Japanese GT 2010 – Sepang, Malaysia, race report

22 Jun 10

Nobuteru Taniguchi and Ryo Orime in the #7 YOKOHAMA-equipped M7 Mutiara Motors Amemiya SGC 7 race car secured victory in the GT300 class of the Japanese GT Championship at Sepang, Malaysia, on 20 June 2010. With 20 points added to their total, Taniguchi and Orime left Sepang leading the GT300 Drivers’ Championship.

Taniguchi set the second fastest lap in qualifying, recording a 2:09.491, only three tenths of a second behind pole-man Tetsuya Tanaka. Taniguchi got behind-the-wheel of the M7 Re-Amemiya Racing car first and showed superb form throughout the race, before handing over the wheel to Orime during the mandatory pit stop. The Japanese driver went on to secure the victory.

This fantastic result elevated the drivers from fourth to the top of the Drivers’ Championship with 40 points. In the teams’ standings, M7 Re-Amemiya Racing currently lies second on 52 points, only two points behind the leader.

In the GT500 class, João Paulo Lima de Oliveira and Hironobu Yasuda in the #24 His ADVAN Kondo GT-R car, running on YOKOHAMA ADVAN tyres, finished in the points, securing a ninth-place finish. Both the drivers and the team are currently seventh in the championship standings with 25 and 35 points respectively.

Round five of the Japanese GT Championship will take place at the Sportsland SUGO circuit, in Japan, on 24-25 July 2010.