Latest news with #SuperGT
New Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
Super GT Malaysia's epic surprise
Previous Next THREE exciting race categories, a full blown festival and a live concert awaits fans to the Super GT Malaysia Festival at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit from June 26-28. With the addition of the GT Live! post-race concert, fans of Super GT will cap the excitement on the track with a line-up of musical sensations from across the region. Haro Sports & Entertainment, as the rights holder and promoter for the Malaysian round of the Super GT, and Nihon Matsuri as co-organiser of the Super GT Malaysia Festival, promise fans a thrilling and memorable experience. A festival of epic proportions which will also showcase a Japanese food and cultural extravaganza. "Super GT Malaysia Festival is not a just a race. It's an event that's sure to entertain everyone," said Haro Sports managing partner Fahrizal Hasan. "From automotive exhibits to Japanese cultural extravaganza, and JDM car gatherings to the GT Live! post-race concert. Whatever your interest may be, one ticket gives you access to all the thrills," he added. Spectators will be introduced to Indonesia's hottest sensation hitting social media across the globe. You've heard them on TikTok, you've seen them on YouTube. Now, you can watch "Garam & Madu (Sakit Dadaku)" live on stage at the festival by the hit trio Tenxi, Naykilla & Jemsii aka TNJ. TNJ will headline GT Live! alongside the internationally acclaimed J-Pop and M-Pop female group KLP48 and Malaysia's new generation of musical talents Fareed of K-Clique, Sabhi Saddi and Kaka Azraff. Making all the thrills possible, UMW Toyota Motor and Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia have also joined to become the title sponsor of the festival. The festival will also host Round 2 of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Challenge 2025, Malaysia's premier one-make series featuring professional drivers, amateurs and young talent racing in identically-prepared Toyota Vios cars. A highlight of grassroots motorsports in Malaysia, the Vios Challenge continues to blend competition and accessibility where victory depends solely on pure driving skill and racecraft.
Malay Mail
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
Malaysia's Jazeman Jaafar to make Super GT debut with Aston Martin at Sepang
KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — Malaysian motorsport star Jazeman Jaafar is set to make an exciting debut in the Super GT series at the Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, from June 26-28. Jazeman, in a statement today, said that he will be partnering with rising Chinese driver Kerong Li under the Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) banner. The duo will pilot the formidable Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, marking a significant and thrilling entry for EBM in the highly competitive GT300 class. 'The biggest challenge is understanding the tyres. In Super GT, the tyre regulations are open, so having Michelin onboard gives us a strong package. 'I've driven the Aston Martin Vantage before, but not with the updated EVO kit. I've been made to understand the aero has seen huge improvements, and we're ready to take on the challenge at our home race, flying the Malaysian flag high,' he said. Jazeman, one of Malaysia's most decorated international racers, boasts an impressive resume that includes campaigns in the FIA (International Automobile Federation) World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the GT World Challenge, as well as serving as a Development Driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team. Super GT returns to Malaysia after a 12-year absence, and the race weekend is expected to attract 162 million broadcast and online viewers worldwide. — Bernama
Daily Mirror
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
'I spent 14 years in F1 but only raced for just one and a half laps'
Andre Lotterer was eyeing F1 opportunities for 14 years before eventually getting his shot - but the one race he competed in at the Belgian Grand Prix lasted less than two laps Andre Lotterer has made a name for himself in a number of motorsport formulas without ever cracking F1 despite being in and around the environment for 14 years. During that time though he would race on the grid for just over one lap. Opportunities simply didn't come knocking for the German, whose stock is incredibly high depending on what type of car he sits in. He has enjoyed Super Formula and Super GT success and has recently been competitive in Formula E. Lotterer enjoyed a strong junior career, which certainly put him in the shop window. Helmut Marko even had a look at him in the late 1990s but the first sniff of F1 came in 2000 with Jaguar when he was among those being allowed to test the car on almost a weekly basis. It looked as if his moment was going to come in a Monza test when Lotterer stood in for an Eddie Irvine, who