15th Tokachi 24 Hour: Bmw dominance and Nissan R35 racecar finishes. Made a Timeline

[EJ25RUN]

http://www.tokachi.org/race/24hours/img/blog/2008_01.jpg

The Japanese Super Taikyu Championship holds one 24 hour race every year and it is the Tokachi 24. Last years winner was the Hybrid/Petrol SuperGT Sard Supra...
http://www.bligblog.com/media/07-15-07/densosardsuprahvr_teamshot-96.jpg

The Motul Nismo GTR-World Nissan GT-R was successful in it’s goals today when it completed the Tokachi 24hrs endurance race at Tokachi Speedway in Hokkaido, Japan. The GT-R’s race was full of ups and downs but the Nismo team were able to overcome them all to put in a full on 24hrs of racing. The GT-R finished the race in 21st place from 28 entries putting in 546 laps.

Winning the race was the #50 Petronas Syntium BMW Z4 Coupe Super Taikyu (ST1) car, second was the #28 Petronas Syntium BMW Z4 Coupe Super Taikyu (ST1) car and third place was the #1 ENDLESS ADVAN Z (ST1) car.

The First and Second place Petronas Bmw Z4s
http://www.bespokeventures.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/227p2717.jpg

The Motul Nismo Tokachi R35 :

* Carbon fiber trunk lid
* Carbon fiber Hood (aluminium reinforced)
* Carbon fiber side mirrors
* Arcrylic Lightweight rear quarter windows
* Stripped interior
* Carbon fiber racing seat
* Racing harness
* Carbon fiber gauge surround (ala V-spec interior!)
* Racing steering wheel
* Bolt-in Roll Cage
* Fire Extinguisher on carbon fiber mounting
* On-board pneumatic air jacks

http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/nismo-35-010.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/080630-tokachi-3.jpg

Testing at Sendai Highland Raceway
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/nismo-35-011.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/nismo-35-022.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/nismo-p3-002.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/nismo-p3-008.jpg

Fuji Speedway Testing

* Full race decals have been applied, including GTR-World.net’s own decals
* A grille has been added in front of the cooler intake ducts
* The Nismo exhaust tips have been completed and look great
* For a number of reasons, including pit crew safety, the fuel tank had to be changed to a racing fuel cell. This is good news however as it gives an added 24 litre capacity (95 litres up from 71) which is an advantage in a 24hr race.

http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/nismo-fsw-014.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/nismo-fsw-008.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/nismo-fsw-009.jpg

Practice Day

http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/tokachi-friday-017.jpg

Set practice time of 2:12.748 - fast enough to challange Super Takiyu ST1 Class
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/tokachi-friday-001.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/tokachi-saturday-001.jpg

Friday practice times:
1. BMW Z4M COUPE　　 2’08.145　ST1
2. NISSAN FAIRLADY Z　2’10.819　EC2
3. MOTUL NISMO GT-R　2’12.748　IP4
4. MITSBISHI LANCER　2’14.038　ST2
5. MITSBISHI LANCER　2’16.247　ST2

Saturday Practice times:
1. ENDLESS ADVAN Z　　2′10.165 (ST1)
2. OCN＠Kosei Porsche 2′12.743 (ST1)
3. MOTUL NISMO GT-R　　2′12.967 (IP4)
4. Yokohama eco MOTION Z sato　　2′14.817 (EC2)
5. ADVAN Lance Evo　　2′15.039 (ST2)


The 24 Hour Race and the 2008 RACE RESULTS! (http://www.tokachi.org/race/24hours/result/pdf/24_22h.pdf)

http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/tokachi-sunday-001.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/tokachi-monday-006.jpg
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http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8MPCKJQzPA8/SIS0DX0nn9I/AAAAAAAAKRY/v3oOpkJPFpM/s1600/20080721-09-03.jpg
http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Tokachi/tokachi-goal-001.jpg
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Pix of all other competitors.

http://www.gtr-world.net/media/1/20080720-00-04.jpg
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http://blog-imgs-21.fc2.com/2/0/0/2008tokachi24/IMG_9609.jpg
http://www.gtr-world.net/media/1/20080721-11-04.jpg
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http://www.gtr-world.net/images/top/cat-id-219.jpg

[RWD164]

It is amazing that these races get so little coverage (Ok, make that none) in the US. This falls in the category with the SPA 24 and the Britcar 24 @ silverstone. All of the cars look very well preped, and the Japanese always race hard. Must not be a translation for endurance, because the couple "endurance races I read about in Japan were run at sprint race speeds. Nice Post

MA

[Elbow]

WOW....AWESOME coverage. You deserve reps for LIFE.

