The SUGO GT 300km Race, round 5 of the AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place on July 23 at Sportsland SUGO (3.704 km/lap) in Miyagi Prefecture and last season's championship team ZENT CERUMO SC (drivers: Yuji Tachikawa, Toranosuke Takagi) came through to score their first win of the 2006 season.

The rain that had caused the teams so much trouble the day before gave way to cloudy skies and a dry track for the final race. The race started at 14:00 hours. Starting from the pole position, the ZENT CERUMO SC team's first driver, Takagi, held his position in the lead until the first regular pit stop. Although the difference in pit time put the XANAVI NISMO ‚y machine in the lead for a while, second driver Tachikawa was able to regain the lead when the XANAVI NISMO ‚y machine got bogged down behind cars being lapped. After that, Tachikawa pulled away from XANAVI to claim the win. This gave Tachikawa his eighth career GT win and a new record for most wins by an individual driver.
The GT300 class race turned into a tight battle between the top three machines in the final stages of the race that came down to the wire with the Kiccho houzan DIREZZA Z (drivers Kota Sasaki, Taku Ba‚?ba) winning their first victory of the season by one of the closest margins in GT history.
?iSpectators: 50,100?j



Winner Comments
No.1 ZENT CERUMO SC [GT500]
Yuji Tachikawa: "I am very happy. I finally got a win [this season]. Motoyama (XANAVI) was very fast out there. I was looking for a chance to pass him while he was caught behind some slower machines. Since we had been unable to win [from the PP] in round 3 at Fuji Speedway, we was out for revenge today, with everyone from the team, Toyota and TRD working together to make sure we won. So I'm very pleased that I was able to get the win. Now we have a chance to go for the championship. I want to go out and make it two [championships] in a row."
Toranosuke Takagi: "Before the start I promised Tachikawa that I was going to get him a ten-second lead, but I was pushing so hard that I made a mistake and damaged the tires (embarrassed laugh). So, I was having trouble during the second half of my drive because of the tires. Anyway, I'm so relieved that we won. Last year we didn't do well in races where we had a handicap, so the key [to winning the title] will probably be whether we can get results in races like this."

No.46 Kiccho houzan DIREZZA Z [GT300]
Kota Sasaki: "I feel that this victory was a long time in coming. I'm very relieved. The machine was running well yesterday, and I knew why things hadn't gone as well as they should have. So I was confident today. I am also sure that the machine has the durability we need for the next 1,000-km race. So, I hope to go out and make it two in a row."
Taku Bamba: I am happy but I also have some regrets (embarrassed laugh). It was Kota who won it for us today. I got to anxious and made a mistake (got trapped behind slower cars) when I was trying to get out of the way of Tachikawa?ithe GT500 leader?j. But with this win we now have a chance for the title as a team. I want to continue to win but also to improve myself [as a driver] from here on."