After a three-week interval, the second round of the Super GT series was held at Okayama International Circuit which will welcome the first ever World Touring Car Championship event in Japan in October this year.
　
The ADVAN shoed cars in the GT500 class, ECLIPSE ADVAN SC430 (car no.25) and WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R (car no.24), lost their chances to proceed to the Super Lap session on Saturday. Meanwhile, ADVAN sent six cars in the GT300 class to the Super Lap which only ten cars are allowed to run and JIMCENTER DIXCEL ADVAN F430 (car no.11) and Daishin ADVAN Z (car no.81) sat on the second row.
　
The track width of the circuit is relatively narrow, which means the opportunities for overtaking are limited. As their starting positions weren't good, ADVAN equipped teams in the GT500 class had to anticipate a somewhat tough race but, from the experience in the practice sessions on Friday, they were sure that the tires would deliver consistent performance in a long run.
　
Although the weather forecast said that it would rain in the afternoon on Sunday and the sky was overcast, the surfaces weren't wet yet when the cars were on the starting grids. Therefore, all cars started the race with slick tires but no one was sure if the dry conditions would last until the finish.
　
Spectators were fascinated with a thrilling battle in the GT300 class. Starting from the eighth grid, YUNKEL POWER Taisan Porsche (car no.26) quickly moved up despite a 20kg weight handicap given for its third place finish in the opening round and completed Lap 1 in fifth.
　
The starting driver for the Porsche, Nobuteru Taniguchi, went up to second by Lap 19. Then he caught the race leader and overtook him on Lap 30.
　
However, Taniguchi lost the margin he earned on the track during a routine pit stop because the Porsche ate much more fuel than the rival car and took longer for refueling in the pit. Actually, it took 44 seconds to fill up his Porsche but the rival car finished it in only 28 seconds!
　
Shinji Yamaji, who took over the car went back on the track in third and pursued the race leader who was ten seconds ahead. On Lap 46, he was in second and looked to fulfill the team's expectation to regain the top slot again.
　
Although Yamaji continued to cut the gap with the leader, it wasn't enough to be back in the lead position again and eventually finished in second. But his untiring effort to pursue the race winner (who had a clear advantage in performance here in Okayama) was much appreciated by the spectators and rewarded with a podium finish for two races in a row.
　
In the GT500 class, both ADVAN equipped cars steadily ran throughout the race and WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R scored three points by finishing in eighth.

　[Result: 2nd in the GT300 class]
　
"I have to say it was tough for us in the qualifying sessions. Because Porsche is a tail-heavy car, only a few laps in the Super Lap session weren't enough to warm up the tires properly.
　
"But we could play catch-up in the race with consistent pace. Basically, Porsches aren't the fastest cars here at the Okayama International Circuit and we had to allow for a longer refueling time in the pit stop because our fuel consumption rate wasn't good due to larger air restrictors. So we are happy to finish in second.
　
"Porsches will be fast in the next round at Fuji but, as it is a 500km race, we will need an extra pit stop for refueling, compared to our rivals. I have to say this will be a negative factor for us.
　
"Therefore, calculating the right balance of championship points and weight handicaps, we will focus on the Motegi round and beyond where we will have a good chance to win to seek the championship ultimately."

"It was a tough race for us.
"As it was dry on Friday, we could have valuable test runs, including some long stints. Our two GT500 teams chose the medium compound tires for the race because the drivers preferred the rigid feel of the mediums.
"The results of the qualifying sessions weren't very good. But I think we achieved our target which is to produce 'strong tires' and the teams displayed good and consistent paces in the race. It isn't easy to overtake cars on this circuit, but WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R proved the performance of the tires by finishing in eighth.
"In the GT300 class, YUNKEL POWER Taisan Porsche finished in second from the eighth grid. This also showed the strength of our products in the race."