That's awesome the GTR finished first time out. It is basically stock right? Except for some weight reduction items?

[EJ25RUN]

It is amazing that these races get so little coverage (Ok, make that none) in the US. This falls in the category with the SPA 24 and the Britcar 24 @ silverstone. All of the cars look very well preped, and the Japanese always race hard. Must not be a translation for endurance, because the couple "endurance races I read about in Japan were run at sprint race speeds. Nice Post

MA

To give you some idea, it took an hour before i started working on the post itself to even find English script on the event. Agreed on the Spa and Britcar.
The Super Taikyu must be the biggest "true production" based championship out of Japan and allows for a wide variety of cars to compete. Plus many of the Japanese tuning houses compete in the series. Great place to develop parts and cars.

[EJ25RUN]

WOW....AWESOME coverage. You deserve reps for LIFE.

That's awesome the GTR finished first time out. It is basically stock right? Except for some weight reduction items?

what i found

The Motul Nismo Tokachi R35 :

* Carbon fiber trunk lid
* Carbon fiber Hood (aluminium reinforced)
* Carbon fiber side mirrors
* Arcrylic Lightweight rear quarter windows
* Stripped interior
* Carbon fiber racing seat
* Racing harness
* Carbon fiber gauge surround (ala V-spec interior!)
* Racing steering wheel
* Bolt-in Roll Cage
* Fire Extinguisher on carbon fiber mounting
* On-board pneumatic air jacks

* Full race decals have been applied, including GTR-World.net’s own decals
* A grille has been added in front of the cooler intake ducts
* The Nismo exhaust tips have been completed and look great
* For a number of reasons, including pit crew safety, the fuel tank had to be changed to a racing fuel cell. This is good news however as it gives an added 24 litre capacity (95 litres up from 71) which is an advantage in a 24hr race.

[Elbow]

^That's awesome. Know if they had any issues with the car other then what looks like brakes? Pretty impressive to take a new car out and race it in a 24 hour race and finish. As much GTR bashing as I do I respect this result ;) .

From the pics it looks like a street car with little mods against some cars that look like they have quite a bit more done.

[EJ25RUN]

^That's awesome. Know if they had any issues with the car other then what looks like brakes? Pretty impressive to take a new car out and race it in a 24 hour race and finish. As much GTR bashing as I do I respect this result ;) .

From the pics it looks like a street car with little mods against some cars that look like they have quite a bit more done.

i was sure you would, a car going up in competition is a great thing no matter what. I think all racing fans see it that way.

And it is truly a production based machine. I wanted to write that in the title but it was too long. Much more impressive compared to a car aerodynamically superior to the an ACO rules GT1 car which is what the SuperGT 4.5L V8 powered GT500 car is.

http://themotorreport.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/gtr-gt500-themotorreport-1.jpg

That exact fact annoyed me about last years race. You see the winning car in 2008 was a Z4 that could be compared to a Porsche 911 GT3 CUP.

Here is my post from last year on that winning supra.

For those of you that are in to motorsport (not nascar), might have heard or read about Toyota's outright victory in this year Tokachi 24hour Enduro. The car has been praised for being the first hybrid win in an international motorsport event. It even beat the second place car by 19 laps (wow)! The car is the "Toyota Team Sard Supra HV-R".

http://www.bilnyheter.no/e107_plugins/autogallery/Gallery/Toyota%20Lexus%20Scion/SupraHV-R3.jpg

At first when i read about the event, i was pleased and felt that toyota had achieved a great victory platform.....Which it is!

But later on as i did more research down the road i realized that the tokachi race is part of the Super Taikyu championship in japan. Here is the pic that raised my eyebrow!
http://www.supercars.net/carpics/3864/2007_Toyota_SupraHVR2.jpg

Now Super Taikyu uses Fia Group N rules for competition and the fastest class: ST-1 consists of vehicles like this:

BMW Z4
http://www.teampetronas.com/admin/imagelibrary/-415412545.jpg
Porsche 996 GT3
http://www.fmotor.jp/photos/2004/20040321_1.jpg

Now by just comparing the Supra to the Bimmer and Porsche you can see a world of difference.
The main being the power to weight ratio!

