NISMO Nissan had "luck on its side" in crazy Okayama opener

The #23 Nissan Z shared by Matsuda and Quintarelli came out on top in a tempestuous race punctuated by three red flags for rain and lightning storms, which was ultimately brought to a premature halt with 62 of 82 laps completed.

Poleman Quintarelli maintained the net lead as he changed from slick Michelin tyres to wets when the rain first arrived on lap 15, briefly losing the advantage to the Bridgestone-shod #36 TOM'S Toyota of Sho Tsuboi in the middle phase of the race before repassing on a drying track.

He handed over to Matsuda on lap 46, the NISMO crew switching back to slicks in the process, with Matsuda just holding off a charging Ritomo Miyata before the arrival of more rain prompted the team to pit again to go back to wets on lap 51.

Matsuda was just able to get into the pits before the pitlane closed for a safety car period, caused by a crash involving two GT300 cars, the Pacific Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the #88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracan Evo.

The rest of the GT500 field then had to make their stops for wets when the pits reopened under caution, promoting Matsuda back into a lead he wouldn't lose until the race was finally called after the third of three stoppages.

Reflecting on his record-extending 24th SUPER GT win afterwards, Matsuda conceded he and Quintarelli got lucky that the second downpour was heavy enough to force their rivals into pitting behind the safety car, as they had fallen to sixth before regaining the lead.

"I knew it would be a tough battle in the second half of the race," recalled Matsuda. "On the out lap, I was told that the #36 was coming fast, but somehow I held position.

"Then during the FCY [on lap 48, caused by an off for the Subaru BRZ], our information was that it was going to rain again and the team kept an eye on the weather radar. It seemed that it would rain more and more, and I was able to get in the pits at almost the same time as the safety car was called.

"Just as I reached the first safety car line, I was told ‘there’s been a big crash!’ and so we decided to come in. That was decisive. Once I passed the safety car line, the safety car light flashed in the car, and I thought, ‘ah, phew!’

"To be honest, it was a gamble. If the rain didn’t get stronger at that time, our strategy would have failed. But because we thought it would get stronger, we thought that we had to pit then. Then the rain became really heavy and I knew our gamble paid off.

"It’s not easy to win SUPER GT. You have to take your chances when they come, but you also need luck. Last year I was wondering why we were unlucky, but today it felt like we had luck on our side."

 

Quintarelli said that the win, his 18th in SUPER GT's top class, exorcised the demons of last year's Sugo race, when a strategy miscue in the rain handed what should have been an easy victory to the #3 Nissan.

"At Sugo last year, the strategy didn’t work out and we lost to our sister car, but this time the roles were reversed and everything gelled for us, so I’m really happy," said four-time GT500 champion Quintarelli.

"The next race at Fuji is our favourite race of the season, so we want to win there too, but I’m not sure how far we can go with 42kg of success ballast. Anyway, it’s our 10th season as a duo, and it’s the ‘year of the #23’, so after this win I want to make this a good season until the end.

"Matsuda’s [old] benchmark of 23 wins was a high bar to clear, but I think becoming a five-time champion is even more so. I want to give it everything to surpass it."

Chiyo left to count cost of pitlane misfortune

During the early stages of the race, Quintarelli had to fend off his NISMO stablemate Katsumasa Chiyo in the #3 NDDP Racing Z.

But Chiyo and team-mate Mitsunori Takaboshi lost out significantly during the first full-course yellow period, which was called on lap 16 and forced Chiyo into pitting for wet tyres under a subsequent safety car once the pits had reopened.

The #3 Nissan eventually recovered to finish second, helped by the strength of the Michelin tyres in damp conditions and the #36 TOM'S Toyota dropping out due to a loose front-left wheel after a botched pitstop.

But Chiyo was left to wonder what could have been if he had managed to get into the pits before the first caution period.

 

"We were on different tyres to car 23, and in slightly wet conditions we had the edge," Chiyo told Motorsport.com's Japanese edition.

"Just as I overtook Ronnie, he came into the pits, and I was planning to come in the next time round, the FCY was called and I couldn’t come in, and we were passed by all the cars that came in.

"At one stage we were nearly last, so to come second from there was a silver lining, and that was thanks to the performance of the Michelin wet tyre.

"There’s nothing to say except we were unlucky. Had we been able to pit [before the FCY] I think the race could have unfolded quite differently and I think we would have been ahead of the #23 car for the following stint."

Additional reporting by Kenichiro Ebii

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