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Rd.8 SUZUKA GT300km - SUZUKA CIRCUIT 11/16 - 17

Cusco Subaru Impreza ends 2002 season in retire from the race.

JGTC final round (Round 8) was held at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture from November 16 to 17. Cusco Subaru Impreza with drivers Katsuo Kobayashi and Tatsuya Tanigawa started the race from 17th place on the grid, but was forced to retire the race due to clutch failure. To much misfortune, they have missed the Championship title.

Qualify

Weather was calm in Suzuka with temperatures around 13ºC. This weekend was the final round for 2002 season of JGTC, and both Kobayashi and Tanigawa ranked 5th in the drivers championship ranking arrived Suzuka with much determination to turn the table of 16 points. During the first qualifying session held on Saturday morning, they had no chance to improve the time and the car sat in 16th place. The things did not improve much in the second session in the afternoon, and after running off track at 1st corner, the car was decided to start the race from 17th place within 27 cars entered for GT300. The chance for grabbing the Championship seems very difficult at this point.

"I tried to turn but I couldn't. That's why. (When asked about the running off track) We don't seem to work out since the test. We're actually faster by 1 second compared to last year, but the others are even faster. The balance of the car isn't bad, though."

Race

The race day was bit cloudy, but the temperature remained around 13ºC like the previous day. 32000 enthusiastic fans crowded the circuit. At 2:00 pm, the formation lap started for the beginning of the excitement. Cusco Subaru Impreza promoted position by one since one car ran off track during this formation. Without much confusion, Tanigawa continued the race.

Although he was not able to catch up with the MR-S in front, but MR-S could not create much bigger gap either. He finally managed to over take MR-S on lap 17, but on lap 19, the car made sudden pit stop and went straight in to the garage. With clutch failure, the race was over all too soon. No points were added, and the season for Cusco Subaru Impreza concluded being 8th place in the Driver's, and 7th in the Team Championship.

Quote from Tatsuya Tanigawa

"For about 4,5 laps before I returned to pit, the clutch seemed to be sliding. This week, we were mostly passive, and this result is much regrettable. We didn't really have much trouble this year, and we were on the podium being 2nd twice, but this is obviously not satisfying at all. I want to stay with the team next year, and I want to work on the new car so we could always be fas."

Yuji Kase, representative of Cusco Racing

"We will bring in the car to fit the new regulation, since the new model of Impreza was introduced. I am looking forward to see the power of the new Impreza."

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		Season Calendar

Rd.8 SUZUKA GT300km - SUZUKA CIRCUIT 11/16 - 17 Cusco Subaru Impreza ends 2002 season in retire from the race. JGTC final round (Round 8) was held at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture from November 16 to 17. Cusco Subaru Impreza with drivers Katsuo Kobayashi and Tatsuya Tanigawa started the race from 17th place on the grid, but was forced to retire the race due to clutch failure. To much misfortune, they have missed the Championship title. Qualify Weather was calm in Suzuka with temperatures around 13ºC. This weekend was the final round for 2002 season of JGTC, and both Kobayashi and Tanigawa ranked 5th in the drivers championship ranking arrived Suzuka with much determination to turn the table of 16 points. During the first qualifying session held on Saturday morning, they had no chance to improve the time and the car sat in 16th place. The things did not improve much in the second session in the afternoon, and after running off track at 1st corner, the car was decided to start the race from 17th place within 27 cars entered for GT300. The chance for grabbing the Championship seems very difficult at this point. Quote from Tatsuya Tanigawa "I tried to turn but I couldn't. That's why. (When asked about the running off track) We don't seem to work out since the test. We're actually faster by 1 second compared to last year, but the others are even faster. The balance of the car isn't bad, though." Race The race day was bit cloudy, but the temperature remained around 13ºC like the previous day. 32000 enthusiastic fans crowded the circuit. At 2:00 pm, the formation lap started for the beginning of the excitement. Cusco Subaru Impreza promoted position by one since one car ran off track during this formation. Without much confusion, Tanigawa continued the race. Although he was not able to catch up with the MR-S in front, but MR-S could not create much bigger gap either. He finally managed to over take MR-S on lap 17, but on lap 19, the car made sudden pit stop and went straight in to the garage. With clutch failure, the race was over all too soon. No points were added, and the season for Cusco Subaru Impreza concluded being 8th place in the Driver's, and 7th in the Team Championship. Quote from Tatsuya Tanigawa "For about 4,5 laps before I returned to pit, the clutch seemed to be sliding. This week, we were mostly passive, and this result is much regrettable. We didn't really have much trouble this year, and we were on the podium being 2nd twice, but this is obviously not satisfying at all. I want to stay with the team next year, and I want to work on the new car so we could always be fas." Yuji Kase, representative of Cusco Racing "We will bring in the car to fit the new regulation, since the new model of Impreza was introduced. I am looking forward to see the power of the new Impreza."

Latest Result April to June 2002 Rd.1 GT CHAMPIONSHIP in TI (4/13 - 14) Rd.2 ALL JAPAN FUJI GT RACE (5/3 - 4) Rd.3 SUGO GT CHAMPIONSHIP (5/25 - 26) Rd.4 JAPAN GT CHAMPIONSHIP MALAYSIA (6/22 - 23) July 2002 Rd.5 JAPAN SPECIAL GT CUP (7/27 - 28) September 2002 Rd.6 MOTEGI GT CHAMPION RACE (9/14 - 15) October 2002 Rd.7 CP MINÉ GT RACE (10/26 - 27)

All Japan GT Championship The All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) has grown to become the largest race series in Japan, with more than 40 entries. The event being held as a semi-endurance race, the strategy used for the routine stop to change driver, tires and refueling plays a very important factor in the outcome; surely a unique point that catches spectator interest in addition to the dynamic power of the cars.