2011 Super GT Series
2011 Super GT Series | |||
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The 2011 Autobacs Super GT Series was the 18th season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami required the race to be postponed.
Schedule
The provisional calendar was released on 8th, August, 2010. The Autopolis round which was absent last season was added to the calendar while the Suzuka race was reduced to a 700 km Endurance race only. Like the previous season, the non-Super GT pointed race JAF Grand Prix will be raced as a conclusion to the season.[1]
However, due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, A large part of the season has been modified to cope with the situations.
The calendar was updated at 15th, April, 2011.
Round | Race | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Okayama GT | Okayama International Circuit | May 22[2] |
2 | Fuji GT 1 | Fuji Speedway | May 1 |
3 | Super GT International Series Malaysia |
Sepang International Circuit | June 19 |
4 | Sugo GT | Sportsland SUGO | July 30 |
5 | 40th Pokka GT Summer Special |
Suzuka Circuit | August 21 |
6 | Fuji GT 2 | Fuji Speedway | September 11 |
7 | Autopolis GT | Autopolis | October 2 |
8 | Motegi GT | Twin Ring Motegi | October 16 |
NC | All Star Series | Fuji Speedway | November 12 |
November 13 |
Impact of Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
As a response of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the racing calendar and regulations were given a lot of modifications as a response to the national policy of energy conservation.
- The Okayama GT event, originally to be held on April 2 has been postponed to 22 May despite damage to the Okayama International Circuit being minimal.[2] The GT Association would still consider it as the 1st Round. The postponement of the Fuji Round was put under consideration as well.
- All race distances will be trimmed from 300 km to 250 km, other than the first Fuji race will change from 500 km to 300 km, and the Suzuka round from 700 km to 500 km. In addition, the Suzuka round will be only run in day sessions.
- Pitworks at nights are limited to a shorter period of time. Overnight works are not allowed between qualifying and the race.
Drivers and teams
GT500
GT300
Team | Make | Car | No. | Drivers | Tyre | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cars Tokai Dream28 | Mooncraft | Mooncraft Shiden | 2 | Kazuho Takahashi | Y | All |
Hiroki Katoh | All | |||||
GSR & Studie with Team Ukyo | BMW | BMW Z4 GT3 | 4 | Nobuteru Taniguchi | Y | All |
Taku Bamba | All | |||||
Team Mach | Vemac | Vemac RD320R | 5 | Haruki Kurosawa | Y | 2–8 |
Tetsuji Tamanaka | 2–3, 5–8 | |||||
Katsuhiko Tsutsui | 4 | |||||
Direction Racing | Porsche | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 7 | Akira Mizutani | Y | 4–6 |
Carlo van Dam | 4–6 | |||||
You Yokomaku | 5 | |||||
Gainer | Ferrari | Ferrari F430 GT2 | 10 | Masayuki Ueda | Y | 6–8 |
Masataka Kawaguchi | 6–8 | |||||
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | 11 | Tetsuya Tanaka | D | All | ||
Katsuyuki Hiranaka | All | |||||
Team SG Changi | Lexus | Lexus IS350 | 14 | Ryo Orime | Y | All |
Alexandre Imperatori | 1–2, 4–8 | |||||
Tsubasa Abe | 3 | |||||
Naoya Yamano | NC | |||||
Team Art Taste | Porsche | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 15 | Tim Bergmeister | Y | 5–8, NC |
Yasuhiro Shimizu | 5–8, NC | |||||
R'Qs Motorsports | Vemac | Vemac RD350R | 22 | Hisashi Wada | Y | 1–5, 7, NC |
Masaki Jyonai | 1–5, 7, NC | |||||
Team Tsuchiya | Porsche | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | 25 | Takeshi Tsuchiya | Y | 1–8 |
Akihiro Tsuzuki | 1–8 | |||||
Team Taisan | Porsche | Porsche 996 GT3 | 26 | Kyosuke Mineo | Y | 1–7, NC |
Hideshi Matsuda | 1–3, 6, 8, NC | |||||
Junichiro Yamashita | 4–5, 7–8 | |||||
Shogo Mitsuyama | 5 | |||||
