Asian Most Historic Lamborghini GT Team_since 1994 1/9 SUPER GT Rd.3 SUZUKA CIRCUIT RACE REPORT Press release TEAM JLOC Car 87 Legal Frontier Lamborghini Kimiya Sato / Yuya Motojima Car 88 Money Partners Lamborghini Kazuki Hiramine / Marco Mapelli Official Qualifying Date: Saturday, May 19, 2018 Weather: Sunny Qualifier Results: 14th place for No. 88, 18th place for No. 87 Spectators: 20,000 No. 88 broke through Q1 but had an unfortunate finish at 14th due to Q2 time deletion Suzuka this year was held in a normal 300 km format, rather than the 1,000km that we had been used to up to now. The teams entered race week with the hopes of both returning to the winner's podium like last year. Despite the clear, sunny weather, the official practice began with strong gusts, and there were moments of uncertainty as to what to do with the set-up. In the qualifying, No. 88 broke through the Q1, but No. 87 just barely missed making it to Q2. Mapelli drove a strong race in Q2, but placed 14th due to a penalty from all four tires exiting the track. Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87 The balance from the previous race was good for the official practice, so we began with that set-up carried over. Fine adjustments improved the balance, but there wasn't enough grip overall. In the qualifying Motojima pushed hard to bring our time up 1.4 seconds from the time in the morning, but we finished the qualifying in 18th position. Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87 We were set back from the start of the free practice by mismatched tires and set-up, and there wasn't enough grip. Even in the qualifying, Motojima pushed hard for us, but we didn't have enough grip, and we finished 18th. Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87 We were unable to improve much on our time after putting on new tires for the official practice. We made a flawless attack in the qualifying, but we didn't have the time to
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Press release Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88 SUPER GT … · Car 88 Money Partners Lamborghini Kazuki Hiramine / Marco Mapelli Official Qualifying Date: Saturday, May 19, 2018
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Asian Most Historic Lamborghini GT Team_since 1994
1 / 9
SUPER GT Rd.3 SUZUKA CIRCUIT RACE REPORT
Press release
TEAM JLOCCar 87 Legal Frontier Lamborghini Kimiya Sato / Yuya MotojimaCar 88 Money Partners Lamborghini Kazuki Hiramine / Marco Mapelli
Official QualifyingDate: Saturday, May 19, 2018Weather: SunnyQualifier Results: 14th place for No. 88, 18th place for No. 87Spectators: 20,000
No. 88 broke through Q1 but had an unfortunate finish at 14th due to Q2 time deletionSuzuka this year was held in a normal 300 km format, rather than the 1,000km that we had been used to up to now. The teams entered race week with the hopes of both returning to the winner's podium like last year.
Despite the clear, sunny weather, the official practice began with strong gusts, and there were moments of uncertainty as to what to do with the set-up.
In the qualifying, No. 88 broke through the Q1, but No. 87 just barely missed making it to Q2. Mapelli drove a strong race in Q2, but placed 14th due to a penalty from all four tires exiting the track.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87The balance from the previous race was good for the official practice, so we began with that set-up carried over. Fine adjustments improved the balance, but there wasn't enough grip overall. In the qualifying Motojima pushed hard to bring our time up 1.4 seconds from the time in the morning, but we finished the qualifying in 18th position.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87We were set back from the start of the free practice by mismatched tires and set-up, and there wasn't enough grip. Even in the qualifying, Motojima pushed hard for us, but we didn't have enough grip, and we finished 18th.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87We were unable to improve much on our time after putting on new tires for the official practice. We made a flawless attack in the qualifying, but we didn't have the time to
make it to Q2. We haven't been able to make the best of new tires this year, and that remains an issue.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine broke through Q1 with no difficult with a time of 1:57:567. Marco took over for Q2, and despite recording a time of 1:57:173, our time was deleted due to a track-limits violation, and we ended in 14th. There are differences here from European culture, but eventually he will get used to the Japanese rules.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88The team assigned me to Q1, and I used the tire wear and grip as minimally as I could to finish Q1 without incident. Marco took over for Q2 and made a good attack up to 10th position, but, unfortunately, all four of his tires went out of limits during that attack and his time was deleted.
