Godzilla Runs Wild in Malaysia! GT-R Dominates SuperGT Round 4 at Sepang [video]
Godzilla ran roughshod over the competition in Malaysia this past weekend, the Nissan GT-Rs of Calsonic Impul and Motul Autech taking the top two spots on the SuperGT GT500 podium at the 5.5 km Sepang International Circuit.
With track temperatures of 110 degrees, the No. 12 Calsonic Impul GT-R of Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli started from pole, but the race was not without its fair share of drama. With Quintarelli behind the wheel, the 2nd place No. 100 Honda HSV-010 made contact with the leading Calsonic Impul GT-R, putting the Nissan into a spin. This allowed the No. 23 Motul Autech GT-R piloted by Satoshi Motoyama and Benoit Treluyer to slip past and into the lead. But both the No. 100 Honda and the No. 23 GT-R were handed drive-through penalties, putting the Calsonic Impul No. 12 GT-R back in the lead for good.
According to Tsugio Matsuda of the winning Calsonic Impul No. 12 GT-R, “Having started from pole position, anything less than the win today would have been pretty miserable in my opinion. We were able to maintain a strong pace right from the opening stages, and I was relieved to take the car from Ronnie in the top spot. As for the win, it’s not only because of the drivers, but also due to the support of all the fans and the unflinching efforts of the team in the off-season, and everyone related to the car’s engine development, not to mention the leadership of Mr. Hoshino. It is something appreciated from the heart. As this is my first victory since 2008, it builds my self-confidence.”
Starting the race from 3rd place, the Motul Autech No. 23 GT-R fell back to 6th place during the early stages of the race, but with Benoit Treluyer behind the wheel and on a fresh set of tires moved up to 3rd. After a drive-through penalty for making contact with the No. 100 HSV-010 dropped the Motul Autech Nissan back to 5th, Treluyer put in a spectacular drive that moved him up to 2nd place on the second to last lap of the race, making for a well-deserved 1-2 finish for the Nissan GT-R.
For video evidence of the Calsonic Impul GT-R taking pole position during qualifying, check out the video after the jump.
[Source: Nissan Motorsports]
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Godzilla was a representation of America coming to destroy Japan. In an ironic twist, the Japanese are now destroying American corporations in certain sectors through superior engineering.