Contrary to the forecast that had said the weather would be inclement and overcast throughout the weekend, it was fine and hot when the sixth round of 2012 Super GT series at Fuji Speedway got underway and the track temperature hit almost 50 Celcius dgrees.

In the knock out qualifying session on Saturday, D'station ADVAN GT-R ended Q2 in 11th and missed out on getting into Q3. On the other hand, WedsSport ADVAN SC430 made its way into the final section and secured the sixth grid which was the team's best starting position so far by setting 1'33"452.

As for the GT300 class, apr Hasepro Prius GT clocked 1'40"417 and secured the first ever pole position by a hybrid car in only the sixth event since the car's racing debut. Among other ADVAN equipped cars, Manepa Lamborghini GT3 was fourth, followed by Endless Taisan 911 and triple a Vantage GT3 in fifth and sixth, despite the championship leading Aston Martin had to carry a no less than 94kg weight handicap for this race.

Sunday was again favored by fine weather that reminded everyone of a hot midsummer day, with the air temperature reaching 29 degrees and 45 for the track surface when the race was about to began. The formation lap for the 66 lap race got under way at two p.m. but the D'station ADVAN GT-R's motor didn't want to start, so the car with Bjorn Wirdheim at the wheel was forced to join the race from the pit lane.

The GT500 class race was led by the pole sitting Calsonic Impul GT-R. WedsSport ADVAN SC430 in the hands of Andre Couto also made a smooth start from the sixth grid, while D'station ADVAN GT-R began to catch up the field from the tail end.

Couto's pace was impressive and he set a very good lap time, 1'35"986, on Lap 2. Thanks to his effort, WedsSport ADVAN SC430 moved up to fifth on Lap 7 by overtaking Eneos Sustina SC430. On the same lap, KeePer Kraft SC430 got into a tangle with a slower car and spun at the final corner, involving Petronas Tom's SC430 which went off the track to avoid the collision with the KeePer car. This incident handed the third place to WedsSport ADVAN SC430 and Couto began to chase up S Road Reito Mola GT-R in front of him, utilizing the consistent performance of his ADVAN racing tires.

After breathtaking battles with Ronnie Quintarelli who was at the wheel of the S Road GT-R, Couto successfully made a brave overtaking move from the out side of Coca Cola Corner on Lap 13 and came up to second. While it was still a long shot to catch up the race leading Calsonic Impul GT-R, he kept the second position until Lap 32 when he headed to the pit.

Seiji Ara who was handed the car from Couto resumed racing still in front of S Road Reito Mola GT-R which had made its pit stop earlier. Soon after the driver change, however, he lost the position to the S Road car because he was attacked by the GT-R before his fresh tires had warmed up properly. The two cars continued close battles until the final laps but it wasn't possible for Ara to regain the position he had lost. Nevertheless, the third place finish was the repeat of the WedsSport ADVAN SC430's best result so far and the second podium this season was still something to celebrate for the team.

On the other hand, D'station ADVAN GT-R had to get ahead of all GT300 cars before joining the race of its own class because it started from the pit lane instead of the allocated starting grid. But Wirdweim drove with patience until Lap 31 when he was running in seventh and came in to the pit to change to Hironobu Yasuda. Although the pit stop put the car back to the out of points position, the Japanese soon began to chase up in a 1'36" bracket pace which was really good. However, the track conditions changed as the temperature was rising more than predicted and it didn't help Yasuda's effort at all. After enduring an uphill battle for a while, he was forced to replace tires again on Lap 51 and had to settle for 13th at the end of the race.

In the GT300 class race, there was also an upsetting incident immediately after the start. Starting from the pole position, Morio Nitta at the wheel of apr Hasepro Prius GT lost the control of his car and spun at the first corner due to a problem with his brake when he was leading the class field. And to make things worse for him, the same problem hit him again on the next lap and he dropped down the field almost to last place. But Nitta didn't give up. He pumped the car's brake pedal on straightaways to get back some braking force and continued to drive. And, indeed, apr Hasepro Prius GT began to make up the lost ground, making the most of its electric power assisting system.

Nitta was in eighth when he came in the pit to change to Koki Saga. The pit stop itself was completed just in 35 seconds, which meant they didn't lose many positions during the stop, and Saga also caught and overtook the opponents one after another after resuming racing. And when all GT300 cars completed mandatory stops, he found himself running in third! Moreover, the car in second, Mugen CR-Z GT, was only five seconds ahead of him. Helped by proper instruction and advice for the veteran Nitta and the apr team, Saga caught the tail of the Honda's hybrid counterpart on Lap 46, as if there was no problem on brakes at all, and passed it on the pit straight. Now apr Hasepro Prius GT was in second.

