PETRONAS TOM'S RC F finishes in 1st Place at the 2015 AUTOBACS SUPER GT 500 series race in Suzuka
04 Oct 2015
ZENT CERUMO RC F finishes in 2nd place to end the race in impressive fashion for Lexus
The No. 36 PETRONAS TOM'S RC F driven by Daisuke Ito and James Rossiter ended the "44th International Suzuka 1000km" race with an impressive performance to finish first at the 2015 AUTOBACS SUPER GT 500 series race, held recently at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture. For the team it was their second consecutive Suzuka 1000km victory, following their win here last year.
The No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F driven by Yuji Tachikawa and Hiroaki Ishiura completed the dominance of the Lexus RC F by finishing second in the race. Rossiter and Ito lie third in the driver’s championship, with Ishiura and Tachikawa two points ahead in second. In the manufacturers’ standings, PETRONAS TOM’S are placed second, two points above ZENT CERUMO, with three rounds still to contest.
During the race, the pivotal moment occurred during the routine pit stops around the 25th lap. On this pit stop, it was the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM'S RC F team that demonstrated outstanding pit work to get back in the race several seconds faster than their rivals after just 51 seconds of stopped time. By the time all the cars had finished their first pit stop on the 35th lap, the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S RC F had managed to return to the race in 2nd position. After the 62nd lap, it moved up into the lead. By this time, the track was completely dry, and probably due to rapid changes in other conditions like the track surface temperature, there were rapid changes in the respective paces of the cars.
However, there was no wavering in the speed and strength of the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM'S RC F and it continued to build its lead over the rest of the competition, only giving up the lead for brief moments due to the timing of its pit stops. The result was that over the last 30 laps of the race, car No. 36 enjoyed a solid lead of more than 60 seconds over the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F which finally finished in 2nd place.
Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Office, TOYOTA Motor Corporation said, “This win at Suzuka in such challenging conditions was significant as it demonstrated the superb performance of the Lexus RC F and the driving prowess of both sets of drivers in the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM'S RC F as well as the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO RC F.”
Yoshitsugu added: “Pushing these cars to the limit in such challenging conditions gives us great insights in making ever better cars. This win is also a tribute to our loyal fans and customers who come to these races and follow us around the circuit and we sincerely appreciate their support.”
Speaking on this occasion, Daisuke Ito, said, “The race was held in difficult conditions, but I kept running determined not to lose hope until the very end. James succeeded in moving us up in position, and I believe we were able to change to slick dry-condition tires with good timing. After a number of races where we were unable to get a good result, I'm very happy that I have finally been able to get a win and I want to help keep this momentum going and try to win the championship.”