The HV-R Supra uses the 480hp SuperGT GT500 winning 3UZ-FE V8 and has 2 electric motors in the front wheels and a 3rd electric motor on the rear axle powering the rears wheels. Yes its AWD! The resulting HP IS 708.9 HP!
Race Engine Technology magazine actually Awarded this set up "2007 Race engine of the year"

So really, this is a 708.9 hp vehicle weighting in at under 2300 lbs racing cars that really are under a GT3 class designation!

Supra HV-R
So POWER/WEIGHT RATIO IS = 3.24<<

The second place finisher: Petronas BMW Z4
Power is had from a 3246 cc i6 with 12.5: 1 CR
396 PS at 8200rpm / Weight is 2750 lbs
with the conversion chart
POWER/WEIGHT RATIO IS = 6.94<<<<<


THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE! in reality thats like David losing to Goliath because Goliath had an M16 to go with the muscle!

It took me a good while but im still trying to decode the japanese on the Super Taikyu or Tokachi websites to compare the pole/fastest lap between the cars.

CONFIRMED POLE TIMES -
1. SUPRA HV-R ~ 2'03.262
2. ENDLESS ADVAN Z ~ 2'10.428

Thats 7 whole seconds..... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To give you some idea!
6 seconds is the amount of time a 2005 f1 car (950 bhp v10) could beat a 2005 cart race car around a circuit!

That was a fair race! :rolleyes:

[blacknightteg]

wow, awesome post man, im with everyone else, its not fair that there isnt any coverage on TV of these series racing. i always love the cars over in japan and the european racing and i wish they would show thr series over here. beautiful thread man. awesome! definetly reps sir!

[BobbyFresco]

BMW repping hard and Z4's no less.....

[EJ25RUN]

wow, awesome post man, im with everyone else, its not fair that there isnt any coverage on TV of these series racing. i always love the cars over in japan and the european racing and i wish they would show thr series over here. beautiful thread man. awesome! definetly reps sir!

Im hoping for a Internet tv channel that would allow people from around the world to watch. I dont think it is impossible because advertising would be fine and make it to where the material cant be saved or stolen. I was able to watch the entire Le Mans 24 this year on the internet because the global network of fans made sure a stream was available.

One of the other great races to disappear after just two years was the Bathurst 24 hour. It actually was shown on Speedvision a couple of months after it had happened but it ended after that.

Just imagine what it was like watching a 7.0 liter Holden Monaro running around 911s, Moslers, and Bimmers to take outright victory two years in a row.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2523273351_1655f50932.jpg?v=0

This had to have been the closest finish to a 24 hour race ever 2 CAR LENGHTS!!!!.
Brock Yates wins for the 10th time at Mount Panorama. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62OAi7MQoxU)

[JITB]

wow impressive thread!

i wouldnt expect less from the gtr!

[Thighs]

GREAT THREAD. you win again ej25.

im not the biggest fan of the GT-R, mostly because of the fanbois and all the hype surrounding it, but there is no denying that its fast as phuck and is a GREAT car. ugly, but fast. :goodjob:. i was really surprised that they used a bolt-in cage on it though, thats weird to me.

it would be great if they covered alot of foreign races on american TV. wasnt there a channel that was proposed a while back that was a carbon copy of the euro channel that covers all the TC races and stuff over there?

[matthewAPM]

amazing thread. by far one of the best right ups ive seen on IA.

its really amazes me the verity of cars and the extent of the builds. For the BMW's, it was a given. I was expecting them to kinda win since they have more experience in endurance races over the other teams.

As for the GT-R. I think its funny everyone is amazed it finished. I wasnt really surprised. I mean the car was a full build. I dont mean that the car was a full carbon chassis, but you can be sure there was alot of part testing before that car ever hit the track.

and about that tv channel, there is one that is coming. Its going to be called the " real racing channel" or something. haha. ill look for the site.

and reps to you for the thread

[StraightSix]

Excellent coverage of this race, EJ25RUN! I'm glad there are fans out there that will spend the time to do something like this and bring a lot of really cool motorsports news to light on a forum where few people really know what trailbraking is and when to use it.

I think that as the popularity of racing grows in the U.S. a solution will emerge. Speed, when it was still called Speedvision, did a pretty good job with various motorsports coverage. It wasn't the best, but they did air the entire 24 hours of LeMans, for example.