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Well, qualifying was good for us, but we knew that we didn’t have the outright pace for the first two rows.
Final RaceDate: Sunday, May 20, 2018Weather: SunnyFinal Results: 4th place for No. 88, 12th place for No. 87 Spectators: 33,000
No. 88 surged forward in the second half to reach 4th, and gained points for the 3rd race in a rowSimilar to the previous day, the day of the final race offered fine weather. The warm-up run was short, but allowed the teams to collect data. After a 1 hour delay due to rare race timer trouble, the final race began without any changes made to the number of laps.
Both machines worked steadily to improve their positions. No. 87 had tire difficulties and altered their strategy, while No. 88 stuck to their strategy, and Mapelli pushed in the second half to bring the winner's podium within reach, bring the team's place up to 4th, and gaining them their 3rd consecutive placing.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87We started the warm up run by checking the balance on a full tank. This was the final race we had been preparing for. Sato started the race. We initially intended to change only two tires as part of our strategy, but since the tires wore down faster than we anticipated, we decided to change all four. We brought the machine into
the pit on the 17th lap when the safety car finished, and Motojima took over, we gassed up the machine oil and changed the tires. With the tires in rough shape, we weren't able to pick up the pace that much, but we gradually moved up in position to finish 12th. We haven't been able to get any points this season, but we hope to build out the machine to gain points in the next race in Thailand, since the race conditions aren't that bad.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87I started the race, and I managed to hold my position from the start, but the lack of grip continued to plague us, and uneven wear on the tires made us gradually lose pace, and we were forced to bring the machine into the pit right after the safety car in the first half of the race. I tried to catch up in the second half of the race, but we, unfortunately, finished in 12th. We will work to identify the problems and improve our performance for the next race in Thailand.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87The long straights in the final races up to Fuji were fine, but the long straights in this final were rough. Other teams also seemed to be having a hard time as well, so after realizing that it wasn't just me, I was able to gain in position. But I am upset that we weren't able to get any points even from there.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine, with his good ability in managing tires passed 3 machines during the opening lap. The safety car was brought in for laps 13 to 17, and we thought to bring the machine into the pit right after that; but, we thought about the tires and decided to extend it out the pit stop to lap 23. Marco took over, we changed 2 tires and the machine left the pit. We went through a surge ahead and some tight battles to finish 4th. After the starting dash of the first stint, our tire management, our perfect pit work, the excellent driving and battling skills in the poor conditions, I really got a sense in this race of how far our team's capacity has improved.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88I handled the race start. I heard that we were using a strategy of not changing the tires, so with tire management we could really save on fuel. I maintained constant contact with Mr. Katsumata through the radio, and I saved on the fuel so we wouldn't lose time. Marco took over on lap 25. Since we had managed to save more than expected on fuel, this took seconds off the time needed to gas up the machine. During the race, Marco drove like he was hunting prey. His constant aggressive pushes brought us to 4th in the end, and we finished in the position we had envisioned. We also gained a lot of points. I am grateful to both the whole team and to Marco. I was so happy to have so much support from our fans throughout race week. Thank you so much! I look forward to your support for the next race!
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Race was all about strategy and managing tire degradation. Kazuki did a great job and team did a good pit stop. I tried no to push on the first few laps and keep constant pace, in the end I had still something left compare the cars around me, I think we deserved a podium spot. But in the end we score again important points for the championship, thanks to all the team for the big effort during the last few weeks and working timeless everyday, can’t wait for Thailand, where I already won in the Blancpain Asia this year.
Comments from Isao Noritake, Team principalThe 3rd race in Suzuka is not a power circuit, unlike Fuji, and we will use all the data on the set up we will bring with both machines. We aim to gain as much position as possible with this one!
No. 88 finished 4th and No. 87 finished 12th, with both machines, drivers, and mechanics all performing flawlessly! But, No. 87 just fell short of getting points! It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we can chalk it up to bad luck!
The difficulties of the GT300 are apparent in every single lap!
