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| For immediate publication |
| 2004.03.14 |
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350Z renews the track record of Suzuka during the JGTC joint test sessions.
The two-day test concludes most successfully.
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On March 12th and 13th, the JGTC joint testing session was held at Suzuka Circuit, and 350Z renewed the track record unofficially, and dominated the top ranks and finished the two-day testing successfully.
The participant of the test included Satoshi Motoyama and Richard Lyons on #1 Xanavi NISMO Z, Masami Kageyama and Michael Krumm on #22 Motul Pitwork Z, both from Nismo, Yuji Ide and Benoit Treluyer on #12 Calsonic Impul Z from Team Impul, Toshihiro Kaneishi and Erik Comas on #3 G'ZOX SSR Hasemi Z from Hasemi Motorsports. Nismo also tested their development test car as #23 NISMO, and a total of 5 Zs participated in the test sessions of GT500 class.
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The first test day, March 12th was cold clouded and windy from morning and the temperature remained around 11ºC. However, under such circumstances, Motoyama on #1 Z scored record breaking 1" 54.322 surpassing the previous record of 1" 55.340 during the afternoon session, naturally climbing to the top of 17 GT500 class cars. The newly introduced Z had occurred typical minor problems for new cars, but was still able to score good record. #12 Z ranked in 4th place on their shakedown day, and #23 Z with Kageyama mainly behind the wheel ranked 5th, #22 Z was 9th and #3 Z that had completed shakedown at TI circuit just before this test was ranked in 12th place as satisfying results for the test sessions.
The second day on 13th was sunny from the morning, and the temperature climbed to around 20ºC by the afternoon. During the morning session Krumm on #22 Z scored the fastest of 1" 54.029. This was the fastest of all cars throughout all sessions.
In the afternoon, Treluyer on #12 Z improved the lap time to 1" 54.216. #23 Z completed the session in 3rd place and #1 Z in 4th. 350Z dominated the top 4. #3 Z finished the session in 9th, and Nissan cars had successfully completed the test and to have good prospect for the season to start.
17 cars participated in GT300 class. #80 Endless Daishin ADVAN Z with Mitsuhiro Kinoshita and Kazuki Hoshino from Team Daishin had shakedown on 13th and was ranked in 4th place, and the teammate #81 C-West Daishin ADVAN Z with Masataka Yanagida and Naofumi Omoto was 7th place, while #51 NSC AUTO-STAFF ADVAN Silvia with Masanobu Kato and Katsuhiko Tsutsui from AUTO STAFF RACING was ranked 10th as a satisfying result for this weekend.
Satoshi Motoyama (#1 Xanavi Nismo Z)
“It was the first test for the Z in Suzuka, and I was wondering what the match is like in high-speed corners of Suzuka. But surely, it was fast here in Suzuka as well. We did not want to exploit our potential during test sessions, but say, we were the ones who really wanted to see (laughs). We are still searching for the best setup. Supra is fast at their top speed, and I don't think there will be a big gap when it comes to the race.”
Masami Kageyama (#22 Motul Pitwork Z)
“After two-day testing, we were able to really see how fast the Z is. All we have to do is to construct our race strategy without mistakes. When we are on our own during the test, we are very fast, but when it comes to racing, we have strategies among our rivals. So I think we should really pull ourselves together. But I know, I am in NISMO, so I don't have to worry!”
Hiroshi Degawa, Nismo Team Director
“The first day was cold, but the second day was clear and we had good sessions. The best part was that our drivers were able to make laps and get used to the car. The Z had dominated the top, but I don't think we should depend too much on this result. We had minor problems for new car, but it was lucky we didn't have to deal with it in the race week. We will do our best not to have troubles during the opening round at the TI circuit.”
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