2008 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Opening Round

In the first qualifying session in the morning, Krumm ran the second fastest lap time. In the first afternoon session he qualified for the Super Lap for the top ten qualifiers (time trials run individually). Then, running second from last in the Super Lap order, he bettered this time from the first session with a 1 min. 51.163 sec. lap to win the pole position.
The GT-R driven by Krumm is a race version of the GT-R released on the market by Nissan last autumn, and this was its GT debut. Needless to say, this debut pole position win is an auspicious start for Nissan and its popular sports car.
In the GT300 class, the top qualifier with a time of 2 min. 5.169 sec. was the Privee KENZO Asset Shiden machine driven by Hiroki Katoh.
(Spectators: 20,000)



No.22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R [GT500]
Michael Krumm:
(JI am very happy. Especially since this is the first official race appearance by the new GT-R. This success is due to the all the hard work and serious preparations that Nissan and the team put in during the off-season. What makes me even happier is the fact that the GT-R finished 1-2-3 in the qualifying and I was the fastest among the three. The machine's balance was a bit off in the first qualifying session, but it was fortunate that we were able to make some effective setting changes before the Super Lap so I was able to run a perfect lap."

Masataka Yanagida:
(JKrumm did a perfect job for us. I'm really glad with this result. Krumm was fired up from the morning session, so I was able to watch the Super Lap with a sense of assurance. In tomorrow's race we are going to see a battle between these strong GT-R machines, and the rivals are probably going to join in to make it a hot race. But if we run to our full potential, we should be able to keep the lead and win."

No.2 Privee KENZO Asset Shiden
Hiroki Katoh:
(JQualifying first in class means that we can start at our own pace in tomorrow's race, so I am happy with this. It was very frustrating for our team last year finishing 2nd even though we tied for first in series points standing. So, we did a lot of work n the off-season, and that is what brought us this good qualifying time today. Also, Yokohama Rubber prepared for us some very good tires that turned out to be perfect for this course. These tires are surely going to perform well in the race tomorrow. I want to help win the race and get our season off to a good start."

Kazuho Takahashi:
(JThe car has been performing well since the GTA Official tests. I wanted to use Friday for practice, so the rain (which prevented much running) hurt. Things usually go well (in the race) when Katoh starts from the pole position and turns the car over to me in the lead, and the problems usually come from how I run the second half of the race. But you can bet I'm going to try my best."

SUZUKA CIRCUIT | Length : 5.807 km
Weather: Fine | Course: Dry

SUPER LAP TOP 3

Po.No.Machine Driver Time
[GT500]---------------------------------------------------------
1 22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R *M.Krumm/M.Yanagida 1'51.163
2 23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R S.Motoyama/*B.Treluyer 1'51.430
3 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R *T.Matsuda/S.Philippe 1.51.562
[GT300]---------------------------------------------------------
1 2 Privee KENZO Asset Shiden K.Takahashi/*H.Katoh 2.05.169
2 7 ORC Amemiya SGC-7 *H.Iiri/R.Orime 2.05.502
3 26 YUNKER POWER TAISAN PORSCHE *N.Taniguchi/S.Yamaji 2.06.118

*=Driver running the Super Lap