Hattori pair's BANDAI DIREZZA SC430 scores first victory

The FUJI GT500km (4.563km x 110 laps) race, the third round of the 2006 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, was held on May 4 at the Shizuoka Pref. Fuji Speedway, and the BANDAI DIREZZA SC430, driven by Naoki Hattori and Peter Dumbreck, emerged victorious.
The final race began at 13:45 under fair skies. After the ZENT CERUMO SC, which started at the poll position, fell behind due to machine trouble, the BANDAI DIREZZA SC430 took the lead. Carrying out its two pit-stops perfectly, the team went on to outrun the Mobil 1 SC for the victory. This was Hattori's first victory since the final round of 1996, held at MINE. Victory by a machine with Dunlop tires was the first since 1997's final round at SUGO.
In the GT300 class, the win went to the WILLCOM ADVAN VEMAC 408R driven by Shinsuke Shibahara and Hiroyuki Yagi.

( Spectators : 54,300 )




Winners' comments
No.35 BANDAI DIREZZA SC430 [GT500]
Naoki Hattori: "In the past two rounds, we'd been the last of the SC430s. Where so much had been going wrong, we were finally able to find some direction, and there were some things that we tried for the first time today. I'm grateful for our tires, and for the team staff members. When I switched off with Peter, there was a gap (between the first two places and the rest), and I focused only on using this to my advantage. I went all the way into the final lap thinking to myself "I'm going to win." I'm really glad we did."
Peter Dumbreck: "For me I was a little bit nervous coming into this race because my last race at Okayama was not so good. I made a bad start and... So I had to be careful in this race. The start went really well. I followed Tachikawa for a lap and a half then he pulled over so I took the lead. Then from there I just had to be careful with yellow flags, not any overtaking any GT300 cars with yellow flags. I had good stint. I was relaxed and I think my time was good. So I have to say a beg thank you to Dunlop and also to Toyota Team Kraft. I don't know when you won the last race so...It been a while since I've won a race and I think its the same for Hattori, we are both very happy to be here."

No.62 WILLCOM ADVAN VEMAC408R [GT300]
Shisuke Shibahara: "As far as myself, I went through a lot at last year's Fuji (collision with another vehicle), so I would like to express my gratitude towards my team and sponsors for allowing me to race again this year. With all of this, Fuji made me quite nervous, but Yokohama Rubber supplied us with new tires that went well with the machine, and Mr. Yagi put us in a good position as well. After we switched, I timed my pit-in, and I think this went very well."

Hiroyuki Yagi: "I think we were able to come together as a team for a very good race. The team worked on the machine until late at night, and I wanted to repay them, so I tried hard this weekend."


After receiving a 35 seconds penalty, Toyota Team Tom's (No.36) appealed the Steward of the meeting's decision. This appeal was subsequently rejected. Therefore, race results remains provisional.