Tachikawa and Hirate win Super GT Round 6 in Fuji11/09/2011
Fuji Speed Way, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Super GT Round 6
Round six of the Super GT Championship took place at the Fuji Speed Way last weekend (11 September) and 27,800 spectators attended on race day. Yuji Tachikawa and Kohei Hirate in their Lexus Team Cerumo started from second on the grid behind Hiroaki Ishiura and Takuto Iguchi in their Lexus Team Sard. Tachikawa took the lead just two and a half laps before the end of the 55 lap race, and went on to win. It was the team’s first victory since 2009.
Qualifying
The Lexus teams’ dominated the qualifying session at their home race, with the SC430’s demonstrating their speed on Fuji’s 1.5 km long straight. Ishiura and Iguchi clinched their second pole position of the year, their first pole also having been secured at Fuji. Tachikawa and Hirate qualified second, with the driver pairing of Daisuke Ito and Kazuya Oshima in their Lexus Team Le Mans Eneos taking third place on the grid.
Race
Weather conditions during the race were dry from start to finish, for the first time this year. The front runners almost stayed in grid order during the first half of the race, until their pit stop. Tachikawa closed in on Iguchi and overtook him with just two and a half laps of the race remaining. Tsugio Matsuda and J-P de Oliveira (Team Impul) finished second, as Toshihiro Kaneishi and Kodai Tsukakoshi (Keihin Real Racing) finished third. Bridgestone dominated the podium and the top six.
Winning Drivers
Yuji Tachikawa:
“I am really happy to win here in Fuji. Thanks to Toyota and the team, they gave us a well prepared car. Thanks also to Bridgestone for providing us with good grip from start to finish.”
Kohei Hirate:
“I am excited about my maiden win in Super GT. I was not able to overtake the leading car but I had confidence that Tachikawa-san would. Bridgestone’s grip was so consistent and thanks to everyone that supports us.”
Bridgestone tyre engineer: Yoshihiro Hosoya
“Congratulations to Cerumo. It was an exciting race and we are proud that the winning car was on Bridgestones. We proved the performance and consistency of our tyres, with three different Bridgestone-backed manufacturers finishing on the podium.”