was unwell, and performed strongly. He impressed the team with his pace and technical feedback, but then senior figures changed and those backing him were gone. He told The Race: "Things were not looking bad at all. But then the management completely changed and Niki Lauda came in and it seemed that the people who were supporting me were either gone or focusing on other things. I was just not in the right place at the right time I guess." And so Lotterer's wait went on, but the opportunities were drying up. He admits he wishes he'd pushed to see what options were available when he was on his A-game. "I kind of regret I didn't push more when things were good to maybe have an opportunity elsewhere," he said. Sauber showed interest and a test was booked but Felipe Massa, before his Ferrari days, went down beforehand and greatly impressed. Lotterer's manager cancelled the test, fearful that failing to match Massa's pace would reflect badly, and so the German headed to IndyCar and then Japan, where he's enjoyed the bulk of his success. Several drivers in the past, the likes of Irvine and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, had used Japanese success as a route into F1. Lotterer race with Nakajima and attempted to get an agreement in place that a championship success would grant him a shot with Honda. Instead a shock call came in 2014 from Caterham, owing to the recommendation of his first endurance racing boss Colin Kolles, who was in charge of the team. Lotterer's opportunity would come at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, racing for a team that were struggling on the off the track. He was never expected to match the pace of Kamui Kobayashi, for whom he was filling in for. Despite those expectations he would out qualify Marcus Ericsson by almost a second in a wet session. On the Sunday Lotterer would race for just seven miles. "I went over the exit kerb a bit at Blanchimont on lap two and some fuse popped out and that was it," he said.
Japan Times
13-04-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Times
How Italian driver Ronnie Quintarelli endeared himself to Japan's rabid racing fans
When the Super GT season kicked off in Okayama on Sunday with a race won by TOM's pair Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita, the grid was missing one of the series' most talismanic drivers of the past two decades. Ronnie Quintarelli sent shockwaves through the paddock when he announced that the 2024 season would be his last. The news arrived not long before the final round at Suzuka Circuit, immediately prior to which the long-time Nissan driver appeared in front of the fans at the NISMO Festival, Nissan's traditional end-of-year celebration held at Fuji Speedway. 'When I made the announcement, at first it was a sad feeling,' recalls Quintarelli. 'But I received a lot of energy from the fans at the NISMO Festival. Many people greeted me and asked for photos. I didn't expect this reaction, and that made me very happy.' Quintarelli made his Super GT debut all the way back in 2005, and had been a permanent fixture of the Nissan camp since 2008, winning four championships in the top GT500 class over the years. That not only makes him Super GT's most-successful foreign driver, but at least by titles, its most successful driver full stop. Other series greats like Satoshi Motoyama, Yuji Tachikawa and Juichi Wakisaka, whom Quintarelli idolized when he first moved to Japan as a fresh-faced Formula 3 driver back in 2003, only managed three. Not only did Quintarelli achieve such success, he did so while ingratiating himself in Japanese culture in a way that few drivers from overseas had done previously, and none have done since. Indeed, once he debuted in Super GT in 2005, Quintarelli would never race professionally outside of Japan again, save for one guest appearance in a DTM round in Germany at the wheel of a Nissan GT500 car. That was despite having an offer to race in Formula 1 with the Spyker team in mid-2007. So what made Quintarelli such a unique presence who stood above his fellow international drivers in Super GT? Much of it has to do with the unique circumstances by which he came to Japan. Quintarelli in action at the opening All-Japan Formula 3 round at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture in 2003. | Toyota In 2002, the Venetian was racing in senior karting, and a French magazine article about his exploits was spotted by ex-F1 driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel, who had driven for the Inging team in the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (the forerunner to Super GT). That led to a chance to participate in a shootout arranged by Inging's All-Japan Formula 3 team at the end of the season, after which Quintarelli was handed a two-year contract to race in the series. Whereas most international drivers live in Tokyo or Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, where many of the top teams are based, Quintarelli moved to an apartment in Yamaguchi Prefecture, just a short walk from the Inging factory. He would live there for five years. 