Saga was simply unstoppable and the four second gap with the class leading Hankook Porsche was quickly reducing. On Lap 50, the gap effectively became null and he was just waiting for a good opportunity to come. Then, Saga tried to squeeze his car into the inside of the Porsche at ADVAN Corner on the lap but his car's first gear failed on that moment. This meant he suddenly lost the braking force from engine brakes, so he purposely threw his car into spinning to avoid contact with the Porsche. While Saga lost a position in the wake of this incident, he managed to regain the second place just three laps to go and led apr Hasepro Prius GT to its maiden podium finish.

Hiroki Yoshimoto at the wheel of triple a Vantage GT3 took over the lead position on Lap 17 and things looked good until he came in the pit to hand the car to Kazuki Hoshino on Lap 33. But they lost some precious time during refuelling work, which cost them a few positions, and soon the engine started to lose its power. Eventually, Hoshino had no choice but to come back to the pit on Lap 42 and the team decided to retire, denying the expectations that the Aston Martin would regain the lead position sooner or later. Endless Taisan 911 moved up to fourth on Lap 5 and kept the position until the checkered flag fell by running in a very consitent pace. S Road NDDP GT-R finished the race only in ninth but it was enough to stay in second in the championship point standings.

　[Result : 3rd in the GT500 class]
"We could at last properly take part in a GT500 race. That's my honest feelings. This was our only second podium finish since the first one in this team's debut race in the wet conditions. So it's been a long, long way (smile). After taking over the car from Andre, I chased up the S Road car but yellow flags got in my way so often, which was really frustrating and made our race tougher.

"The next Autopolis round can be a difficult race because the circuit has been known to be demanding on tires and the new surfaces are more abbrasive for tires than the old ones. But not a few Yokohama shoed cars acheived good results there in the past. I am personally lucky there, too, and in fact have gotten on the podium. By consulting with Yokohama on strategies, we will make the best possible preparation work for the race."

　[Result : 2nd. in the GT300 class]
"I spun at the first corner of the race because my brake didn't work properly. But I could make up the lost ground, as the hybrid system had been improved very much.

"To be honest, I had thought we had the best chance ever to win a race here. But, as it has been said, everything can happen in the race. I have to say we haven't had enough testing with this new car and the amount of data we can gather is limited as this is the sole example of Prius GT car. But, from that point of view, I am sure the data we collected in this race will be useful for the future races."

　[Result : 2nd. in the GT300 class]
"I was in the same situation with Nitta-san and had to nurse the brakes throughout my stint, which was really tough work for me. The reason of my spin wasn't the problem with brakes. When I tried to overtake, the first gear was gone and I suddenly lost any drive just in the moment I shifted down to the first... The drive after that wasn't easy because the engine rev dropped below the power band in the low speed corners.

"But it was compensated by the assisting power of our hybrid system to a certain extent. Of course, I was delighted to get on the podium but wasn't entirely happy. It was mixed feelings, I would say."

"We had some useful findings from the GTA group testing at Fuji. So, for the GT500 cars, we introduced a new rubber compound that should have better qualifying performance, as well as good enough durability for a long stint. WedsSport ADVAN SC430 used the new compound in the race and its performance was good and consistent, despite the surface temperature rose higher than predicted.

"We recognize the WedsSport ADVAN SC430's significant improvement after its chassis update, especially in terms of the consistency of performance. We understand that the improved car suited to our new tires and it made possible this podium finish. But, at the same time, we should have been in the positions like this much earlier in this season and we still have a room for further development.

"D'station ADVAN GT-R didn't use the new rubber in the qualifying session and used a harder compound than WedsSport ADVAN SC430 did. The car was forced to start the race from the pit lane and spent the early part of the race for passing the slower GT300 cars. Because of this, it wasn't possible to know the true performance of this package and it was a pity that Yasuda had to make an extra pit stop to replace two tires in the later part of the race, as he felt 'moving' of the rear tires.

"In the GT300, not a few Yokohama equipped cars were slowed or eliminated by problems and accidents but apr Hasepro Prius GT finished in second, after making up the lost ground caused by a spin in the very early stage. Of course, it was frustrating that the car missed out the opportunity to win the race but we think the solid performance of our tires were clearly shown.

"The next Autopolis round will be the first Super GT race after the resurfacing of the track. The last testing there was hit by rain and we couldn't complete some of our programs, including long runs. That left us some questions unanswered but we will make the best possible preparation work by analysing various data we have."