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F-Nippon / Super GT News
Quintarelli and Yokomizo claim first win of the season
15/09/2008
Round 7 of the Super GT Championship took place on Sunday 14 September at the Twin Ring Motegi, Japan, in front of 39,000 excited spectators. Ronnie Quintarelli and Naoki Yokomizo of the Bridgestone-shod Nissan GT-R Hasemi Motorsport team set the fastest pace in every session of the weekend, claiming the race victory from pole position.
Qualifying at the Twin Ring was different to a normal Super GT race weekend, with a “Knock Out” system being implemented. Knock out qualifying consists of three sessions, with only one set of tyres available for each team. Up to thirteenth on the grid is decided in the first session, up to ninth on the grid in the second session and the top eight spots are finalised in the third session. Quintarelli and Yokomizo set the fastest time in every session, taking their first pole position of the season. Ralph Firman and Takuya Izawa claimed the second spot, with Akira Iida and Bjorn Wirdheim finishing third.
The Hasemi Motorsport team’s good form continued into the race with Quintarelli leading from the start. The 1-2 grid formation continued when both teams pitted and handed over to their co-drivers. Izawa battled hard to take the lead but the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri driver could not pass Yokomizo. The victory taken by Quintarelli and Yokomizo was the first win for the Hasemi Motorsport Team in thirteen years.
Hasemi Motorsport Team driver, Ronnie Quintarelli, said;
“Our car was fast and fantastic from Friday. I knew we would be able to win the race if we did not face any problems. I am really happy to have taken the win. Thank you to our staff, fans, sponsors and Bridgestone.”
Hasemi Motorsport Team driver, Naoki Yokomizo, said;
“Unfortunately we had not achieved a great race result up until round 7 of the series. Now we can payback all of those people that have supported us. I felt I had a lot of pressure on me but I believed in my team and myself and did my best. I am so happy; I can’t even remember the moment I crossed the finishing line because I was so excited.”
Bridgestone tyre engineer, Yoshihiro Hosoya, said;
“The ambient and surface temperatures were a bit higher than we expected. Under these conditions, the Hasemi Motorsport drivers had great control over their pace enabling them to take the car to victory. The championship is now very exciting as Wakisaka /Lotterer and Michigami/Kogure now share the points lead. We will continue to support Bridgestone users strongly in the last two races.”
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