…
I’ve just finished my first stay of the year out here in Japan, just over three weeks in all and that has also put an end to our pre-season testing schedule. Lexus Team LeMans has been to Suzuka, Fuji, Okayama and then back to Suzuka again.

The main difference compared to last year is a slightly revised aero package and engine but the car still looks and feels very similar to last year. As for the team we’ve got a new team manager in former JTCC/SGT/ChampCar driver Takuya Kurosawa – engineer Kenji and my teammate Daisuke are staying on so it looks like we’ve got a strong package this season. It’s hard to know exactly how competitive we’ll be at the first race but our pace has been very strong over the course of testing compared to the other Lexus teams. Our main concern is the new Honda which in testing has looked rather average, but most certainly because they do not want to show their true potential this early.

As for returning to Japan, it feels great. Every winter seems to get harder and harder, I guess most people would welcome a two month holiday but for us drivers it’s agony before you get back behind the wheel again. I kept busy fitness training and spent Christmas and New Years in Sweden with my family and Ellen but we’ve had a cold winter so my golf game has really suffered. My teammate Daisuke seems to have put in a lot of practice judging from the photos he’s posting on his blog so I’m looking forward to playing a round with the team as soon as things start to calm down a little bit here.

I’m currently exploring other racing opportunitys back in Europe and my aim is to do one or a few more events in categories outside of Super GT this season since I’ve got a flexible schedule. We’re going to have to wait for a while before I know exactly what is going to happen but it would be nice to be back under the European spotlight again.

I will also get more involved in driver tuition this year, I’m teaming up with local company BHP Msport who apart from trading and mantaining performance cars also offer their clients track day experiences. Our first outing will be on the 19th of April at Nurburgring where they have full access to the Nordschleife including the GP track. There are still places available if it appeals – check out this link.

…

…

This is a photo of our friend and fellow Lexus/Super GT driver Andre Couto and his son, Afonso.

Afonso is 6 years old and suffering from Leukemia. He is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Afonso is now undergoing medical treatment whilst the search for a compatible donor continues. Finding a match is difficult but possible.

Please join us in helping Afonso and the other children in the same situation by registering as a donor in order to increase their chances!

The first step is really very simple and only involves a blood test at your local registry. Links and contact information can be found below.

This is Your chance to be a true Hero – by potentially saving someones life.

REGISTER TO BECOME A DONOR

REGISTRATION PLACES AROUND THE WORLD

SAVE AFONSO

SAVE AFONSO ON FACEBOOK
…

…
Unlike previous seasons the final race this year was held at Motegi instead of Fuji. This was the final race for the Honda NSX model that will be scrapped for next year. I have yet to see what Honda will race instead. The other important factor this weekend was that all weight handicaps were removed so everyone was back on the same weight. A good opportunity to see the progress we’ve made since the start of the season.

Also, the qualifying system was slightly different. Instead of the normal Super Lap qualifying session there would be a F1 style knockout qualifying comprising of three sessions. We missed most of the free practice on Saturday morning with a propeller shaft failure. The team worked hard to get the car back out on track for the last 15 minutes of the session. Daisuke got a few laps but for me it was straight into qualifying for the second knockout session. Big pressure, but on my second attack lap I managed 4th quickest so we were safely through to Q3. We would end up starting the race in 3rd position.

As normal I drove the first stint and it was fairly uneventful. I followed the leaders in my third position and handed over to Daisuke half way through with a 4 second gap to the cars in front. In the second stint there was a safety car period and unfortunately we missed out on the final podium position during the last couple of laps.

On the positive side it is very obvious now that the team is finally strong enough to fight for the top positions. The arrival of our new engineer Kenji has made a big difference to the team. We’ve clearly been the quickest car/driver combination in the second part of the season with 4 Fastest Laps out of 9 races.

…

…
Part 1 of 3

…
Part 2 of 3

…
Part 3 of 3

…

…
Autopolis is kind of a strange place, a massive circuit built at the top of a mountain in the southern part of Japan on the island of Kyushu. You can read about it here - it’s worth it, the track has an interesting history. I first drove there in 2006 shortly after it had just opened again following Kawasakis takeover but at that point it must have been closed for something like ten years already. It’s kind of like a ghost track – nothing has been done to keep it maintained and the hotels were demolished a long time ago. Still, it’s a spectacular venue – even by todays much higher standards.

For us it was near miss again. We were comfortably quickest in the free practice and therefore opted for a harder tyre compound as the tarmac is known here to be very abrasive. We qualified in 5th place which was still ok as we knew most of the other cars in front were on softer tyres that weren’t likely to last.

After loosing out in the start I got back into 5th pretty quickly but then got stuck behind the #1 Nismo. We were still fairly close to the leaders and my tyres were still alright so I wasn’t too concerned, but on the lap after the Nismo pitted and I was able to start pushing before my own pitstop, I got a small touch by the Raybrig #100 car which sent me crashing into a GT300. Unfortunately that meant our race was over even though I managed to get back to the pits and swap with Daisuke.

…

…
Part 1 of 4

…
Part 2 of 4

…
Part 3 of 4

…
Part 4 0f 4

…

…
Some Photos from the weekend at Fuji. I thought this would be third time lucky for us as we had been strong enough to win the previous two races if it wasn’t for mechanical failures or weather conditions. But it wasn’t to be. After dominating the warm up in the morning we took the lead on lap three from our third starting position and were pulling away a second a lap. But then came the drive-through penalty. It was a 50-50 race incident but since I was the one that managed to keep going, I got the blame. And two penalty points…

…

…
Part 1 of 4

…
Part 2 of 4

…
Part 3 of 4

…
Part 4 of 4

…