The team will push forward with everything we've got!We look forward to continued support from our sponsors and fans!
Asian Most Historic Lamborghini GT Team_since 1994
2 / 9
TEAM JLOCCar 87 Legal Frontier Lamborghini Kimiya Sato / Yuya MotojimaCar 88 Money Partners Lamborghini Kazuki Hiramine / Marco Mapelli
Official QualifyingDate: Saturday, May 19, 2018Weather: SunnyQualifier Results: 14th place for No. 88, 18th place for No. 87Spectators: 20,000
No. 88 broke through Q1 but had an unfortunate finish at 14th due to Q2 time deletionSuzuka this year was held in a normal 300 km format, rather than the 1,000km that we had been used to up to now. The teams entered race week with the hopes of both returning to the winner's podium like last year.
Despite the clear, sunny weather, the official practice began with strong gusts, and there were moments of uncertainty as to what to do with the set-up.
In the qualifying, No. 88 broke through the Q1, but No. 87 just barely missed making it to Q2. Mapelli drove a strong race in Q2, but placed 14th due to a penalty from all four tires exiting the track.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87The balance from the previous race was good for the official practice, so we began with that set-up carried over. Fine adjustments improved the balance, but there wasn't enough grip overall. In the qualifying Motojima pushed hard to bring our time up 1.4 seconds from the time in the morning, but we finished the qualifying in 18th position.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87We were set back from the start of the free practice by mismatched tires and set-up, and there wasn't enough grip. Even in the qualifying, Motojima pushed hard for us, but we didn't have enough grip, and we finished 18th.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87We were unable to improve much on our time after putting on new tires for the official practice. We made a flawless attack in the qualifying, but we didn't have the time to
make it to Q2. We haven't been able to make the best of new tires this year, and that remains an issue.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine broke through Q1 with no difficult with a time of 1:57:567. Marco took over for Q2, and despite recording a time of 1:57:173, our time was deleted due to a track-limits violation, and we ended in 14th. There are differences here from European culture, but eventually he will get used to the Japanese rules.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88The team assigned me to Q1, and I used the tire wear and grip as minimally as I could to finish Q1 without incident. Marco took over for Q2 and made a good attack up to 10th position, but, unfortunately, all four of his tires went out of limits during that attack and his time was deleted.
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Well, qualifying was good for us, but we knew that we didn’t have the outright pace for the first two rows.
Final RaceDate: Sunday, May 20, 2018Weather: SunnyFinal Results: 4th place for No. 88, 12th place for No. 87 Spectators: 33,000
No. 88 surged forward in the second half to reach 4th, and gained points for the 3rd race in a rowSimilar to the previous day, the day of the final race offered fine weather. The warm-up run was short, but allowed the teams to collect data. After a 1 hour delay due to rare race timer trouble, the final race began without any changes made to the number of laps.
Both machines worked steadily to improve their positions. No. 87 had tire difficulties and altered their strategy, while No. 88 stuck to their strategy, and Mapelli pushed in the second half to bring the winner's podium within reach, bring the team's place up to 4th, and gaining them their 3rd consecutive placing.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87We started the warm up run by checking the balance on a full tank. This was the final race we had been preparing for. Sato started the race. We initially intended to change only two tires as part of our strategy, but since the tires wore down faster than we anticipated, we decided to change all four. We brought the machine into
the pit on the 17th lap when the safety car finished, and Motojima took over, we gassed up the machine oil and changed the tires. With the tires in rough shape, we weren't able to pick up the pace that much, but we gradually moved up in position to finish 12th. We haven't been able to get any points this season, but we hope to build out the machine to gain points in the next race in Thailand, since the race conditions aren't that bad.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87I started the race, and I managed to hold my position from the start, but the lack of grip continued to plague us, and uneven wear on the tires made us gradually lose pace, and we were forced to bring the machine into the pit right after the safety car in the first half of the race. I tried to catch up in the second half of the race, but we, unfortunately, finished in 12th. We will work to identify the problems and improve our performance for the next race in Thailand.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87The long straights in the final races up to Fuji were fine, but the long straights in this final were rough. Other teams also seemed to be having a hard time as well, so after realizing that it wasn't just me, I was able to gain in position. But I am upset that we weren't able to get any points even from there.