'Last year I was wondering why we were unlucky, but today it felt like we had luck on our side.' ☘️ Nissan's TsugioMatsuda reflects on how he and R_Quintarelli came away with victory in a chaotic wet SuperGT opener at Okayama:
The #23 Nissan Z shared by Matsuda and Quintarelli came out on top in a tempestuous race punctuated by three red flags for rain and lightning storms, which was ultimately brought to a premature halt with 62 of 82 laps completed.
The rest of the GT500 field then had to make their stops for wets when the pits reopened under caution, promoting Matsuda back into a lead he wouldn't lose until the race was finally called after the third of three stoppages. "Then during the FCY [on lap 48, caused by an off for the Subaru BRZ], our information was that it was going to rain again and the team kept an eye on the weather radar. It seemed that it would rain more and more, and I was able to get in the pits at almost the same time as the safety car was called.
"It’s not easy to win SUPER GT. You have to take your chances when they come, but you also need luck. Last year I was wondering why we were unlucky, but today it felt like we had luck on our side."Quintarelli said that the win, his 18th in SUPER GT's top class, exorcised the demons of last year's Sugo race, when a strategy miscue in the rain handed what should have been an easy victory to the #3 Nissan.
"Matsuda’s [old] benchmark of 23 wins was a high bar to clear, but I think becoming a five-time champion is even more so. I want to give it everything to surpass it."During the early stages of the race, Quintarelli had to fend off his NISMO stablemate Katsumasa Chiyo in the #3 NDDP Racing Z. But Chiyo was left to wonder what could have been if he had managed to get into the pits before the first caution period."We were on different tyres to car 23, and in slightly wet conditions we had the edge," Chiyo told Motorsport.com's Japanese edition.
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