Firstly big ups to Nissan for continuing to translate these full race reports in a timely manner and making them available to the media. It’s a great thing to know whats going on in SuperGT as coverage is sparse at best outside Japan. Secondly, thanks for the great photos from the event and for publishing them quicker and quicker each round.

Don’t forget to click through the jump to read the rest of the report…

NISSAN GT-R Maintains championship lead with 2nd step on the podium
– SUPER GT 2009 Round 7 Race Report –

September 13th, Fuji Speedway (Oyama Town, Shizuoka prefecture)
Amidst favourable autumnal weather, Fuji Speedway hosted an action-packed Round 7 of the SUPER GT series, the “FUJI GT 300km RACE.” After qualifying 2nd, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#1 Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer) started from the front row, adding championship points in the race and edging one step closer to taking a second consecutive championship title.

Source: Nissan

With two victories already this season, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (#1), came into the race in the lead of the championship. Despite being laden with the heaviest handicap weight in the field, the car was able to start the race from a very strong position after taking 2nd place in the previous day’s qualifying, conducted in the rain. Race day was blessed with glorious weather, over 33,000 race fans on hand to greet the 2pm start. Motoyama was the starting driver in the #1 GT-R, and while both the ambient and track temperatures were high, he wanted to avoid wearing the tyres in the early stages, though had to briefly let the #6 Lexus SC430 through on lap 2, but he didn’t panic, continuing to set steady lap times. Also, on lap 13 he was passed by the #8 NSX, but here too, he kept his cool. From early on, the team kept a watchful eye on it would be best to make their pit stop, and that came on lap 33, when he handed over to Treluyer. When Benoit returned to the track, he set about bringing down the gap to the 2nd-placed #36 SC430, which by lap 41 was at about 2 seconds. At one point he was set up to pass, but the #36 defended and it was not to be. However, in the very last part of the race, Treluyer, who had continued to hound his rival, made the move stick at the last corner of the 65th lap, recovering 2nd place.

Starting 5th, Oliveira in the HIS ADVAN KONDO GT-R (#24 – Joao Paolo de Oliveira / Seiji Ara) took advantage of an accident at the first corner involving a car further up the order to cross the line in 4th place at the end of the opening lap. Following this, he moved up to 2nd place. Later however, an unfortunate move with the #8 machine saw the car drop to third place. A podium finish was still a possibility as the final stage of the race approached. While running 4th on lap 46 however, the car was hit by some parts from a GT300 machine, causing damage to the electrical system and forcing it to stop on track. Driver Ara restarted and returned to the pit, though fell well down the order. The car finished in 13th place.

In what is proving to be a very strong season for the team, the HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R (#3 – Ronnie Quintarelli / Hironobu Yasuda) qualified and started the race in 14th place, but with the capable driving of first-half driver Quintarelli, had leapt to 6th place by the end of the first lap! He subsequently got as high as 4th before handing the car over to driver partner Yasuda on lap 29. Yasuda continued at a stable pace, remaining in sixth for a multitude of laps. He later rose to 5th place, but was then passed by the #6 SC430 in the final stages, the car crossing the finish line in that position after 66 laps of racing. The #3 GT-R has scored points continuously since Round 3, including clinching victory in Round 4 at Sepang; the only rounds where it didn’t take points being the season-opener and the following round.

The IMPUL CALSONIC GT-R (#12 – Tsugio Matsuda / Sebastien Philippe) saw Matsuda take the start from 6th on the grid. However, an accident immediately after the start spelled disaster as repairs to front suspension damage caused a massive time loss. The car later returned to the track, but five laps off the leaders it eventually finished in 15th.

– NISMO Team Director Yutaka Suzuki’s comment:
“I think today’s race was an intense one. The biggest point was that Benoit never gave up and waited for his chance. Also the fact that he wasn’t careless contributed greatly to the result. In addition, Motoyama was a true veteran, using good judgement to avoid the accident at the start. After that, he saved the tyres well and was able to hand the car over to Benoit in a good state. The pit stop went without incident, making it a truly excellent race. Thank you for your encouragement.”

– #1 GT-R driver Satoshi Motoyama’s comment:
“Today we were able to finish in 2nd place. Thank you very much. This time at the very end on the last lap Benoit did a terrific job driving – it was Benoit’s style, he really was great. As for our aim at the title, we’ll really be pushing hard to get it, and we hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do your support. We’ll do our best!”

– #1 GT-R driver Benoit Treluyer’s comment:
“Thank you for your support. We’re so happy. We did a very good race today, the car was very good again and the staff did a fantastic job. The car was just perfect and we had great support from the fans – so thank you very much and see you next time.”