The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series got underway at Twin Ring Motegi this weekend. Direction Racing fielded an Audi R8 LMS ultra and achieved a podium result.
The #32 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Direction Racing (K's Frontier) was entered in the ST-X class (GT3) and driven by Taiyou Iida, Tetsuo Ogino, Shinichi Takagi and Takashi Kobayashi.
They successfully qualified second overall and completed the wet five hour race in third overall, taking second in the ST-X class. They finished behind the race winning #24 Nissan GTR GT3 (ST-X class) and the #9 BMW Z4 (ST-1 class).
The next round of the Super Taikyu will be hosted at Sugo, 24-25 May.
By Johan Laubscher The Super Taikyu held its official test day at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan on Sunday this past weekend. The entry list included thirty-four cars, including two ST-X (GT3) machines. K's Frontier was among the entries with their Audi R8 LMS ultra. K's Frontier, listed as Direction Racing, will be entering one Audi R8 LMS ultra in the 2014 Super Taikyu Endurance Series. This is the ex-GAINER DIXCEL R8 LMS ultra that was used in the 2012 Super GT. The team has upgraded the car from the 2012 R8 LMS ultra specification to the 2013 spec.
Suzuka hosted the “Motorsport Fans Appreciation Day” this weekend. A number of displays and exciting events were on hand for the fans, including special Super Taikyu track events. Nova Engineering, Team Nova, entered their #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra.
The Super Taikyu hosted three events at Suzuka this Weekend, two demonstration races and one test session. The test session got underway early on Saturday morning. Saturday's proceedings were concluded with a nighttime demonstration race, with the twenty-car strong grid taking part. The second demonstration race was held on Sunday morning. Team Nova’s #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Seiji Ara, who also drove the car during the 2013 Super Taikyu season.
Team Nova Engineering took part in the bulk of the 2013 Super Taikyu and also took part in the Super Taikyu demonstration race at Suzuka this weekend, but they are not currently listed as 2014 season entrants.
The preliminary season entry list can be seen HERE.
The 2014 Super Taikyu season gets underway with an official test day at Twin Ring Motegi on 9 March, followed by the venue hosting round one of the series from 29-30 March.
The 2013 Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series saw the participation of one Audi R8 LMS ultra team. Nova Engineering (Team Nova) entered a single 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra this season. They debuted the car at the third round held at Twin Ring Motegi. Their driver line-up was headlined by the 2004 Le Mans winning driver from Audi Sport Japan Team Goh, Seiji Ara.
The season review has been compiled from the 2013 Audi Motorsport Blog Weekend Round Up posts. Each round has been added as was seen in the individual Weekend Round Up posts during 2013, which can be accessed via the links throughout the review below:
Round 3: Twin Ring Motegi
The Japanese Super Taikyu held round three at Twin Ring Motegi this weekend, a five hour endurance event. Nova Engineering entered their Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013) at the event. The car was tested by Seiji Ara at Motegi at the beginning of July. They qualified seventh and Nova Engineering completed the race and finished sixth overall.
Round four of the Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series was at Fuji Speedway. It was a seven hour endurance race. Team Nova Engineering and their 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra were again entered, following their debut at round three last time out at Motegi. During qualifying they achieved seventh place overall. The race itself was long and testing, and even included heavy rain during the final few hours, a race of survival. Team Nova dropped back during the first hour and they were classified thirty-ninth by the end of the first hour. They then began a very good recovery drive which saw them moving up through the field. By the fourth hour the Audi was back inside of the overall top ten and continued to perform well. Ultimately the Nova Engineering team completed the seven hours in sixth place within the GT3 class.
The Super Taikyu was at Okayama this weekend. It was round five of the season and it was a three hour event. The Nova Engineering Audi R8 LMS ultra made its third consecutive appearance in the series, driven by Seiji Ara and Shohei Yuzawa. They qualified seventh overall for the three hour endurance event. By the end of the first hour they had dropped outside of the top ten, but they had recovered to sixth place overall by the end of the second hour. Ultimately they finished in seventh place overall.
The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Championship headed to Suzuka for round six. The event was split into three forty minute races/heats. Nova Engineering entered their Audi R8 LMS ultra, driven by Seiji Ara and Shohei Yuzawa. Qualifying on Saturday yielded fourth, second and fifth place starting positions for the three races respectively. Race one followed the qualifying sessions, with Yuzawa driving to a fifth place finish. Races two and three were held on Sunday. The second race saw Seiji Ara starting from second position and competing very well. He brought the Audi home to the finish for Team Nova's first podium result with their Audi, finishing third overall. The third and final forty minute sprint race saw Shohei Yuzawa behind the wheel. He started from fifth and collected the team's third top five result for the weekend by finishing fourth.
The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series concluded at Autopolis this weekend. The round seven finale was a three-hour race event and one Audi R8 LMS ultra was entered. Nova Engineering, Team Nova, entered their #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra at this final round. Their drivers included Seiji Ara, Shohei Yuzawa and Ryuichiro Tomita. During qualifying they achieved a fifth place starting position. The three hour race on Sunday took place in very wet and difficult conditions. The event finished with the #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra crossing the line in seventh place within the GT3 class. This concluded the 2013 Super Taikyu season, which was highlighted by a podium finish for Team Nova and their Audi R8 LMS ultra at Suzuka.