Ferrari | Ferrari F430 GT2 | 41 | Shinichi Yamaji | 1–2, 4–6, 8, NC | ||
Hiroshi Koizumi | 1–2, 4–6 | |||||
Kyosuke Mineo | 8 | |||||
Junichiro Yamashita | NC | |||||
LMP Motorsport | Ferrari | Ferrari F430 GT2 | 27 | Yutaka Yamagishi | Y | All |
Hideki Yamauchi | 1–6, NC | |||||
Carlo van Dam | 7–8 | |||||
apr | Toyota | Toyota Corolla Axio | 31 | Koki Saga | Y | All |
Yuki Iwasaki | All | |||||
74 | Morio Nitta | All | ||||
Yuji Kunimoto | All | |||||
Hankook KTR | Porsche | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 33 | Masami Kageyama | H | All |
Tomonobu Fujii | All | |||||
Porsche 997 GT3 RS | 34 | Hiroshi Takamori | 1–2, 5–6 | |||
Michael Kim | 1–2, 5–6 | |||||
Naoya Gamou | 2, 5 | |||||
Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL | ASL Garaiya | 43 | Shinichi Takagi | B | All |
Kosuke Matsuura | All | |||||
R&D Sport | Subaru | Subaru Legacy B4 | 62 | Kota Sasaki | Y | All |
Tetsuya Yamano | All | |||||
A speed | Aston Martin | Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 | 66 | Hiroki Yoshimoto | Y | All |
Kazuki Hoshino | All | |||||
ThunderAsia Racing | Mosler | Mosler MT900M | 69 | Hiroki Yoshida | Y | 1–8 |
Melvin Choo | 1–3, 5–8 | |||||
Naoki Yokomizo | 4–5 | |||||
JLOC | Lamborghini | Lamborghini Gallardo RG-3 | 86 | Takayuki Aoki | Y | All |
Yuya Sakamoto | All | |||||
87 | Manabu Orido | All | ||||
Atsushi Yogo | All | |||||
88 | Hiroyuki Iiri | All | ||||
Yuhi Sekiguchi | All | |||||
Tomei Sports | Callaway | Callaway Corvette Z06.R GT3 | 360 | Atsushi Tanaka | Y | 1–2, 4, 7 |
Kazuyoshi Okamura | 1–2, 4 | |||||
Masahiro Matsunaga | 7 | |||||
Team Movements
GT500
- Honda
- The original driver lineup from the ARTA, Ralph Firman and Yuji Ide, both left the team this season. They were replaced by Hideki Mutoh and Takashi Kobayashi respectively.
- Lexus
- Racing Project Bandoh, GT300 Class Champion in 2009 season, will be participating in GT500 class this year.
- Björn Wirdheim who drove in the ENEOS last season, moved to Nissan's Kondō Racing.
- Lexus will using SC430 until season ends, as there are remaining SC430s in the factory. The SC430 will be replaced by the LFA in the next season.
- Nissan
- MOLA, GT300 Class Champion in the 2008 season, will be participating in GT500 class this year. With Masataka Yanagida and Ronnie Quintarelli as their drivers, while João Paulo de Oliveira who was with Kondō Racing filled the void in the Impul team.
GT300
- RE Amemiya, a regular GT300 entrant in the class since the 1995 JGTC season, has withdrawn from the series completely. While 2008 and 2009 GT300 Champion Team MOLA and Racing Project Bandoh both moved up to the GT500 class respectively. 2010 GT300 Champion Hasemi Motorsport also withdrawn the series in early April. Making both Nissan and Mazda car absent in the GT300 lineup this year, for the first time since 1995.
- Jim Gainer Team, which was using the Ferrari F430 in the 2010 season, switched 1 of their 2 cars to a Ferrari F458 GTC. Ferrari stated they are not likely to supply F458's to any of the Super GT teams. Team Mach also showed interest in using an F458 this season but due to the reason above, the plan was not implemented and they had to drive with a Vemac.
- Studie, which used a BMW Z4 (E86) in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, returned to the series with a BMW Z4 GT3, previously the #76 car used by Schubert Motorsport (Team Need for Speed) in the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship season. They have hired former F1 driver Ukyo Katayama as their sporting director, and former RE Amemiya driver Nobuteru Taniguchi as their driver, partnered with Taku Bamba.
- Chevrolet cars, which previously appeared in Super GT in the 2007 season also returned to the series, with Tomei Sports replacing their 996 type Porsche 911 GT3 with a Corvette Z06-R.
