Brand new HSV-010 GT
and new-engined GT-R
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No.18
Weider HSV-010
A masterpiece that earned numerous victories, Honda
NSX-GT, had withdrawn from the series as of the final round
of last season. To succeed NSX's glorious footprint, Honda
is fielding their first FR (Front-engine, Rear-wheel drive)
layout SUPER GT machine, HSV-010 GT, this season. The car
has demonstrated its outstanding potential in the corners at
pre-season tests and gave shivers to the rivals. First
objective for any of the Honda teams must be to complete a
debut-win at Honda's home track, Suzuka. With newly enforced
drivers line-up, manufacturer's core teams,No.8 ARTA HSV-010
(Ralph Firman/Yuji Ide) and No.18 Weider HSV-010 (Takashi
Kogure/Loic Duval), should become a driving force for the
maker at the season opener. |
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No.23
MOTUL AUTECH GT-R
While the eyes tend to follow the brand new car,
NISSAN GT-R is starting the season with a new engine. Having
an over-sized 4.5-liter engine that exceeded regulated
displacement last year, GT-R had to carry handicap weight
throughout the whole season, but the new engine complies
with the 3.4-liter displacement regulation and matches up
with its two rivals. Without the handicap weight on the
NISSAN cars, it is now a true head-to-head battle for the
technology side too. Stumbling at the opening round last
season and eventually losing the title owing partly to that,
it must had been such a bitter season for No.23 MOTUL AUTECH
GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer). For being a works
team, winning the title is an absolute must, so they must be
keened and committed to win the upcoming race. |
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No.1
PERTONAS TOM'S SC430
Contrarily, no prominent changes are seen on the 2009
champion car LEXUS SC430. The 2010 car has gone under a
normal evolution from last year, but the team structure as
well as drivers line-up stay the same. Nevertheless,
maturity level may be a step or even two steps ahead of the
rivals. Maturity could become a huge advantage especially in
the first half of the season where initial problems
frequently occur. Defending champion No.1 PETRONAS TOM'S
SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer) and last year's
Suzuka (Rd.2) winner, No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 (Yuji
Tachikawa/Richard Lyons), should be the two main teams of
the fleet, but No.6 ENEOS SC430 (Ito/ Bjorn Wirdheim) , with
Daisuke Ito going into his third year after moving to LEXUS,
and the winner of last year's Pokka GT (Rd.6 Suzuka), No.35
MJ KRAFT SC430 (Hiroaki Ishiura/Kazuya Oshima), should be
kept under the watch-out list also. |
The true potential of GT500 machines are still to be hidden under
the veil. Yet, it is all about who will cross the finish line first
after conquering the intense battle against the rivals thorough the
excellent mixture of mid/high-speed and technical corners at the
challenging circuit of Suzuka. Can't wait to see the green light at
the opening round.
Aston Martin and a
foreign team take their shot at SUPER GT!
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No.66
triple a Vantage GT2
GT300 class offers a full of news no less than GT500
class this season. At the end of last year, some anticipated
that the GT300 would see less number of cars participating
due to the depression, but it turned out that some 23 cars
(with annual entry of 25 cars) will line up on the grid of
season opener, exceeding the number of last season.
Out of the cars on the grid, No.66 triple a Vantage GT2 (Hideshi
Matsuda/Hiroki Yoshimoto) with a machine that is making its
first appearance to the series, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, is
one of the sure eye-catcher. Aston Martin DB9 that competed
in GT500 class for a few races last season was a V12 engined
machine, but the Vantage is a FIA GT2 specification car with
a V8 engine, and it is considered as one of the true rival
to Porsche 911 GT3R and Ferrari F430, which can make the
battle of super cars more fierce than ever before. |
Also, No.365 365
Thunder Asia MT900M (Melvin Choo/Tim Sugden) should deserve
attention out of the new comers. They are a Singapore based team
with vast experience in Asian GT races. It is also the first time
for the SUPER GT series to have a foreign based team to participate
for a full season, and, in that sense, the team is one to keep in
mind. Thunder Asia participated in last year's round 4 at Sepang as
a wildcard, and at one time it came very close behind the leader in
the GT300 class. You can't underestimate what they can do.
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No.19
Weds Sport IS350
Now looking into the season opener as well as the new
season, without a doubt the race should evolve around the
defending champion Weds Sport IS350 (Manabu Orido/Tatsuya
Kataoka) and other major players like No.7 M7 MUTIARA MOTORS
AMEMIYA SGC 7 (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Ryo Orime) and No.43 ARTA
Garaiya (Morio Nitta/Shinichi Takagi). No.2 APPLE K-ONE
SHIDEN (Hiroki Katoh/Hiroshi Hamaguchi) looked strong at the
official test held on March 5th and 6th. Team's ace driver
remained to be Katoh, but he is now partnering with
Hamaguchi, a SUPER GT rookie. With outstanding track record
of Porsche Cup champion, Hamaguchi could well be the key for
the team's success. Fighting fiercely for the title last
season until the final lap of the final round, No.11
JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP F430 (Tetsuya Tanaka/Katsuyuki
Hiranaka) is fielding same Ferrari F430 but with FIA-GT2
specification this season. They must be fired up to crown
the title they have longed for. Speaking of making a
courageous decision, No.62 R&D SPORT LEGACY B4 (Tetsuya
Yamano/Kota Sasaki) has changed the drive system of the car
from last year's AWD(4WD) to FR. This can be seen as another
manifestation of a strong will to win. |
Lastly, No.3 HASEMI
SPORT TOMICA Z (Kazuki Hoshino/Masataka Yanagida) is coming back to
GT300 class since 2003. The team has a rich experience, including
2003 GT300 champion and a victory in GT500 class last season, as
well as a strong combination of drivers. Without a doubt, they
should be one of the top candidates for winning the season opener
and much more, the series title.
With many more news, including new team structure of "Itasha"
team and a top SUPER GT driver who has joined the Gallardo fleet,
the GT300 class is a sure provider of excitements once again
No.2 APPLE K-ONE SHIDEN |
No.3 HASEMI SPORT TOMICA Z |
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