Super GT 2009: Saturday Qualifyings

We’re back from the track, and after getting sunburnt and fizzed out (no thanks to the long queue waiting for the Pitwalk), we’re back to report on the situation in Sepang! Arriving on the scene early in the morning, we were greeted by ominious dark clouds over the track and wind speeds of up to 30km/h. Manuevering into one of the last parking bays located near the Yokohama drift area, the track was rather devoid of spectators, as the time and weather was perfect reason for waking up at a later time. Unlike yesterday, the booth areas around the mall were now occupied by exhibitors, with Toyota showing off their TRD Vios which is retailing at nearly RM100k, although it is loaded with TRD goodies and a warranty from the factory. More images will be uploaded later, in a seperate post containing the most-wanted images on the planet right now, the GT Queens! For now, enjoy the gallery and highlights we have setup for you after the jump.

Bibendum was caught lepaking around with several members of the fairer sex.

The first practice session for the Super GT cars gave the fans a spectacle to watch, especially with the cool weather. However, when the raindrops started falling down, the cars were having a difficult time staying on the track as most of them were running intermediate tires and others were on full slicks. It didn’t help that the rain was falling down worse than cats and dogs with the soaked track looking more like a shallow wading pool due to the huge amount of water.

The reflection of the cars make for a great image, even if some of them were having difficulties with traction, especially on these high-powered RWD machines. As you will see in the gallery below, some even had short excursions off-track into the grass! The rain was really heavy at this time, and officials closed the track for a good 15 minutes in order to drain the excess water from the surface.

- At this point of time, we were busy capturing images of the GT Queens, so we’ll just fast-forward to the late afternoon races as well as the pit walkabout, shall we? :p -

One of the eventual winners of the Aston Martin Asia Cup. These Baby Vantages were not as fast as the other cars on the track, but they do emit a great sound thanks to the unconstrained V8 power.

During the Pit Walkabout, we could get up close and personal with the mechanics, managers and even drivers. Here’s a GT300 machine getting prepped up during the one hour break.

Max Orido chilling out in front of the pits.

During lunch, we checked out the drifters which were showing off their stuff in the parking lot opposite the track entrance. Two A31 Cefiros were duking it out in a tandem battle, giving the small crowd a good show. Here’s Joe-Han from Drift House in the black car and Din Nismo in the yellow car. This would be one of the earlier events where we get to see Joe-Han’s newly-resurrected Cefiro which is powered by a Nissan V8 engine!

Here’s a gallery where you’ll get to see more Super GT action as well as other pictures taken during the Pit Walkabout. Check back tomorrow for results and stuff!!

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