Weather: 
Qualifying: Overcast but dry / Raceday: Sunny and dry

Another podium for German Lotterer

The PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S on Sunday celebrated another podium finish with German driver Andre Lotterer (No.36) notching up another podium finish in 2nd position at the third round of the Japanese Formula Nippon Championship at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. Teammate Seiji Ara (No.37) also finished in the points with the Japanese finishing in 10th position having started the race from 16th.

Both drivers had a good start to the weekend with the duo setting strong lap times during Saturday morning’s free practice session. The qualifying session later that afternoon saw Andre Lotterer go on to qualify to start Sunday’s race from 3rd position on the grid, which was his best qualifying result since 2006. For teammate Seiji Ara, the qualifying session proved more difficult as he struggled to warm his tyres and missed to set a quick lap in the first session, relegating the Japanese driver to start from 16th.

The start of the championship’s third round saw a flurry of activity at the start of the race with Lotterer in hot pursuit of the two lead drivers ahead of him Tsugio Matsuda and Takashi Kogure. Through the combination of Lotterer’s consistent race pace and a one-stop pit strategy for the 52-lap, 250km race, his quick stop on lap 32 saw him rejoin the race in second following the retirement of Kogure. Keeping the gap to the leader small, the German went on to claim another podium finish in second position.

Meanwhile, despite starting from 16th, teammate Seiji Ara was able to make the most of the start to hoist himself up to a points paying position. With 12 laps to go, the Japanese had already moved himself up to 10th, a position he held on to through to the chequered flag.

Andre Lotterer, Car 36
Qualifying 3rd; Raceday: 2nd
“I am happy with the results this weekend and it was a good race. Right from the start of the race, I was pushing very hard every lap. We did as much as we could but there was always one car in front of us. To win, we need to work to find more speed in the car. I must give due credit to the team who did a great job again with the shorter pit stop. I am looking forward and am optimistic for the round in Okayama. I hope it will be a good race and we can aim for the win!”

Nobuhide Tachi, Team director:
“I am very happy with Andre’s 2nd place finish and that Ara managed to get a point. But we have to think about our race cars’ pace especially with the gap of 25 seconds between us and the car ahead. Despite our best efforts with the pit stops and Andre pushing as hard as he could, we could not close that gap. We have to catch up with Matsuda and close that gap to make series interesting.”

With the results from this weekend, Andre Lotterer is now 2nd in the championship. The next round of the series will take place at the Okayama circuit from the 6th to 8th of June.

Weather: Dry, partly cloudy

After a tough start to the 2008 season, the PETRONAS Team Tom’s were back in full force for the second round at the Suzuka circuit last Sunday. Both team drivers were able to post strong results, despite the variable weather conditions throughout the weekend. Starting the race from 7th, the team’s German driver Andre Lotterer went on the claim his first podium of the season in the championship when he finished 3rd. Finishing just outside of the points was teammate Seiji Ara (JPN) who finished in 11th having started from 14th position.

With the rain that had plagued the qualifying session on staying away for Sunday’s race, both drivers had a good start with Lotterer maintaining his position until the 14th lap claiming a position over Satoshi Motoyama. He continued to gain ground over the field and was up to 4th by the round of pit stops. Making his stop during the safety car period, the German was able to gain yet another position to move into 3rd, a position he held all the way through to the chequered flag.

Teammate Seiji Ara also made the most of the start and had moved up to 12th before the round of stops. However, the Japanese driver was unable to capitalise on the safety car period as he was stuck behind another car with mechanical trouble and was not allowed to overtake the stricken car. Ara eventually overtook the car to claim 11th, a position he held through to the finish.

Andre Lotterer, Car 36
“I had the confidence to finish on the podium today, but it took a while to pass (Satoshi) Motoyama during the first phase of the race. After overtaking him on Lap 14, I was able to make considerable ground but then the safety car came out. The decision to pit then was really great as I was able to rejoin in third. Throughout the remainder of the race, I had a good fight with Kohei Hirate for second place as he seemed to be struggling with oversteer but when the safety came out for the second time, I knew that was the end of my battle for 2nd. Nevertheless, I am happy with the result and that we could really show off our real performance this time.”

Nobuhide Tachi, Team Director
“Andre finishing 3rd was a good result although I think he could have finished in second had we had more laps. But the two safety car periods effectively put an end to that possibility. Ara meanwhile had really bad luck during the first safety car period as it took him a lot of time before he could overtake the stricken car ahead of him. If that had not happened, I am sure he could have finished in the points today. Nevertheless, the results from this race does suggest our real performance and is a good indicator for the coming rounds and our fight in the championship.”

Weather: Overcast at first then sunny and dry. 
Air Temp: 21 – 23°C / Track Temp: 32 – 35°C
Track: Fuji Speedway (JPN)

PETRONAS Toyota Team Tom’s Car 36
Qualifying Position – 5th; Race Results – 2nd

Fuji (Japan), 5 May 2008 – The third round of the 2008 Super GT Championship at the Fuji Speedway yielded another positive result for the PETRONAS Toyota Team Tom’s. With the team’s drivers Juichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer finishing second on Sunday’s 500km race at Fuji in their No.36 Toyota Lexus SC430, the result marks the team’s third podium finish this season. Together with race winner Team Zent Cerumo’s SC430, the result marked a 1-2 Toyota finish at the manufacturer’s home course.

Starting from fifth position on the grid, the incident-filled 110-lap race started with German Andre Lotterer at the wheel of the SC430. Producing a strong start, the German was able to move himself up to 4th by lap 48. After driving two stunning stints, the second and final round of pit stops saw the German hand-over the reigns to Japanese driver Juichi Wakisaka while in second position.

The final stint of the race witnessed stiff competition for second and third positions between Wakisaka and the Honda NSX. Though the Japanese conceded second position on Lap 97, the NSX’s spin in the final stages of the race with five laps remaining saw the PETRONAS Toyota Team Tom’s regain second through to the chequered flag.

Masanori Sekiya, Team Director
“This is another fantastic result for the team. Initially our target had been to finish third, but after assessing the situation after the second round of pit stops, the prospects for second position became very good! Both Andre and Juichi produced a fantastic drive today, the crew did an amazing job with the swift pit stop! Our championship chances now look really good!”

Left to Right: Juichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer 

Juichi Wakisaka
“I am really happy with the results, especially after the perfect pit work by the crew for the final stint. I had to run out with fresh and cold tyres and this meant that the other competitors started to close in on me. But I knew I had to focus to try and maintain my position, and it certainly paid off! Though this also means that we will have another 30kg handicap weights for the Sepand round but we will keep the fighting spirit for our main partners PETRONAS’ “home” race in Sepang.”

Andre Lotterer
“I had a really good start and tried to concentrate on being as consistent as possible for both of my stints. The target was for a podium finish and I am delighted with this result. This has definitely given us an extra boost for the hot race in Sepang. We are hopeful for a good and strong race for the round in Malaysia, especially in front of all of PETRONAS.”