22 JUNE 2008, SEPANG : The SUPER GT INTERNATIONAL SERIES IN MALAYSIA, Round 4 of the 2008 AUTOBACS SUPER GT, was held at the Sepang International Circuit (lap = 5.542 km x 54 laps) in Malaysia on June 22 and the WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R driven by the pair of Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira and Seiji Ara came through to win its first race of the season in the GT500 class. This was the second consecutive victory for this team at the Sepang round.



The race started a 16:00 (local time) in the late afternoon to avoid the mid-day tropical heat. Starting from 4th position on the grid, Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira did the first stint at the wheel of the WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R and passed one machine on the first lap to move into 3rd position. He brought the machine into the pit on the 25th lap and turned over the wheel to teammate Seiji Ara. Ahead of Ara, the 1st and 2nd place qualifiers, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R and the ARTA NSX, were battling for the lead, but the two machines collided when the NSX was trying to pass the GT-R. The NSX was given a drive-trough penalty (one pass through the pit road) for this, which enabled Ara to move into 2nd position. Then on the 50th lap, when the leading MOTUL AUTECH GT-R lost acceleration momentarily exiting the second corner, Ara passed it and raced onto the checkered an victory at the at the end of the 54th lap.

For the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R, this is the first victory since last year's round four at Sepang in June. Thus it is also the second consecutive victory for this team at the Sepang round. It is also the second Super GT win for the team managed by former Japanese celebrity Masahiko Kondo, popularly known as Match. For Nissan GT-R teams, this is the third victory of the season, following wins at the season opener and round two. It is also the third 1-2 victory for the GT-R.

The GT300 class victory went to the No. 77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA driven by Tetsuya Yamano and Kota Sasaki. This was the first Super GT win for the IMPREZA since September of 1998 (Round 5, Motegi).

Source : http://malaysiangp.com.my