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine, with his good ability in managing tires passed 3 machines during the opening lap. The safety car was brought in for laps 13 to 17, and we thought to bring the machine into the pit right after that; but, we thought about the tires and decided to extend it out the pit stop to lap 23. Marco took over, we changed 2 tires and the machine left the pit. We went through a surge ahead and some tight battles to finish 4th. After the starting dash of the first stint, our tire management, our perfect pit work, the excellent driving and battling skills in the poor conditions, I really got a sense in this race of how far our team's capacity has improved.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88I handled the race start. I heard that we were using a strategy of not changing the tires, so with tire management we could really save on fuel. I maintained constant contact with Mr. Katsumata through the radio, and I saved on the fuel so we wouldn't lose time. Marco took over on lap 25. Since we had managed to save more than expected on fuel, this took seconds off the time needed to gas up the machine. During the race, Marco drove like he was hunting prey. His constant aggressive pushes brought us to 4th in the end, and we finished in the position we had envisioned. We also gained a lot of points. I am grateful to both the whole team and to Marco. I was so happy to have so much support from our fans throughout race week. Thank you so much! I look forward to your support for the next race!
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Race was all about strategy and managing tire degradation. Kazuki did a great job and team did a good pit stop. I tried no to push on the first few laps and keep constant pace, in the end I had still something left compare the cars around me, I think we deserved a podium spot. But in the end we score again important points for the championship, thanks to all the team for the big effort during the last few weeks and working timeless everyday, can’t wait for Thailand, where I already won in the Blancpain Asia this year.
Comments from Isao Noritake, Team principalThe 3rd race in Suzuka is not a power circuit, unlike Fuji, and we will use all the data on the set up we will bring with both machines. We aim to gain as much position as possible with this one!
No. 88 finished 4th and No. 87 finished 12th, with both machines, drivers, and mechanics all performing flawlessly! But, No. 87 just fell short of getting points! It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we can chalk it up to bad luck!
The difficulties of the GT300 are apparent in every single lap!
The team will push forward with everything we've got!We look forward to continued support from our sponsors and fans!
Asian Most Historic Lamborghini GT Team_since 1994
3 / 9
TEAM JLOCCar 87 Legal Frontier Lamborghini Kimiya Sato / Yuya MotojimaCar 88 Money Partners Lamborghini Kazuki Hiramine / Marco Mapelli
Official QualifyingDate: Saturday, May 19, 2018Weather: SunnyQualifier Results: 14th place for No. 88, 18th place for No. 87Spectators: 20,000
No. 88 broke through Q1 but had an unfortunate finish at 14th due to Q2 time deletionSuzuka this year was held in a normal 300 km format, rather than the 1,000km that we had been used to up to now. The teams entered race week with the hopes of both returning to the winner's podium like last year.
Despite the clear, sunny weather, the official practice began with strong gusts, and there were moments of uncertainty as to what to do with the set-up.
In the qualifying, No. 88 broke through the Q1, but No. 87 just barely missed making it to Q2. Mapelli drove a strong race in Q2, but placed 14th due to a penalty from all four tires exiting the track.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87The balance from the previous race was good for the official practice, so we began with that set-up carried over. Fine adjustments improved the balance, but there wasn't enough grip overall. In the qualifying Motojima pushed hard to bring our time up 1.4 seconds from the time in the morning, but we finished the qualifying in 18th position.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87We were set back from the start of the free practice by mismatched tires and set-up, and there wasn't enough grip. Even in the qualifying, Motojima pushed hard for us, but we didn't have enough grip, and we finished 18th.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87We were unable to improve much on our time after putting on new tires for the official practice. We made a flawless attack in the qualifying, but we didn't have the time to
make it to Q2. We haven't been able to make the best of new tires this year, and that remains an issue.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine broke through Q1 with no difficult with a time of 1:57:567. Marco took over for Q2, and despite recording a time of 1:57:173, our time was deleted due to a track-limits violation, and we ended in 14th. There are differences here from European culture, but eventually he will get used to the Japanese rules.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88The team assigned me to Q1, and I used the tire wear and grip as minimally as I could to finish Q1 without incident. Marco took over for Q2 and made a good attack up to 10th position, but, unfortunately, all four of his tires went out of limits during that attack and his time was deleted.
