Photo: screenshot from Youtube/edited by autoevolution
Coming with engine downsizing rules this year, the first round of the 2014 Super GT Japanese series took place this weekend. Despite the rule changes, Lexus had no problem and two of the six RC Fs taking part in the race this year managed to place in first and second places.
Andrea Caldarelli had a sensational start in the opening round of the 2014 Super GT championship at the Okayama International Circuit this weekend. Aided by his teammate Daisuke Ito, they managed to bring their new No. 37 RC F past the checkered flag first. The victory also marks the Andrea’s first win since he started racing in Japan. The Eneos Sustina RC F team of Kazukya Oshima and Yuji Kunimoto managed to finish second despite their pole position start.
“I'm very excited for having finally made it to my first win in Japan. After some tough years where we always had to play catch-up at the start of the season to get close to our rivals, here at Okayama we showed our full potential, that had already emerged in collective testing throughout the last few months,” said Caldarelli in an interview.
The new RC F racecars appear to have run very well in their first race ever, proving that Lexus engineers know how to develop a new racecar. This year’s regulations dictates that the previous 3.4-liter V8 engines need to be replaced by 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder units. Their volume and cylinder number are smaller, but the power output still remained around 500 hp.
Until the next round starts on May 4th at the Fuji Speedway, check out some of the most intense parts of this weekend’s race in the clip bellow.
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