira/Sasaki)
2017 AUTOBACS SUPER GT the Round 6 “46th International SUZUKA 1000km” qualifying was held on August 26th at Suzuka Circuit (Mie Pref.). GT 500 class, # 24 Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R (Sasaki / Joao Paulo de Oliveira) took the pole position at first in this season. # 25 VivaC 86 MC (Matsui / Yamashita / Kondo) in the GT 300 class got the pole position for 3rd times.
One of the traditional race in the calendar that began in 1966, “Suzuka 1000 km” finally kicked off. The announcement that Suzuka round will change to 10 hours race from next season has been made, making this the last race to commemorate as Suzuka 1000 km.
Jenson Button
One of the most noteworthy things at this Suzuka round is that Kobayashi Kamui and 2009 F1 World Champion’s driver Jenson Button will participate in the race. # 16 MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT is driven by Jenson Button and # 19 WedsSport ADVAN LC 500 is driven by Kamui Kobayashi. As a Japanese motor sports fan, they would like to expect two famous driver’s battle.
On the other hand, LEXUS LC 500 are definitely going to be in for a tough race because of the weight handicap, but it is unpredictable what will happen in the mid-summer long distance race. It will be a powerful race for every team and fans.
#25 VivaC 86 MC
<Qualifying / Weather: sunny, Road condition: dry>
GT300: The road conditions changed from the official practice in the morning, which resulted in astonishment of totally different results. All the spectators were excited because # 25 VivaC 86 MC (Matsui / Yamashita / Kondo), got pole. Q2’s driver Yamashita beat the course record. He drove as if he forgot the existence of 82 kg weight handy.
As a result of Q2, the top three were JAF-GT / mother chassis vehicles. Suzuka is said to be advantageous for mother chassis vehicles with short pit stop times due to long race distance. At the previous races at Fuji, the FIA-GT 3 vehicle was monopolized on the podium, but how is the tomorrow’s race going?
#19 WedsSport ADVAN LC500
GT 500: # 16 Button showed up at Q1. But he could not pass the qualifying session with just 0.89 second difference. # 24 Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R (Sasaki / Joao Paulo de Oliveira) took the pole position.
Oliveira also updated the course record. He commented, “The car was perfect and I was able to do a good attack with a clean lap.” This was the first pole position for a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT 500 in 2017, and also for Kondo Racing led by Director Masahiko Kondo.
#24 Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R
As for the battle between the tire manufacturers, the top two teams in the GT 500 and the top 4 teams in the GT300 were monopolized by Yokohama, which is well known for its strong for high temperature.
The final race will be tomorrow from 12:30 on Sunday, August 27.