There was an internet petition that I became aware of a couple of years ago where the guys who started Speedvision were going to start a new channel dedicated to WRC, FIA GT, BTCC, etc. but it hasn't gotten anywhere that I'm aware of.

[matthewAPM]

AWD...should it be legal or not??

[EJ25RUN]

AWD...should it be legal or not??

yes, the field is full of evos and Sti and the cars have to use production drivetrains. The GTR should be the same.

[matthewAPM]

yes, the field is full of evos and Sti and the cars have to use production drivetrains. The GTR should be the same.

this race reminds me of 25hr of thunderhill. lol. alot of teams and a lot of different cars

[Thighs]

what are the different classes for that race?

[StraightSix]

For the 25 hours of Thunder Hill? It follows the NASA enduro classing rules, so ESR, ES, E0, E1, E2, and I think E3. The enduro classing lumps a lot of cars together since performance is some what equalized due to fuel tank size and speed.

[NewGen33]

Man this is detailed. EJ25RUN you put one hell of a thread together. I'll definately be in here a lot. Repped also :goodjob:

[EJ25RUN]

BMW repping hard and Z4's no less.....

All i can say to that is Proton is very very serious about their racing.

Over the last ten years, they have bult Touring cars, GT Cars, Motogp bikes, WSBK, and rally machiens. They have long deep pockets is what im trying to say.




i wouldnt expect less from the gtr!

Gotha agree with you there

[EJ25RUN]

im not the biggest fan of the GT-R, mostly because of the fanbois and all the hype surrounding it, but there is no denying that its fast as phuck and is a GREAT car. ugly, but fast. :goodjob:. i was really surprised that they used a bolt-in cage on it though, thats weird to me.

it would be great if they covered alot of foreign races on american TV. wasnt there a channel that was proposed a while back that was a carbon copy of the euro channel that covers all the TC races and stuff over there?

My theory, once a car enters a race track, a different world begins and it is all objective as it is you vs the clock. Opionions don't matter here, it is all about the win.

Im looking for the website for that No Nascar tv channel. The idea came from an original Speedvision creator who didn't want "NascarTV" to happen. I'm waiting for the answer on another forum.




its really amazes me the verity of cars and the extent of the builds. For the BMW's, it was a given. I was expecting them to kinda win since they have more experience in endurance races over the other teams.

As for the GT-R. I think its funny everyone is amazed it finished. I wasnt really surprised. I mean the car was a full build. I dont mean that the car was a full carbon chassis, but you can be sure there was alot of part testing before that car ever hit the track.

and about that tv channel, there is one that is coming. Its going to be called the " real racing channel" or something. haha. ill look for the site.


On the GTR: im sure cars are put through endless hours on dynos and test tracks but this was the ultimate test: Competition.

Yes, the series is part of the Super Takiyu championship which is run under the Group N rules.

The creator of Automotive Forums Igor Sushko was a competitior in the series with the Z33 in 2007.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/media/d/8391-3/IgorSushko_L2Y0008.jpg




The list of classes: From Fastest to Slowest

ST1: Petronus Z4
http://www.mobilityland.co.jp/s-taikyu_s/image/c2/7bc5a6d5d60f44a63c4f330220f3301b.jpg

ST2: ENDLESS ADVAN CS-‡]
http://www.exedy.co.jp/racing/mss/race/img/snryo_dixcel_550.jpg

ST3: TRACY SPORTS eeiA NSX
http://www.bespokeventures.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/img_8289.JPG


ST4: MTO tri-Ace CIVIC
http://www.ings-net.com/usa/race/08_machine/s-tai/imgs/04-2.jpg

[EJ25RUN]

1. Excellent coverage of this race, EJ25RUN! I'm glad there are fans out there that will spend the time to do something like this and bring a lot of really cool motorsports news to light on a forum where few people really know what trailbraking is and when to use it.

2. I think that as the popularity of racing grows in the U.S. a solution will emerge. Speed, when it was still called Speedvision, did a pretty good job with various motorsports coverage. It wasn't the best, but they did air the entire 24 hours of LeMans, for example.

3. There was an internet petition that I became aware of a couple of years ago where the guys who started Speedvision were going to start a new channel dedicated to WRC, FIA GT, BTCC, etc. but it hasn't gotten anywhere that I'm aware of.

