Video - Super GT Round 2 Okayama review

After Hondas less than perfect debut for the HSV-010 in GT500, how will they get on in Round 2? Also will GT300 ever be a dull race? Watch the video and find out, preferably in full screen/HD mode

ITCC Round 1 - Mondello

Round 1 of the Irish Touring Car Championship took part recently at Mondello Park

On pole was the former J's Racing CRX, now run by Tuning Factory

Second on the grid was Martin Tracey in the Westward Engineering RS500 Sierra Cosworth

Third was Tomas O'Rourkes Astra

and fourth was Brian Sextons Urban Per4mance Honda Integra

Onto the race and a storming start from O'Rourke saw him jump into the lead...

...chased down by the pack

But it didnt take long for Martin Tracey to take the lead and a sizeable one at that, he was soon lapping the field

but with a few tight battles going on midfield

and more than 1 case of doorhandling going on!

But Tracey was not to be caught and victory was his!

Round 2 is at Kirkistown on April 24th

ITCC

A new direction for me in 2010 is the newly formed Irish Touring Car Championship
This new series has developed out of both Irish Time Attack and the need to have a decent Saloon car series in Ireland.

The class is open to any make and model of saloon or hatch back car. The openness of the rules means the first race will boast a grid consisting of BMW, Peugeot, Mazda, Honda, MINI, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Ford, Renault and other well known marques.

I am now the official photographer for this series so regular coverage will be found here

The B-Racing K20 Civic doing some testing, with a best lap for now of 1.02, expect more from this car

Round 1 is at Mondello Park, this weekend - April 4th

Video: Super GT Round 1 Suzuka review

Round 1 from Suzuka, best viewed in fullscreen/HD mode. Few surprises in store!

If only F1 was exciting as this!

All change

2010 brings a few changes ,mainly no more coverage of the UK Time Attack series for me as the current economic climate means that I just cant afford to do the rounds in 2010. Ill be concentrating on the new Irish ITCC series and a few other local series, but a few overseas Sportscar trips are lined up, among them the FIA GT1 and the Le Mans 24H race

Onwards and Upwards as they say

Video: Super GT Testing at Suzuka

A video of recent Super GT testing at Suzuka Circuit in Japan. All 3 cars in the GT500 class can be seen here; Nissan GTR, Lexus SC430, and the new Honda HSV-010. GT300 cars are the Ferrari 430, Lamborghini Murcielago/Gallardo and Mooncraft-Shiden (click the link). Some of the cars are still in plain test liveries, but others including the orange ARTA HSV-010 are in full 2010 livery.

The season starts soon, should be interesting as always

Honda HSV-010 GT

From 1997 until 2009 the Honda NSX was a front runner in the JGTC and later Super GT series, winning 37 races out of 106 and 50 pole positions, but a rule change for the GT500 category for the 2010 season outlawed the car as only front engined, rear wheel drive cars will be allowed to compete. The NSX is no longer in production, so in a special ruling, Honda were allowed to race with the NSX's still born sucessor, - the HSV-010 GT, even though it has yet to make it to production

HSV stands for Honda Sports Velocity and test versions had been spotted on the Nurburgring and elsewhere, before the project was cancelled (for now at least). So onto the racing version..

There is a saying in motorsport that if a car looks right at first glance, then it generally turns out OK. That is the case I think with the HSV-010, combining a carbon-fibre shell with a sleek functional and aggressive design.

A purpose built racer, with very little ground clearance. Underneath the carbon lurks a spaceframed front/rear end

But unlike other GT series, carbon brakes are not permitted so fairly substantial steel discs are in place

Plenty of ducting to help cool both the engine and the brakes

and more carbon

The heart of the beast,the Honda HR10EG a 3.4 litre,32V normally aspirated V8, this is a similar engine to those found in both Formula Nippon and Acura LMP2 cars

So how does it compare to the NSX? Taller with a longer wheelbase, but with the same overhangs. Handling will probably be similar though with the engine mounted low and all of the racecar chassis work making this a pure racecar rather than a roadcar converted to racer

Aguri Suzuki, owner of the ARTA team during the press launch of the car, where most of the photos Ive used on this post came from, indroducing his drivers for the HSV-010 GT in 2010,Takuya Izawa and Irish driver, Ralph Firman

And some fantasy liveries that the car may be seen in during 2010, all based on the NSX liveries on the first photo in this post.

And finally a testing video of the car, probably where most people became aware of this new car


5 weeks to go until its racing debut, should be good and hopefully competitive