NISSAN MOTOR CO LTD 
By August 1, 2011
NISSAN Motor Co., Ltd.
NISSAN Motorsports International Co., Ltd.
NISSAN GT-R Scores 3rd Win of the Season From First 4 Races-- SUPER GT 2011 Round 4 Race Report --
July 31st: Sportsland SUGO (Miyagi prefecture)
Round 4 of the 2011 SUPER GT season took place at Sportsland SUGO (Murata-cho, Miyagi prefecture) over the July 30-31 weekend. Starting from pole position, the #46 S-Road MOLA GT-R (Masataka Yanagida/Ronnie Quintarelli) took a commanding win after decimating the competition with a lights-to-flag victory in what is only the team's fourth event since debuting in the GT500 class. In addition, it was the third win for the NISSAN GT-R after four rounds run so far this season. Yanagida and Quintarelli were vaulted to the top of the Driver's rankings - and the MOLA team now sits atop the teams standings as well.
After coming 2nd in the previous event at Sepang, the #46 GT-R arrived at SUGO saddled with 42kgs' success ballast onboard, and wasn't expected to be a threat in the qualifying sessions on Saturday, July 30th. However, the car topped the timesheets in the morning's opening session. Super Lap was held in steadily increasing rain, making the final runner Quintarelli's run doubly impressive when he snatched pole position.
The weather turned out to be much more favourable on race day, though rain in the morning's warm up session saw cars spinning off track and accidents occurring around the track. Conditions dried out by the end of the session, and by the time the race was scheduled to start, only thick, grey clouds loomed overhead. In an area directly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, it was a testament to the series' popularity that over 27,000 fans came to SUGO to witness the SUPER GT event. In the #46 GT-R, Quintarelli took the start. Making an incendiary getaway as soon as the lights went green, the Italian had built up a gap of some 2.4 seconds on the 2nd-placed car by the end of the opening lap. Quintarelli remained in command throughout his stint, handing over to teammate Yanagida after 39 laps in the lead. Yanagida stayed out front during his time in the car, increasing the gap to the rest of the field to a massive 28-second advantage until slowing slightly in the final stages. After 68 laps, the 2nd-placed machine was 20 seconds in arrears as the #46 GT-R ran a perfect race, leading every lap. The car also recorded the race's fastest lap.
Qualifying third, the #24 ADVAN KONDO GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda/Bjorn Wirdheim) had Wirdheim at the wheel for the opening stint, the Swede staying in that position for the first half of the race. After 30 laps, he handed over to Yasuda, who ran in fourth place to the flag.
Heaviest among the GT-R-equipped teams, the #23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer) had 52kgs' ballast in its floor, and as a result, lined up 13th on the starting grid. The characteristics of the tyres meant he wasn't in a position to move up the order and after 34 laps came in, handing the car over to Motoyama. Like Treluyer, Motoyama put in a steady drive, avoiding trouble and accidents to bring the car home in 12th place.
Qualifying 10th, the #12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Joao Paolo de Oliveira) saw Matsuda take the start, though contact with another car meant an unplanned visit to the pit. After a new set of tyres the car returned to the track and temporarily got up to 8th place. However, a spin at the first corner on lap 42 meant it dropped down the order. It reached the chequered flag in 13th place.
NISMO Team Director Yutaka Suzuki's comment:
"Benoit's times were a result of a less-than-perfect set up with the tyres, and meant he couldn't move up. After switching to Satoshi, we tried to give chase, but couldn't put our weak qualifying performance behind us. However, our tyre test at Suzuka a few days ago gives us reason to feel optimistic about our chances for victory there in the upcoming 500kms.
#46 GT-R driver Ronnie Quintarelli's comment:
"I felt it was a long race. The car was perfect right from the opening lap and I was able to push as much as I liked. Though that doesn't mean there wasn't any insecurity as I was steadily losing grip through the final corner - and that was a little startling! I also hadn't ever done such a long stint on this rubber, but the performance to the end allowed us to achieve this record. I'd like to thank everybody for their continued support."
#46 GT-R driver Masataka Yanagida's comment:
"To win in GT500 makes me incredibly happy. This victory also gives us confidence, something we'd like to carry into the next race. Ronnie ran a superb pace throughout his stint, giving me the relatively simple job of protecting the lead he built up. Though that's not to say there wasn't any pressure. We want to carry this momentum for a good result at Suzuka.
| Pos | No | Machine | Driver | Time / Gap |
| 1 | 46 | S Road MOLA GT-R | Masataka Yanagida/Ronnie Quintarelli | 1:33'14.162 |
| 2 | 39 | DENSO SARD SC430 | Hiroaki Ishiura/Takuto Iguchi | +22.360 |
| 3 | 32 | EPSON HSV-010 | Ryo Michigami/Yuki Nakayama | +23.854 |
| 4 | 24 | ADVAN KONDO GT-R | Hironobu Yasuda/Bjorn Wirdheim | +35.516 |
| 5 | 6 | ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 | Daisuke Ito/Kazuya Oshima | +43.890 |
| 6 | 17 | KEIHIN HSV-010 | Toshihiro Kaneishi/Koudai Tsukakoshi | +45.934 |
| 7 | 100 | RAYBRIG HSV-010 | Takuya Izawa/Naoki Yamamoto | +1'15.181 |
| 8 | 19 | WedsSport ADVAN SC4300 | Tatsuya Kataoka/Seiji Ara | +34.813 |
| 9 | 36 | PETRONAS TOM'S SC430 | Andre Lotterer/Kazuki Nakajima | +34.813 |
| 10 | 8 | ARTA HSV-010 | Hideki Muto/Takashi Kobayashi | +52.495 |
| 12 | 23 | MOTUL AUTECH GT-R | Satoshi Motoyama/Benoit Treluyer T | +1Lap |
| 13 | 12 | CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R | Tsugio Matsuda/J-P.de Oliveira | +3Laps |
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