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SuperGT 2010: One All in Nissan vs Honda Battle for 2010 Championship
There may be no official tally going on but don’t let that fool you there is most certainly huge rivalry between Honda and Nissan this year in SuperGT after Honda debuted their HSV-010 GT500 machine.
Conditions were much improved over the slippery first round when the race kicked off on Sunday.The #12 GT-R of team Calsonic Impul had managed a third position on the grid. Despite a few spins and contacts going on about the circuit, the guys kept out of drama and fought hard with the front runners to maintain position throughout the race. They fought all the way to the end and managed a fourth place finish to take home 11 points total for the round.
“I really wanted to move up one spot and finish the race in third, but unfortunately there was no chance. I gave it my best effort and I believe I put in a good performance. So we can think of this as our starting point and hope to score higher next time. This race was one fraught with frustration.”
– #12 GT-R driver Tsugio Matsuda“Thank you for your support today. I believe we had a car capable of a better result and so it’s disappointing to miss out on the podium. No doubt we’ll be stronger at the next race at Fuji. Please continue rooting for us.”
– #12 GT-R driver Ronnie Quintarelli
Team Nismo’s day wasn’t so great, they qualified in 7th on the grid and had to battle fiercely in the middle of the pack. They began strongly but were back and forth between 6th and 9th until being hit off the track by the #32 HSV-010 Honda (see 3:02 on the video). The Honda scored a penalty for the incident but the Nismo #23 Motul Autech GT-R was forced to retire for the race and score zero points. A huge blow for the season hopes.
Carrying another 40kg’s due to the round 1 win, the #24 HIS ADVAN Kondo Racing was understandably less competitive in qualifying placing 12th on the grid. They battled for 11th but unfortunately due to mechanical issues had to settle for 12th place. It’s not great but it’s not a DNF either so they take home 2 points. Overall it may be a slow round due to the ballast but they’re still sitting pretty in second place on the championship ladder for the season.
Images: Copyright (C) 2010 NISSAN MOTORSPORTS
| Pos | No | Machine | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Weider HSV-010 | 2:02’26.084 |
| 2 | 38 | ZENT CERUMO SC430 | +11.800 |
| 3 | 1 | PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 | +14.209 |
| 4 | 12 | CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R | +14.712 |
| 5 | 6 | ENEOS SC430 | +45.741 |
| 6 | 8 | ARTA HSV-010 | +48.666 |
| 7 | 17 | KEIHIN HSV-010 | +57.285 |
| 8 | 100 | RAYBRIG HSV-010 | +1’11.673 |
| 9 | 35 | MJ KRAFT SC430 | +1Lap |
| 10 | 39 | DENSO DUNLOP SARD SC430 | +1Lap |
| 11 | 32 | EPSON HSV-010 | +1Lap |
| 12 | 24 | HIS ADVAN KONDO GT-R | +1Lap |
| R | 23 | MOTUL AUTECH GT-R | – |
SuperGT 2010: Suzuka Preseason Testing
SuperGT teams competing in the 2010 championship were given an opportunity to stretch their legs in their 2010 spec cars at Suzuka circuit.
While the HSV-10 was out and about getting all the attention, the GT-R teams are slipping some slight body updates under the radar.
The front fenders are standardizing on the waved single piece design which debuted late in 2009 season on the IMPUL and ADVAN cars. This was never adopted by the Nismo team during the 2009 season but they look to have made the move now.
The rest of the car seems much unchanged except for the return to being car #23 instead of running the championship winner #1 tag.
Should be a very interesting season up against Honda! We’ll keep you guys updated as we have for the past seasons!
Update: We found some updated timing direct from Suzuka circuit. The quickest cars on the track were the 5 Lexus SC430s that ran as quick as 1:53.14 seconds (Petronas Tom’s #1).
Interestingly, Nismo also ran the FIA GT-1 spec Nissan GT-R at Suzuka with Michael Krumm driving. Comparing laptimes between the two reveals just how important the downforce on the GT500 cars really is. The 600hp GT1 car only managing a 2:01:132 behind the 500hp Nismo GT500 car’s 1:54.787.
Source: SuperGT via 7tune.com
SuperGT: GT-R’s Biggest Threat in 2010? Honda’s NSX Replacement Spotted
SuperGT 2009 is over and with it is the long career of the GT500 Honda NSX that was a staple of the series for so long. In it’s place, Honda have ressurected the cancelled NSX replacement, and sought a rule exemption to do so, for the 2010 season.
The GT500 class HSV-10 GT will debut in the first race of 2010 but was captured here testing at Suzuka circuit in Japan.
It certainly looks like Honda are well into the development on this car and that it’s an attractive beast. Should be an exciting season opener in March 2010 as the GT-R fights off the newcomer!
Videos of the testing at the link below…
Source: Motors Blog
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