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Well, qualifying was good for us, but we knew that we didn’t have the outright pace for the first two rows.
Final RaceDate: Sunday, May 20, 2018Weather: SunnyFinal Results: 4th place for No. 88, 12th place for No. 87 Spectators: 33,000
No. 88 surged forward in the second half to reach 4th, and gained points for the 3rd race in a rowSimilar to the previous day, the day of the final race offered fine weather. The warm-up run was short, but allowed the teams to collect data. After a 1 hour delay due to rare race timer trouble, the final race began without any changes made to the number of laps.
Both machines worked steadily to improve their positions. No. 87 had tire difficulties and altered their strategy, while No. 88 stuck to their strategy, and Mapelli pushed in the second half to bring the winner's podium within reach, bring the team's place up to 4th, and gaining them their 3rd consecutive placing.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87We started the warm up run by checking the balance on a full tank. This was the final race we had been preparing for. Sato started the race. We initially intended to change only two tires as part of our strategy, but since the tires wore down faster than we anticipated, we decided to change all four. We brought the machine into
the pit on the 17th lap when the safety car finished, and Motojima took over, we gassed up the machine oil and changed the tires. With the tires in rough shape, we weren't able to pick up the pace that much, but we gradually moved up in position to finish 12th. We haven't been able to get any points this season, but we hope to build out the machine to gain points in the next race in Thailand, since the race conditions aren't that bad.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87I started the race, and I managed to hold my position from the start, but the lack of grip continued to plague us, and uneven wear on the tires made us gradually lose pace, and we were forced to bring the machine into the pit right after the safety car in the first half of the race. I tried to catch up in the second half of the race, but we, unfortunately, finished in 12th. We will work to identify the problems and improve our performance for the next race in Thailand.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87The long straights in the final races up to Fuji were fine, but the long straights in this final were rough. Other teams also seemed to be having a hard time as well, so after realizing that it wasn't just me, I was able to gain in position. But I am upset that we weren't able to get any points even from there.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine, with his good ability in managing tires passed 3 machines during the opening lap. The safety car was brought in for laps 13 to 17, and we thought to bring the machine into the pit right after that; but, we thought about the tires and decided to extend it out the pit stop to lap 23. Marco took over, we changed 2 tires and the machine left the pit. We went through a surge ahead and some tight battles to finish 4th. After the starting dash of the first stint, our tire management, our perfect pit work, the excellent driving and battling skills in the poor conditions, I really got a sense in this race of how far our team's capacity has improved.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88I handled the race start. I heard that we were using a strategy of not changing the tires, so with tire management we could really save on fuel. I maintained constant contact with Mr. Katsumata through the radio, and I saved on the fuel so we wouldn't lose time. Marco took over on lap 25. Since we had managed to save more than expected on fuel, this took seconds off the time needed to gas up the machine. During the race, Marco drove like he was hunting prey. His constant aggressive pushes brought us to 4th in the end, and we finished in the position we had envisioned. We also gained a lot of points. I am grateful to both the whole team and to Marco. I was so happy to have so much support from our fans throughout race week. Thank you so much! I look forward to your support for the next race!
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Race was all about strategy and managing tire degradation. Kazuki did a great job and team did a good pit stop. I tried no to push on the first few laps and keep constant pace, in the end I had still something left compare the cars around me, I think we deserved a podium spot. But in the end we score again important points for the championship, thanks to all the team for the big effort during the last few weeks and working timeless everyday, can’t wait for Thailand, where I already won in the Blancpain Asia this year.
Comments from Isao Noritake, Team principalThe 3rd race in Suzuka is not a power circuit, unlike Fuji, and we will use all the data on the set up we will bring with both machines. We aim to gain as much position as possible with this one!