'I enjoyed my time in Yamaguchi a lot," recalls Quintarelli. "I went to the factory every day to talk to the mechanics and the staff. They were so nice to me, and I also made friends going to the gym and playing soccer, as Inging found me a team to join.' The fact that Quintarelli was in an area with few foreign nationals hastened the process of learning Japanese. By his own admission, his lack of English ability at the time also meant that learning the local lingo was the quickest route to being able to communicate properly with his new colleagues and friends in Japan. By 2005, Quintarelli had graduated from F3 to Formula Nippon, the top single-seater series in Japan, which is now known as Super Formula, as well as Super GT, the top series for sports cars. When Inging stepped up to Formula Nippon in 2006, Quintarelli rejoined the team and became its lead driver, delivering the team its first victory in Okayama in 2007. Quintarelli drives for NISMO during the fifth round of the 2024 Super GT season at Fuji Speedway. | Nissan That was arguably the season that defined Quintarelli's career. Not only did he turn down the chance to race in F1 for Spyker because of the clashes with his existing Formula Nippon commitments, it also opened the door for him to join Nissan's Super GT stable in 2008, initially with customer team Hasemi Motorsport. And the fact he could speak Japanese well enough to address the press without an interpreter after his victory at Okayama was also significant. 'Hasemi-san really appreciated the fact I could speak Japanese,' says Quintarelli, referring to Masahiro Hasemi, whose eponymous team he spent the first two seasons of his Nissan tenure at. 'That was so important to get his attention, as he heard that I spoke Japanese when I won in Formula Nippon. Quintarelli on the podium of the opening All-Japan Formula 3 round at Suzuka Circuit in 2003. | Toyota "It was partly because of the results on-track, but an important factor was that Nissan felt I loved Japan and I was making a big effort to be accepted in this country.' Not only did Quintarelli go on to win four GT500 championships for Nissan, he settled down in Japan, marrying his wife, Emi, in 2008, and earning recognition for volunteering with the Italians for Tohoku group in the wake of the devastating 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. All good things must come to an end, and by his own admission, 45-year-old Quintarelli's eventual retirement was accelerated by a sub-par 2024 season. But he signed off on a high note in the Suzuka finale, gaining five positions during his stint before he climbed out of the cockpit of his Nissan Z GT500 for the final time in his illustrious career. 'I felt younger, like I was 10 years (younger),' he reflects. 'I am very strict on myself — if things are going badly, I am the first one to give myself 'zero' out of 10. But this time was by far and away my best stint of the year. ... So I have nothing to regret.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Honda's Racing Division Will Sell You Pieces of Senna's V-10 F1 Engine
Honda Racing Corporation has been busy lately. After spending a decades as the subsidiary behind Honda's global motorcycle racing, HRC has since integrated all of Honda's racing activity. That includes global programs like the upcoming 2026 Formula 1 engine program, SuperGT racing in Japan, and Honda's continuing IndyCar and IMSA activities under the HRC US brand. And it now also includes a memorabilia arm, a new venture designed to make Honda's racing heritage more accessible for collectors. The program is launching with a major offering: parts from a Honda RA100E V-10 engine used in the 1990 F1 season. That, of course, is the motor that powered the McLaren MP4/5B, driven by Ayrton Senna and teammate Gerhard Berger to that season's constructor's championship. Senna also won the driver's championship in 1990, one of his three championship seasons in four years from 1988 to 1991. HRC says that the engine was parted out at the company's factory in Sakura City, Japan by the same people who built it. Pieces available for sale include camshafts, cam covers, pistons, and connecting rods. The components will be auctioned off in California during this year's Monterey Car Week in August, and all will come with both a display case and a certificate of authenticity. In addition to the engine components, HRC says that the brand plans to offer a "wide range of authentic, high-quality memorabilia, including signed merchandise, limited-edition collectibles and rare artifacts from the company's storied legacy in motorsport." The company adds that "heritage machines" from the IndyCar Series and "valuable race machines" from MotoGP are currently being chosen for similar offerings in the future. We're curious to see just what sort of memorabilia they might soon be offering up. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