The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series concluded at Autopolis this weekend. The round seven finale was a three-hour race event and one Audi R8 LMS ultra was entered. Nova Engineering, Team Nova, entered their #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra at this final round. Their drivers included Seiji Ara, Shohei Yuzawa and Ryuichiro Tomita.
During qualifying they achieved a fifth place starting position. The three hour race on Sunday took place in very wet and difficult conditions. The event finished with the #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra crossing the line in seventh place within the GT3 class. The race was won by the #555 GoGoGo Nissan GTR GT3. This concluded the 2013 Super Taikyu season, which was highlighted by a podium finish for Team Nova and their Audi R8 LMS ultra at Suzuka. Photo credit:Super Taikyu
The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Championship headed to Suzuka for round six. Nova Engineering took part with their 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra and performed very well during the weekend. Round six of the Super Taikyu had a three race format. The weekend was split into three races, with a duration of forty minutes each, instead of the normal single endurance race setup. Nova Engineering (Team Nova) have now become a regular team in the Super Taikyu with their R8 LMS ultra. Their #8 car was driven by the duo of Seiji Ara and Shohei Yuzawa this weekend.
The third and final forty minute sprint race saw Shohei Yuzawa behind the wheel. He started from fifth and collected the team's third top five result for the weekend by finishing fourth. Race three was won by the #28 Petronas Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS ahead of their teammates in the #1 SLS and the #81 GTNET Nissan GTR GT3 in third. The Super Taikyu results can be seen HERE. The finale of the Super Taikyu will be a three hour race held at Autopolis in November.
The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Championship headed to Suzuka for round six. Nova Engineering took part with their 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra and performed very well on Saturday, day one of the event.
Round six of the Super Taikyu had a three race format. The weekend was split into three races, each with a duration of forty minutes, instead of the normal single endurance race setup. Qualifying along with the first race was held on Saturday, followed by the second and third races on Sunday.
Nova Engineering (Team Nova) have now become a regular team in the Super Taikyu with their R8 LMS ultra. Their #8 car was driven by the duo of Seiji Ara and Shohei Yuzawa this weekend. Qualifying was split between the drivers of each car, up to three drivers per car. Seiji Ara was able to post the second fastest time during the A driver segment of qualifying. His teammate, Shohei Yuzawa, posted the fourth fastest time during the B driver segment. The grid for race one was comprised of the times from segment B, thus the #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra lined up fourth for race one. The second race starting grid was based on segment A and the Audi would line up second on the grid. The third and final race starting grid was a combined aggregate from segments A and B, the Audi pairing netted fifth place. The first race was held on Saturday and the Team Nova R8 LMS ultra, with Shohei Yuzawa behind the controls, crossed the line in fifth place. Race one was won by the #1 Petronas Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS ahead of two Nissan GTR GT3s and the sister #28 SLS in fourth. The Super Taikyu results can be seen HERE. Races two and three are set for tomorrow at Suzuka. We wish the best of luck to the Nova Engineering squad to continue their good form.
The Super Taikyu was at Okayama this weekend. It was round five of the season and it was a three hour event.
The Nova Engineering Audi R8 LMS ultra made its third consecutive appearance in the series. Seiji Ara and Shohei Yuzawa were behind the wheel of the #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra at round five.
They qualified seventh overall for the three hour endurance event. By the end of the first hour they had dropped outside of the top ten, but they had recovered to sixth place overall by the end of the second hour. Ultimately they finished in seventh place overall.
The race was won by the #28 PETRONAS Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS ahead of the #24 Nissan GT-R and the #1 PETRONAS Syntium SLS.
Round six of the Super Taikyu will be taking place at Suzuka in September. It will consist of three heats, each forty minutes in length.
The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series headed to Fuji Speedway for round four, a seven hour endurance event. The Nova Engineering Audi R8 LMS ultra competed in this endurance race.
Nova Engineering, listed as Team Nova on the series entry lists, debuted their 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra in Super Taikya at Twin Ring Motegi last time out. The team had a difficult race and finished the three hour event in sixth overall.
At Fuji the #8 Nova Audi R8 LMS ultra was again driven by Seiji Ara, Akira Shibuya, and Shohei Yuzawa. Ara is the headline driver in the car as he was the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours winner, having taken that victory in the Audi Sport Japan Team Goh Audi R8.
During qualifying they achieved seventh place overall and in the GT3 class. The race itself was long and testing, and even included heavy rain during the final few hours, a race of survival. Team Nova dropped back during the first hour and they were classified thirty-ninth by the end of the first hour. They then began a very good recovery drive which saw them moving up through the field. By the fourth hour the Audi was back inside of the overall top ten and continued to perform well. Ultimately the Nova Engineering team completed the seven hours in sixth place within the GT3 class. The race was won by the #1 Petronas Syntium Team Mercedes-Benz SLS. The Fuji weekend results can be seen HERE. Super Taikyu will host the fifth round of the season at Okayama for a three hour race in the beginning of September.
By Johan Laubscher Nova Engineering took part in a test session at Twin Ring Motegi today. The test forms part of the team's preparation for round three of the Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Championship. The big news was the addition of 2004 Le Mans winner, Seiji Ara. Seiji Ara was part of the three-year Audi Sport Japan Team Goh project at Le Mans, which was highlighted by a Le Mans victory in 2004, when Ara won in an Audi R8 alongside Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen.
