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F-Nippon / Super GT Features & Interviews
Formula Nippon Race Report - Treluyer Wins At Suzuka
12/07/2006
Benoit Treluyer (above) ran a perfect race in his Kazuyoshi Hoshino team Bridgestone-shod Lola FN06, to take the chequered flag in Round Four of the Formula Nippon All Japan championship in front of 17000 spectators at Suzuka on the weekend. The Frenchman started from pole position, led for every lap of the race, set the fastest lap record and won, racking up his second win of the year.
Qualifying
Benoit Treluyer set a blistering fast time in the free practices on Friday, and on the Saturday, he was a full second ahead of teammate Tsugio Matsuda to claim his third pole position start.
Race
Dark clouds loomed over Suzuka at the start of the race, and covered the track in a light shower just before the race. But with an almost dry track, all drivers opted for slick tires from the start. Treluyer led the race from start and managed to establish a decent gap between his tail and Matsuda in second position and Satoshi Motoyama in third. The top three didn’t change positions once during the entire race.
Winner: Benoit Treluyer
“My car was perfect. Thanks to my engineer, mechanics and team. I knew the tires for this race were crucial for winning. I did not push too much but I succeeded in making a gap between myself and Matsuda and Motoyama because the car and tires were great.”
Bridgestone senior technical adviser: Yasuo Teranishio
“Our medium compound tires needed to perform in the hot condition. But this time in Suzuka was cooler than usual, so all the cars had very consistent tire performance. But Treluyer was so fast, that no one could catch him.”
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