Here’s the full official Nissan press release pertaining to the win over the weekend at Sugo Sportsland for round five of the SuperGT 2009 championship season. We’ve also posted a gallery of the high res images courtesy of Nissan Motors Japan for rounds 4 and 5 of the 2009 season which were both wins for the GT-R.

Enjoy and don’t forget to follow the Read More link to see the rest of the report and galleries…

NISSAN GT-R takes 4th victory of the season
– SUPER GT 2009 Round 5 Race Report –

July 26th, Sportsland SUGO racing course (Murata town, Miyagi prefecture)
Round 5 of SUPER GT was decided in this part of the country by the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#1 – Satoshi Motoyama / Benoit Treluyer) who, having started from sixth on the grid, moved to the front in the later stages of the 81-lap event to claim their second victory of the season. With this result, the NISSAN GT-R has now taken 4 wins from 5 races this year.

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Source: Nissan

Winners in Round 4 in Malaysia, the HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R (#3 – Ronnie Quintarelli / Hironobu Yasuda) took a resounding pole position, overwhelming their opponents in the severe heat. All things pointed towards a successive win in the race. Meanwhile, victors in the opening round of the season, the HIS ADVAN KONDO GT-R (#24 – Joao Paolo de Oliveira / Seiji Ara) lined up third on the grid, just ahead of the Round 3 Fuji winners in the #1 GT-R who ended qualifying in fourth. The race got underway in fine weather with the mercury sitting at 31 degrees. Immediately after the start the temperature began to drop gradually, rain clouds casting a shadow over proceedings. The start driver in the #3 GT-R Quintarelli led until the last corner of lap 8 when he was held up by a back marker, allowing the #6 Lexus SC430 through. However, it was able to stay in touch, along with the #24 GT-R and #1 GT-R, which had also set strong times in the opening stages, to remain part of a three-car attack on the front.

The turning point in the race came on lap 26. From the clouds which now covered the sky overhead the rain began to fall, and control of the race was determined by the strategy of each team and their choice on changing to rain tyres. While running 2nd, the #24 GT-R made an early stop, falling down the order. Without the chance to move back up, the car finished the event in 13th. The #3 GT-R, after having led the opening stages, had a difficult time and fell to 13th temporarily. Once the rain eased and after switching to slicks, the car picked up the pace to finish in 9th place.

Having received a penalty for passing under yellow during the morning’s warm-up session, Satoshi Motoyama in the #1 GT-R started the race from 6th on the grid, pitting on lap 29 after the rain started to fall. Switching to rain tyres, the car briefly dropped to 10th, but after others had made their stops, rose back up to 2nd place. The car latched onto the rear of the leading #6 SC430, waiting for the chance to pounce. The rain now abated, the #1 GT-R increased its pace as the track dried, making major inroads on the car in front, getting by the #6 SC430 with ease on lap 66. On the 71st tour, the #6 lost 2nd place to the #39 SC430, the #1 machine winning by a healthy margin of 21 seconds. This victory marks the 2nd win for the #1 GT-R this season, and also brings it to the top of the points’ table, in what is a significant step towards a second consecutive championship title.

Qualifying in 10th spot, the IMPUL CALSONIC GT-R (#12 – Tsugio Matsuda / Sebastien Philippe) picked off rivals one by one to run 7th when the rain started. After the driver switch from Matsuda to Philippe, the car briefly rose to 4th. However, a penalty for contact with the #38 SC430 saw the car finish 8th.

– NISMO Team Director Suzuki’s comment:
“Our strategy worked perfectly. Also, the pit crew and drivers made absolutely no mistakes. In the pit stop, we put on shallow-grooved rain tyres and bet on the latter half. Because the rain stopped as we’d expected, we were able to attack according to our strategy. I’d like to thank everyone who stuck with the plan through the heavy rain, despite the heat prior to the race start. A sincere Thank you to all. ”

– #1 GT-R driver Satoshi Motoyama’s comment:
“Thanks to you all, it was possible to take the win today. It was a difficult race, but we started in a good position and then Benoit drove outstandingly in the second half, passing the leader and building up a gap in what was a tremendous performance. To Benoit, the team, and all of our supporters, my sincere appreciation.”

– #1 GT-R driver Benoit Treluyer’s comment:
“Thank you everybody, it was a splendid race. Satoshi (Motoyama) made a great start and the team performed perfectly. It was very difficult in the heavy rain with the shallow-cut rain tyres, but somehow we were able to come through. Everybody worked perfectly this time. This really is a victory for the entire team.”

Round 4 Photo Gallery – Sepang Circuit, Malaysia: