Super GT Teams, Drivers Get Ready For Tough Battle In Sepang

From cold, chilly conditions for the first three rounds, the Super GT International Series returned their annual tropical battle field of hot and humid weather at Sepang Circuit this weekend with the competing teams and drivers preparing themselves for their toughest race of the season.

While his rivals are still away at home, two-time Sepang winner Michael Krumm of Team NISMO is already in Malaysia; helping out in the promotion of the event and looking forward for the actual race to put his championship assault back on track.

While naming the Honda drivers as favourites for the race in Sepang this Sunday, the two-time Super GT champion, however, was quick to add that it would be an open affair and that he and his partner Masataka Yanagida also have a good chance of winning the race in their XANAVI NISMO Nissan GT-R machine.

“To me, the Sepang Circuit suits the Honda machines better,” said Krumm, adding that it would be a long race and that plenty of things could happen that could determine the outcome of the race in Sepang, which will be Round 4 of a nine-round championship.

“The weather in Sepang had always been hot and humid; but I like it hot and dry. Hopefully, it does not rain this weekend,” said Krumm, who is currently sixth in the GT500 overall standings with 18 points that he and Yanagida collected in the first round in Suzuka after coming second.

After three rounds, it is the team-mates of Krumm and Yanagida – the partnership of Satoshi Motoyama and Benoit Treleyer on Car No. #23 of Team Xanavi NISMO GT-R leading the GT500 championship; compliments of their back-to-back victories from the opening two rounds.

Failing to collect a single point from the previous 500-km run in Fuji Speedway for Round 3, they remained on 46 points; holding an 11-point advantage over Yuji Tachikawa and Richard Lyons – victors of the Fuji Speedway.

As winners of the previous round, Tachikawa and Lyons would be slowed down by weight handicaps in Sepang; effectively offering them a mountainous task in Round 4. Neverthless, Motoyama and Treluyer had shown in Round 2 that back-to-back victories are possible despite the extra kilogrammes.

In the GT300 class, the partnership of Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi of Team AUTOBACS Racing Team Aguri leads the championship with 35 points; holding a three-point advantage over the dynamic duo of Team Cars Tokai Dream28 – Kazuho Takahashi and Hiroki Katoh.

Though Krumm named Honda as the favourite in Sepang, it was a Nissan machine winning the GT500 race in Sepang last year through the partnership of Joao Paulo Lima de Oliveira and Seiji Ara from WOODONE ADVAN Clarion Z Racing on a Nissan Fairlady Z. The GT300 class was won by Kazuya Oshima and Hiroaki Ishiura in a Toyota MRS.

The question is – was Krumm just being polite to name Honda as the favourites for the Sepang round?

For details, contact SIC Press Officer Azhar Ghazali at 019 383 7865 or log on to www.supergt.net for more information on the Super GT International Series.