Thanx, i sometimes feel that Sunday is the only day of the week that really matters. Yes, very true. I remember watching the Speed GT and Touring Cars when Peter Cunningham was driving the realtime NSX and Tommy Archer was showing what the GTS Viper was really all about.

I do remember the off season too. That was when we got to see the European touring cars as that was what it used to be.
The DTM in Germany. And even JGTC's final season. I think they did a promo because the JGTC finally got FIA approval and became a world event when they moved out of Japan and into Malaysia as well.

On thing i really miss is a show called Motorsport Mundial, it was everything. European Rally cross where you could see ex Group A and Group B rally cars. Irish Motorcycle roadracing, The incredible Macau GP. It had it all.


this race reminds me of 25hr of thunderhill. lol. alot of teams and a lot of different cars

Gotta check the classes for the Thunderhill event but just like in the spirit of most endurance racing, allot of different cars and technologies hit the track.

[dazn]

Thanx, i sometimes feel that Sunday is the only day of the week that really matters. Yes, very true. I remember watching the Speed GT and Touring Cars when Peter Cunningham was driving the realtime NSX and Tommy Archer was showing what the GTS Viper was really all about.

I do remember the off season too. That was when we got to see the European touring cars as that was what it used to be.
The DTM in Germany. And even JGTC's final season. I think they did a promo because the JGTC finally got FIA approval and became a world event when they moved out of Japan and into Malaysia as well.

On thing i really miss is a show called Motorsport Mundial, it was everything. European Rally cross where you could see ex Group A and Group B rally cars. Irish Motorcycle roadracing, The incredible Macau GP. It had it all.



Gotta check the classes for the Thunderhill event but just like in the spirit of most endurance racing, allot of different cars and technologies hit the track.

you can still watch World challenge, it just shows on wednesdays at noon. sometimes you might even catch my ugly mug on there.

great post man, really took some time and effort. A+ keep them coming. good stuff. good to see other motorsports freaks like me.

[StraightSix]

I vaguely remember Motorsports Mundial...I recall it being a great show because it got into some of the more obscure European motorsports; like the European Super Trucks.

25 Hours of Thunderhill attracts a very diverse field of entrants. I listed the classes in an earlier post. IIRC, a Daytona Prototype won overall this year. What makes the 25 hours of Thunderhill so interesting, imo, is that there are pro teams there in addition to grassroots guys; there's a huge difference in experience as well as budgets and adds another dimension to the enduro that other endurance races just don't have.

[Thighs]

i know the 25 of thunderhills classes... i was talking about the jdm (lol) race. but thanks :goodjob:

i remember mundial too, it was my favorite show on speed. now they dont have anything comparable at all. i mean, on the edge is cool, but its turning into "dirt track weekly".

[JDMjoe]

Good stuff! :goodjob:

[Elbow]

Motorsports Mundial was the **** it used to come on before I went to school back in the day! They showed everything! Rallycross, rally, endurance racing highlights, anything cool in the world of motorsport was on it!!!

[Ran]

Awesome write-up! Props to the BMW's for their podium finishes. I'm actually surprised that the GT-R managed to survive an endurance race like this on it's first time out and to do so in near-stock form. Says a lot on Nissan's engineering department. I'm interested in seeing how it'll do in future events once more extensive tuning is done and the car's true potential begins to be brought out. :)

[BKgen®]

Great thread EJ25! :goodjob: Many reps to you, sir! I couldn't agree more with everyone else -- there should be better coverage of races like this one here in America. Hopefully channels like Speed will dig a little deeper in the future and give us more of this, and less of Nascar. But in the mean time, thank God for the internet.

As for the R35... never been a big fan of it. But I have to say, i'm very impressed by the fact that it was able to hang with the likes of these full-race built cars with what seems like very minimal mods -- There's something to be said about that, no doubt about it.

Once again, great write-up EJ25 :cheers:

[josh green]

If speed shows anything other than nascar its always at a time when people who have jobs are working.... I mean if I want to see some DTM or WRC, put it on later at night or something, not at noon....

I remember the days of flipping through the channels and catching something good on that I wasnt expecting. I used to watch WRC almost every night, it was good.

[BKgen®]

If speed shows anything other than nascar its always at a time when people who have jobs are working.... I mean if I want to see some DTM or WRC, put it on later at night or something, not at noon....

that's the beauty of DVR. :D

[josh green]

that's the beauty of DVR. :D
yeah, I know. But I am cheap and dont want to pay for it.