Forth round of SUPER GT race was held on Sunday, June 25 at Sepang International Circuit, in the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur city in Malaysia. The MOTUL AUTECH Z (#22) with Michael Krumm and Richard Lyons which started from 2nd grid finished the race winning 2nd place.
Benoit Treluyer and Kazuki Hoshino on CALSONIC IMPUL Z (#12) followed in 3rd place after starting from 4th. Out of five Z cars entered, two made it to the podium while the other three finished successfully winning points. Over 36,000 enthusiastic local spectators witnessed the excitement, while the weather celebrated with sunshine. The temperature was 32 degrees, less hotter for this time of year at Sepang.
The battle between the pole sitter #8 NSX and #22 Z attracted every attention as the 54-lap, 300km race started. Many still remember the same battle the year before between the #8 NSX and the Z - with Richard Lyons on Z turned the table at the last minute to clinch the victory.
Michael Krumm was the starting driver for the #22 Z, and he managed to keep position without giving too much gap away to the preceding #8 NSX. He then gave the wheels to Richard Lyons on lap 25, who returned to track after successful pit stop. Unexpected was the pitwork of #8 NSX, which only changed two tires until the end. The gap between #8 NSX and #22 Z was now 15 seconds. Lyons committed himself in the chase, filling gaps by seconds as the laps proceeded. The initial 15 seconds were cut down to 3 seconds in the end, and with the remaining laps, both teams held their breaths as Lyons' fierce pursuit was getting close to overtaking. However, the traffic at the end did not help him, having him finish the race 5.6 seconds behind the winner.
Meanwhile, the #12 Z started the race from 4th grid with Treluyer starting the race for the car, had a good start and it already gained position by the time it was around the first corner. The car then sat right behind #22 Z on top as it sought opportunity to take its position, but eventually passed the wheels over to Kazuki Hoshino in the same position. The GT500 rookie kept steady and fast pace and received the checkered flag keeping 3 rd place. This was the first time #12 Z won podium this season, and was the first podium finish for Hoshino in the GT500.
The XANAVI NISMO Z(#23) with Satoshi Motoyama and Tsugio Matsuda started the race from the 8th grid, but Motoyama overtook YellowHat YMS TOMICA Z(#3, Naoki Yokomizo / Joao Paulo de Oliveira) on the first lap to take 7th place. The car then kept good pace and was passed on to Matsuda on lap 22. However, Matsuda had his own battle to face against the heat as his cool-suit failed to give him support.
Later in the race, the car improved to 5th as the two Lexus SC430s fell out. 6 points was very meaningful after finishing the race, as the car already has a challenge to the championship in scope. #3 Z had Joao Paulo de Oliveira run off to the gravel after pit stop, but fortunately, it didn't lead to any critical problems. The car returned to track, and finished the race in 7th.
The 10 th qualifying WOODONE ADVAN KONDO Z(#24, Erik Comas / Masataka Yanagida ) had no major problems or mistakes, the race was smooth for them and they finished in 8th place.
"Although we are so frustrated, the car (#22) could not do any better," said Yoshitaka Iijima, NISMO Team Director. "Both the drivers and the tires were up to their limit. I'm sure the #8 NSX should have been the same, but unfortunately, for us, they were just faster. Richard, who took the wheels in the second half pushed really hard, but there was no way we could fill the gap created by the #8 NSX changing only the two tires. The #23 had a problem with a strong under-steering during the warm up, but we just had to let them start because we didn't have any time to fix it. But the drivers surely did their job, because the car was able to add points without adding extra handicap weights for the next race. These points should be important as we continue our challenge in the Championship."
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Michael Krumm, the driver of the #22 Z quoted, "The bracket for my drink bottle broke in the cockpit, and I had to suffer a lot. We had a good fight because the team gave us a great car, but I think the NSX was so fast as well. Richard, on his comeback, gave us the amazing drive like last year. I always really enjoy such an exciting race. I believe Richard and I can make a good team. We hope the fans to look forward for Sugo too!"
"I think we had the perfect race, but couldn't quite fill that few seconds from pit-out. The traffic was heavy at the end of the race and we just haven't got the chance to push any harder. We're expecting to win at Sugo, but we are not too optimistic because it all depends on the handicap weight."