No. 88 finished 4th and No. 87 finished 12th, with both machines, drivers, and mechanics all performing flawlessly! But, No. 87 just fell short of getting points! It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we can chalk it up to bad luck!
The difficulties of the GT300 are apparent in every single lap!
The team will push forward with everything we've got!We look forward to continued support from our sponsors and fans!
Asian Most Historic Lamborghini GT Team_since 1994
4 / 9
TEAM JLOCCar 87 Legal Frontier Lamborghini Kimiya Sato / Yuya MotojimaCar 88 Money Partners Lamborghini Kazuki Hiramine / Marco Mapelli
Official QualifyingDate: Saturday, May 19, 2018Weather: SunnyQualifier Results: 14th place for No. 88, 18th place for No. 87Spectators: 20,000
No. 88 broke through Q1 but had an unfortunate finish at 14th due to Q2 time deletionSuzuka this year was held in a normal 300 km format, rather than the 1,000km that we had been used to up to now. The teams entered race week with the hopes of both returning to the winner's podium like last year.
Despite the clear, sunny weather, the official practice began with strong gusts, and there were moments of uncertainty as to what to do with the set-up.
In the qualifying, No. 88 broke through the Q1, but No. 87 just barely missed making it to Q2. Mapelli drove a strong race in Q2, but placed 14th due to a penalty from all four tires exiting the track.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87The balance from the previous race was good for the official practice, so we began with that set-up carried over. Fine adjustments improved the balance, but there wasn't enough grip overall. In the qualifying Motojima pushed hard to bring our time up 1.4 seconds from the time in the morning, but we finished the qualifying in 18th position.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87We were set back from the start of the free practice by mismatched tires and set-up, and there wasn't enough grip. Even in the qualifying, Motojima pushed hard for us, but we didn't have enough grip, and we finished 18th.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87We were unable to improve much on our time after putting on new tires for the official practice. We made a flawless attack in the qualifying, but we didn't have the time to
make it to Q2. We haven't been able to make the best of new tires this year, and that remains an issue.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine broke through Q1 with no difficult with a time of 1:57:567. Marco took over for Q2, and despite recording a time of 1:57:173, our time was deleted due to a track-limits violation, and we ended in 14th. There are differences here from European culture, but eventually he will get used to the Japanese rules.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88The team assigned me to Q1, and I used the tire wear and grip as minimally as I could to finish Q1 without incident. Marco took over for Q2 and made a good attack up to 10th position, but, unfortunately, all four of his tires went out of limits during that attack and his time was deleted.
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Well, qualifying was good for us, but we knew that we didn’t have the outright pace for the first two rows.
Final RaceDate: Sunday, May 20, 2018Weather: SunnyFinal Results: 4th place for No. 88, 12th place for No. 87 Spectators: 33,000
No. 88 surged forward in the second half to reach 4th, and gained points for the 3rd race in a rowSimilar to the previous day, the day of the final race offered fine weather. The warm-up run was short, but allowed the teams to collect data. After a 1 hour delay due to rare race timer trouble, the final race began without any changes made to the number of laps.
Both machines worked steadily to improve their positions. No. 87 had tire difficulties and altered their strategy, while No. 88 stuck to their strategy, and Mapelli pushed in the second half to bring the winner's podium within reach, bring the team's place up to 4th, and gaining them their 3rd consecutive placing.
Comments from Seiji Hirai, Engineer for No. 87We started the warm up run by checking the balance on a full tank. This was the final race we had been preparing for. Sato started the race. We initially intended to change only two tires as part of our strategy, but since the tires wore down faster than we anticipated, we decided to change all four. We brought the machine into
the pit on the 17th lap when the safety car finished, and Motojima took over, we gassed up the machine oil and changed the tires. With the tires in rough shape, we weren't able to pick up the pace that much, but we gradually moved up in position to finish 12th. We haven't been able to get any points this season, but we hope to build out the machine to gain points in the next race in Thailand, since the race conditions aren't that bad.
