Ben on the Concept 2 rower, me on the Tacx indoor ergometer and JP on with the Dumbbells

What a crazy week end!

Starting with me forgetting a bag in the cab and running like crazy after it… got it back..

Then losing my wallet in the train to Suzuka… got it back 3 hours later… thank you Japan! Such a safe place!

Free practice 1: we had to fix our paddle shift which took some time but it finally was ok and I ended up quickest.

Qualifying practice: Didn’t drive most of the session cause our driveshaft had a problem, Juichi managed to make a lap time at the beginning but it got really tight for me, the mechanics made the car ready in time for me to cross the line at the very last minute for a obligatory qualification time.

Plan for the knock down qualifying: Q1 Andre / Q2 Juichi/ Q3 Andre

Qualifying 1: all smooth and easy. COmfortable lap and position 1

Qualifying 2 : hm… Juichi went of a little on his flying lap and then he couldn’t make into the top 7 to entry Q3… Shame! I was seriously gunning for pole as the car was fantastic!

Warm up : Big boom in the cockpit… Our carbon driveshaft broke in 2 pieces… Lucky it was not for the race!

Race: Some rain came down to make things exiting… Everybody still started on slicks.

Start p8, hectic start passing 2 cars in turn 1 but then going off in turn 2 with loosing them again. Still recovered well, I was p3 after 1 lap… then off again in turn 1…. was a little wet… so back 3 spots and recovering again to p3 with some nice passes.

A huge crash happened so the Safety Car came out. All good for the restart.

At that time it was a Lexus trio at the front. After the restart I was aiming for the lead as we were the fastest out there but then a tricky situation between the #38 Lexus and me trying to overtake it made me lose some spots again. I don’t like to race against other Lexus because we should not take risks between us and collide so the approach is different and unnatural. So back 2 spots again after the incident…

Pit stop: we got trouble and lost a lot of time with the front left wheel.

Back on track with Juichi. Should have been around p3 but with the problems we were back in p6.

His stint was fine, luckily in the end 2 cars collided and we gained those spots finishing 4th.

Conclusion: All in all… A ok and good position considering all the troubles we had but still disappointing if you look at our potential which in my eyes should have been a win!

Tachi is my boss and team owner (TOM’S)!

Since I joined the team in 2006 we quickly became friends and shared lots fun and great moments! He is a true and special charismatic person! Great fun to be around him! Happy birthday!

I had lunch with him a week ago, he’s wearing my LANCIER shades. What a good looking young old man he is!

Because hope is a Right!

My friend Samar organized a very nice charity event to help the poor people hit by the big earthquake in Haiti.

The club was filled with lots of nice generous people, good live music and success to raise a good amount of money.

With Benoit, Loic, JP and me were part of it to and donated a the grand price for the special raffle. A VIP package invitation to a Super GT race.

More infos about TOKYO HELPS:

http://www.tokyohelps.org/events.html

Ben, Gaelle, me, Samar & LoicBen, JP, Rob & Tammy

Doing the drawing for the special Raffle… And the winner is…

My friends suddenly decided to invade my new house for a spontaneous party which ended up to be a real fun!
Its been a while since I haven’t cooked anything actually so to get back in action as a chef for 12 people was a challenge but, believe it or not…I made it… It all came out real good and the evening was very nice thx to great people! Ready for the next round!

Was a bit cold but it felt great to get out of town for some fresh oxygen and great training arround my favortie japanese lake (Saiko)!

Mt Fuji was there to…

Our new baby looking niiice! See you soon! Cant wait to drive it!

Ben brought me back some super nice home made olive oil from Gordes!  His family and him collected their own olives out of their garden and made the oil, thats what I call a good  life quality!

Tastes fantastic and its organic!

Promising their commitment for upcoming season in front of the fans and spent valuable time with them.

On March 14th, only 1 week away from the season opener at Suzuka, the drivers of LGDA (LEXUS GT DRIVERS ASSOCIATION) came together at MEGA WEB in Tokyo for “SUPER GT Season Kick-off Event @ MEGA WEB.” 8 drivers from 5 teams held a talk show and interacted with a huge crowd of fans to boost up their motives for the upcoming season opener.

Many fans showed up to the talk show venue from early in the morning. The seats were quickly filled up and the standing room was also packed with people. Eight drivers of Juichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer (No.1 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430), Daisuke Ito and Bjorn Wirdheim (No.6 ENEOS SC430), Hiroaki Ishiura and Kazuya Oshima (No.35 MJ KRAFT SC430), Richard Lyons (No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430), and Kohei Hirate (No.39 DENSO DUNLOP SARD SC430) appeared on the stage. Yuji Tachikawa, who couldn’t adjust his schedule, and Andre Couto, whose son is fighting against leukemia, could not attend the event.

The talk show covered a variety of topics from a light subject such as how to spend the off-season to the goal for the new season. When it came to the time for “Dice Talk,” eight drivers started out on the backstage stories. Fans burst out in laughter as Ito confessed on the “disciplinary instruction” he gave to his partner Wirdheim and as the drivers talked about how Lyons and Tachikawa are suddenly becoming close to each others.

At the end, fans handed a big LEXUS flag with full of messages from them. Drivers and fans shared their time as well as their enthusiasm for the season opener at the event.

Drivers expressed their determination in traditional Japanese calligraphy.

Wakisaka said “Racing needs driver, team, sponsor, and support from the fans”
as he explained his writing that said “Can’t do it just by myself.”
Lotterer wrote “No. 1″.

Ito wrote “Smile” as he explained “I always looked grouchy when I was on TV.”
Wirdheim – “Offensive”.

Ishiura – “Challenge” and Oshima – “Beast” as he explained
“I guess I look shy so I’ll try to be like a beast.”

Lyons – “No.1 in Japan”.
Hirate – “Beautiful” as he explained
“Not about me, but I want to win beautifully at the end.”

A fan handed a flag with full of messages from many other fans.