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