- Porsche supplied two new 2010 specification Porsche 911 GT3Rs to Direction Racing and Team Art Taste, the latter team, which was a regular entrant of Super Taikyu series, also marked their debut season in Super GT. The 2010 specification Porsche 911 GT3R which was used by Team COX (Goodsmile Racing, GSR) last season was given to the Hankook KTR team.
- Team SG Changi, which uses a Lexus IS350 with former RE Amemiya driver Ryo Orime and Alexandre Imperatori is participating in the series for the first time.
- Kazuki Hoshino, the driver's Champion of GT300 last year, moved from Hasemi Motorsport to A Speed (using an Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2), replacing Hideshi Matsuda. Hasemi Motorsport was later to announce their withdrawal from the series.
Calendar
Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | GT500 Winner | GT300 Winner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Fuji Speedway1 | 1 May | No. 39 Lexus Team SARD | No. 23 Nismo | No. 33 Hankook KTR |
Takuto Iguchi Hiroaki Ishiura |
Satoshi Motoyama Benoît Tréluyer |
Tomonobu Fujii Masami Kageyama | |||
12 | Okayama International Circuit | 22 May | No. 17 Keihin Real Racing | No. 12 Team Impul | No. 66 A speed |
Toshihiro Kaneishi Koudai Tsukakoshi |
Tsugio Matsuda João Paulo de Oliveira |
Kazuki Hoshino Hiroki Yoshimoto | |||
3 | Sepang International Circuit | 19 June | No. 1 Weider Honda Racing | No. 1 Weider Honda Racing | No. 4 GSR&Studie with TeamUKYO |
Loïc Duval Takashi Kogure |
Loïc Duval Takashi Kogure |
Taku Bamba Nobuteru Taniguchi | |||
4 | Sportsland SUGO | 31 July | No. 46 MOLA | No. 46 MOLA | No. 14 Team SG CHANGI |
Ronnie Quintarelli Masataka Yanagida |
Ronnie Quintarelli Masataka Yanagida |
Alexandre Imperatori Ryo Orime | |||
53 | Suzuka Circuit Report |
21 August | No. 46 MOLA | No. 1 Weider Honda Racing | No. 62 R&D Sport |
Ronnie Quintarelli Masataka Yanagida |
Loïc Duval Takashi Kogure |
Tetsuya Yamano Kota Sasaki | |||
6 | Fuji Speedway | 11 September | No. 39 Lexus Team SARD | No. 38 Lexus Team ZENT Cerumo | No. 4 GSR&Studie with TeamUKYO |
Hiroaki Ishiura Takuto Iguchi |
Yuji Tachikawa Kohei Hirate |
Taku Bamba Nobuteru Taniguchi | |||
7 | Autopolis | 2 October | No. 39 Lexus Team SARD | No. 23 Nismo | No. 62 R&D Sport |
Hiroaki Ishiura Takuto Iguchi |
Satoshi Motoyama Benoît Tréluyer |
Tetsuya Yamano Kota Sasaki | |||
8 | Twin Ring Motegi | 16 October | No. 46 MOLA | No. 23 Nismo | No. 4 GSR&Studie with TeamUKYO |
Ronnie Quintarelli Masataka Yanagida |
Satoshi Motoyama Benoît Tréluyer |
Taku Bamba Nobuteru Taniguchi | |||
NC | Fuji Speedway | 12 November | No. 46 MOLA | No. 46 MOLA | No. 4 GSR&Studie with TeamUKYO |
Ronnie Quintarelli | Ronnie Quintarelli | Nobuteru Taniguchi | |||
13 November | No. 46 MOLA | No. 100 Team Kunimitsu | No. 4 GSR&Studie with TeamUKYO | ||
Masataka Yanagida | Takuya Izawa | Taku Bamba |
Notes:
- ^1 – Race stopped early due to bad weather, full points awarded.
- ^2 – The Okayama round was still considered Round 1.
- ^3 – Race stopped early due to energy curfew, full points awarded.
Standings
GT500 Drivers
- Scoring system
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|
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GT300 Drivers
- Scoring system
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
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References
- ↑ "8 rounds for 2011 SUPER GT season, Autopolis back in the calendar!". supergt.net. Super GT. 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
- 1 2 "Super GT Okayama will be held in 21–22 May". as-web.jp. i-dea. 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
External links
- Super GT official website (English)