TRIPLE NISSAN GT-R GT500 PODIUM at SUZUKA!
25 August 2021
(source)

TRIPLE NISSAN GT-R GT500 PODIUM at SUZUKA!

The Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 had a clean sweep this weekend, on the podium of round three at SUPER GT, which is help in Japan!

Although rain had been forecast, blue skies were still visible this weekend when the race began. Within the early stages of the race #23 GT-R of Ronnie Quintarelli and #24 GT-R driven by Daiki Sasaki were able to maintain positions 3rd and 4th, whilst #3 GT-R and the #12 GT-R were also gaining positions, and from this point onwards all the GT-R's steadily moved up the rankings.


At the mid-point of the race, after all GT-R's had completed their pit stops, #3 GT-R had successfully took the lead, whilst #12 GT-R followed closely in 2nd and #23 GT-R followed in 3rd! Tsugio Matsuda in the #23 GT-R was soon able to slip past #12 GTR in the 30th lap, and move up to 2nd place.

Matsuda(#23 GT-R) then made a hard pursuit for #3 GT-R, closing the gap more and more with each lap taken, and finally overtaking and taking the lead on lap 41 on the chicane.




Following this lead, #23 GT-R then took on its first win of this season, whilst #3 GT-R took up 2nd place on the podium, and #24 GT-R finished 3rd, although they had temporarily dropped to 6th, but fought their way back up the rankings. #12 GT-R also finished in 6th, which meant all participating GT-R's finished within the top 6.

Matsuda's position meant he was celebrating a 23rd victory within the SUPER GT, which is now the record for the most wins within the series. This outing was also the 3rd consecutive win for the GT-R at Suzuka, following the two wins achieved last year.

Matsuda went on to say, "I really wanted to win on my home ground, so after Motegi, I worked hard on my physical condition and training for Suzuka. In the race, I felt that the car, the tires, and the team's desire to win would really push me forward, so I really gave it my all. I really want to express my gratitude to them. I think we are getting stronger as a whole, so I want to keep working so that we get even stronger."