From pole position to the checkered flag, #12 CALSONIC IMPUL Nissan GT-R managed to secure its position in front of the GT500 crowd casing furiously to take the lead, earning them the win at the 2013 AUTOBACS Super GT Round 3 at Sepang international Circuit.
After a quick driver change from Tsugio Matsuda to J.P. Lima De Oliveira behind the wheels of the GT500 GT-R, the 32-year-old Brazilian then continued the team’s charge to victory and finishing the 54-lap race 1’50:11.232. This is also De Oliveira’s third win in his racing career.
“It was a tough race for us as we had to keep the lead and at the same time struggle to take care of the tires. All in all, the victory came down to good teamwork. We had a really good pit-stop and that helped me to build rhythm and pace,” said De Oliveira.
Although the car was facing some oversteering problems during the early stages of the race, it is nothing that the drivers could not handle and soldiered on to the finish line.
“The team did a great job to put us on the top of the field throughout the race without any problems,” said Matsuda.
Coming in second was the #39 DENSO KOBELCO Lexus SC 430 which had started the race in fourth position on the grid, but managed to climb up the ranks to claim a spot on the podium. The #38 ZENT CERUMO Lexus SC 430 had the second position on the earlier parts of the race but due to a contact with the #1 REITO MOLA Nissan GT-R, they were forced to return to the pits due to a damaged right rear tire. The DENSO KOBELCO Lexus SC 430 with Juichi Wakisaka and Hiroaki Ishiura behind the wheels finished the race in 1’50:15.322.
Having started the race at fifth position, #100 RAYBRIG Honda HSV-010 GT stayed cleared off the crowd and took advantage of the commotion to secure third in the race. With Takuya Izawa taking the first stint followed by Takashi Kogure, their victory coincidentally completes the three machines participating in the GT500 class.
| 1 | 12 | CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R NISSAN GT-R / VRH34B |
Tsugio Matsuda J.P.Lima De Oliveira |
1:50’11.232 | 54 | BS | 22 |
| 2 | 39 | DENSO KOBELCO SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG |
Juichi Wakisaka Hiroaki Ishiura |
4.09 | 54 | BS | 22 |
| 3 | 100 | RAYBRIG HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG |
Takuya Izawa Takashi Kogure |
8.631 | 54 | BS | 48 |
| 4 | 18 | Weider Modulo HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG |
Naoki Yamamoto Frederic Makowiecki |
15.657 | 54 | MI | 14 |
| 5 | 17 | KEIHIN HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG |
Koudai Tsukakoshi Toshihiro Kaneishi |
15.803 | 54 | BS | 30 |
| 6 | 1 | REITO MOLA GT-R NISSAN GT-R / VRH34B |
Satoshi Motoyama Yuhi Sekiguchi |
23.897 | 54 | MI | 6 |
| 7 | 6 | ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG |
Kazuya Oshima Yuji Kunimoto |
28.971 | 54 | BS | 30 |
| 8 | 8 | ARTA HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG |
Ralph Firman Kosuke Matsuura |
40.926 | 54 | BS | 10 |
| 9 | 23 | MOTUL AUTECH GT-R NISSAN GT-R / VRH34B |
Masataka Yanagida Ronnie Quintarelli |
41.487 | 54 | MI | 22 |
| 10 | 37 | KeePer TOM’S SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG |
Daisuke Ito Andrea Caldarelli |
56.415 | 54 | BS | 10 |
| 11 | 36 | PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG |
Kazuki Nakajima James Rossiter |
1’11.696 | 54 | BS | 40 |
| 12 | 32 | Epson HSV-010 Honda HSV-010 GT / HR10EG |
Ryo Michigami Daisuke Nakajima |
1’18.171 | 54 | DL | |
| 13 | 24 | D’station ADVAN GT-R NISSAN GT-R / VRH34B |
Hironobu Yasuda Michael Krumm |
1’22.260 | 54 | YH | |
| 14 | 38 | ZENT CERUMO SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG |
Yuji Tachikawa Kohei Hirate |
1’59.409 | 54 | BS | 46 |
| 15 | 19 | WedsSport ADVAN SC430 LEXUS SC430 / RV8KG |
Seiji Ara Andre Couto |
2’00.793 | 54 | YH |