Comments from Kimiya Sato, No. 87I started the race, and I managed to hold my position from the start, but the lack of grip continued to plague us, and uneven wear on the tires made us gradually lose pace, and we were forced to bring the machine into the pit right after the safety car in the first half of the race. I tried to catch up in the second half of the race, but we, unfortunately, finished in 12th. We will work to identify the problems and improve our performance for the next race in Thailand.
Comments from Yuya Motojima, No. 87The long straights in the final races up to Fuji were fine, but the long straights in this final were rough. Other teams also seemed to be having a hard time as well, so after realizing that it wasn't just me, I was able to gain in position. But I am upset that we weren't able to get any points even from there.
Comments from Masafumi Katsumata, Engineer for No. 88Hiramine, with his good ability in managing tires passed 3 machines during the opening lap. The safety car was brought in for laps 13 to 17, and we thought to bring the machine into the pit right after that; but, we thought about the tires and decided to extend it out the pit stop to lap 23. Marco took over, we changed 2 tires and the machine left the pit. We went through a surge ahead and some tight battles to finish 4th. After the starting dash of the first stint, our tire management, our perfect pit work, the excellent driving and battling skills in the poor conditions, I really got a sense in this race of how far our team's capacity has improved.
Comments from Kazuki Hiramine, No. 88I handled the race start. I heard that we were using a strategy of not changing the tires, so with tire management we could really save on fuel. I maintained constant contact with Mr. Katsumata through the radio, and I saved on the fuel so we wouldn't lose time. Marco took over on lap 25. Since we had managed to save more than expected on fuel, this took seconds off the time needed to gas up the machine. During the race, Marco drove like he was hunting prey. His constant aggressive pushes brought us to 4th in the end, and we finished in the position we had envisioned. We also gained a lot of points. I am grateful to both the whole team and to Marco. I was so happy to have so much support from our fans throughout race week. Thank you so much! I look forward to your support for the next race!
Comments from Marco Mapelli, No. 88Race was all about strategy and managing tire degradation. Kazuki did a great job and team did a good pit stop. I tried no to push on the first few laps and keep constant pace, in the end I had still something left compare the cars around me, I think we deserved a podium spot. But in the end we score again important points for the championship, thanks to all the team for the big effort during the last few weeks and working timeless everyday, can’t wait for Thailand, where I already won in the Blancpain Asia this year.
Comments from Isao Noritake, Team principalThe 3rd race in Suzuka is not a power circuit, unlike Fuji, and we will use all the data on the set up we will bring with both machines. We aim to gain as much position as possible with this one!
No. 88 finished 4th and No. 87 finished 12th, with both machines, drivers, and mechanics all performing flawlessly! But, No. 87 just fell short of getting points! It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we can chalk it up to bad luck!
The difficulties of the GT300 are apparent in every single lap!
The team will push forward with everything we've got!We look forward to continued support from our sponsors and fans!
About Team JLOC
The team was founded in 1994, and it's the Lamborghini team with the most history and performance in Asia. We have repeatedly entered touring car races both domestically and overseas, and in 2006 TEAM JLOC was the first team representing Lamborghini to enter the 24-hours Le Mans. We have since raced under only the Lamborghini name. We have numerous wins, including grand prize victories, under our belts in Super GT, Super Trofeo, Dubai 24 Hours, Sepang 12 Hours.
Asian Most Historic Lamborghini GT Team_since 1994
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PHOTOS
Copyright(C) Team JLOC. All Rights Reserved. This press release is supported by Intercast corporation
Asian Most Historic Lamborghini GT Team_since 1994
Copyright(C) Team JLOC. All Rights Reserved. This press release is supported by Intercast corporation
Team JLOCについて1994 年にチーム設立、アジアで最も歴史と実績があるランボルギーニチーム。国内外ツーリングカーレースに出場を続け、2006年にはランボルギーニ社として初のルマン 24時間出場を Team JLOCは実現。その後もランボルギーニ一筋にてレース参戦。Super GT、スーパートロフェオ、ドバイ 24時間、セパン 12時間などにおいて優勝含む多数の表彰台獲得と実績を積み重ねている。