TOUGH TEST FOR LEXUS PETRONAS TOM’S AT SEPANG

“I am looking forward to coming back to Malaysia, especially as this is the one round that
takes us out of Japan. Not only does the entire Super GT fraternity get to come out and
experience a different culture and environment; it is also a nice break from the routine we’re
used to in Japan,” said Lotterer, who is also thrilled with the support of the locals.

“The feeling and level support is different and that makes Sepang a really nice experience for us. It
also gives us an additional boost of motivation to perform at our best, especially coming here
with a massive handicap! So, we will definitely give it everything for our home fans here,” he added.

The 2010 season marked the fifth year of partnership between Loterrer and Wakisaka; and that explained well the commendable performance displayed by the dynamic duo, who was also the GT500 overall champions in 2006.

Designed to equalize the performance of the competing cars, the Super GT regulations also help to ensure close competition between the teams on-track. For the LEXUS TEAM PETRONAS TOM’S, the 68 kg handicap weight in relative terms represents a significant handicap.

Wakisaka said he was looking forward to the race in Sepang as he had always loved the Formula 1 track. “I like racing at the Sepang track as it is quite varied. It has a nice mix of really
fast and slow corners. While this is interesting for us drivers, it’s also interesting for the
spectators,” he said.

He noted that it was going to be difficult for him and Lotterer with the heavy weight handicap that they would need to carry for the round. “For sure it makes it a tough round for us, but this does not stop us from putting up a good fight, as always,” he added.

At last year’s race in Sepang, the dynamic duo of HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R of Ronnie Quintarelli and Hironobu Yasuda caused a major upset when they stunned their more established and more celebrated rivals as they took the chequered flag for the Malaysian round.

Three rounds had passed for the 2010 season and all had featured three different winners; which is, however, not something unusual as the success ballast plays an integral part in the outcome of Super GT races.

Yasuda took the opening round of 2010; this time partnering Joao Paulo de Oliveira in a Nissan GT-R R35. As their challenge faltered badly in Round 2, the battle at Okayama was triumphed by the partnership of Weider Honda Racing – Takashi Kogure and Loic Duval. The most recent round at Fuji Speedway had Hiroaki Ishiura and Kazuya Oshima of LEXUS TEAM KRAFT as the top winner.

In the GT300 class, Team M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA is the ‘home away from home” team; but unlike LEXUS TEAM PETRONAS TOM’S, they are in the chasing pack despite a sensational start to the season.

Steered by drivers Nobuteru Taniguchi and Ryo Orime topped the opening round in Suzuka; taking a massive 20 points to take an early lead to the championship. The price of success is always heavy in Super GT as Round 2 saw the team collecting only a single championship point in the teams’ championship.

That race in Okayama was won by the partnership from Team MOLA – Naoki Yokomizo and Tsubasa Abe in his Nissan Fairlady Z. The team would come to Sepang as leaders for both the drivers’ and teams’ championship; collecting 35 and 44 points respectively and followed closely by the partnership of Takuto Iguchi and Yuji Kunimoto of Team COROLLA Axio apr GT.

With a total haul of 25 points, apr trailed the leading MOLA team by 10 points in the drivers’ championship and also an identical 10-point deficit in the teams’ championship with 34 points against MOLA’s 44.

Apart the Super GT races, the race in Sepang would feature four other top class support race – the GT3 Asia, the GT4 Asia, the Toyota Vios/Yaris Challenge and the Scirocco Cup China, which is featuring its first international race in Sepang.