Bjorn Wirdheim | Japanese Super GT 2010

New Helmet Design!

Bjorn — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:13:35 +0000

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As part of the annual Lexus GT Drivers Association event in Tokyo this weekend all kids attending got the opportunity to enter a competition to redesign a Lexus driver’s helmet for us to use at the final race of the season at Fuji Speedway.

15 year old Yutaro Rikukawa was selected as the winner for my helmet. The design is based on my nationality and my first name which in Swedish means Bear. The Japanese translation is “Kuma” which is the sign on the belly of the bear in the design below. As some of you will know it is the same sign I’ve currently got on my helmet instead of my name.

Well done Yutaro!

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Hello Sweden & Suzuka Pokka 700

Bjorn — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:02:36 +0000

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I’m now at Heathrow waiting for my connection to Japan for the next race of the Super GT Championship, Round 6 at Suzuka.

I’ve just returned from attending the annual Hello Sweden event which is mainly a golf tournament in which most of the associated athletes take part and play together with people from all the companies that are a part of Hello Sweden. It’s the event of the year, I always have a great time and it was nice to catch up with friends who I only really get the chance to see once a year. We also got the crayfish season started which is something I love, but rarely get a chance to have. For most of the people it was the perfect end to their summers holiday and for me a great way to kick-off my next race week.

Round 6 at Suzuka is coming up this weekend – the longest race of the year at 700km. We’ve already managed to accumulate our maximum handicap weight at 100kg. I guess under normal circumstances there wouldn’t be much hope of yet another podium but we’ve shown this year that we can be competitive even though carrying a lot of weight. + the fact that this is a long race – anything can happen and usually does.

Last year we were running second half way through, fighting for the lead, when we had an electrical failure. We’ll be running a similar strategy this year, aiming to stay out of trouble and avoiding mistakes. Its easy to get penalties as you sometimes get involved with the slower cars in traffic and if you get a drive-through it seriously hampers your chances.

If we can protect our Championship lead at Suzuka we’ll be in a very strong position for the final two races of the season when they’ll start reducing our weight again. We’ll be on 50kg for the penultimate round at Fuji and then back to zero for the final at Motegi.

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Round 5 Sugo Highlights

Bjorn — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:07:42 +0000

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Highlights from Sugo Round 5.

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Podium again at Sugo Round 5

Bjorn — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:07:20 +0000

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By finishing 3rd at Sugo Round 5 we managed to maintain a 1 point Championship lead over the #18 Dome Honda. With our 80kg handicap weight we didn’t expect to be fighting for a podium this race but our race pace was very strong and our pitstop was the quickest overall this weekend and that helped us pick up a position as well.

There are only 3 races left in the championship now, the next one beeing the Suzuka 750km. That will be the last race that we’re carrying our full handicap weight with a 50% reduction for the penultimate round and then with everyone back to zero for the final race. Suzuka will be tough as we have now reached our maximum handicap weight for the year – 100kg. But it is also the longest race of the season and at about 5 hours anything can happen.

Current Super GT 500 Championship Standings

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Round 4 Sepang Highlights

Bjorn — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:45:10 +0000

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Highlights from Sepang Round 4.

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4th and Back in the Championship Lead

Bjorn — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:52:37 +0000

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We’ve had a weekend over our expectations here in Malaysia. Despite carrying 64kg of handicap weight, we managed to qualify and finish top-4. And with that result we’re back in the Championship lead by three points.

Temperatures were higher than yesterday and I drove the first stint on our qualifying tyres. The aim was to get the car into the refuelling window without loosing too much time so that Daisuke could take over on a harder compound.

Initially I managed to pick up a position and get into the top-3 but I soon had to let a quicker Honda through as I was pushing my tyres too hard keeping him behind. By lap 20 my rear tyres were completely finished but at that point we were already in the window and my teammate could take over. He took the car over the line in 4th place.

It was such a hard race having to be so careful with the tyres. In a way it’s what makes this Championship so exciting – I wish F1 tyres was as much on the limit as ours – it makes for entertaining races. Also, temperature and humidity played a big part with many drivers making unforced errors in the latter part due to heat exhaustion.

For us at Eneos Team Le Mans it was another perfect weekend. No errors, perfect judgement and timing and that is the main reason why we’ve been so strong this year. This was a team result and I’m very pleased for all of us to be rewarded with leading the Championship at the half way point. Great job guys!!

Now I’m off for a weeks holiday here with Ellen before returning back to Europe.

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4th in Malaysia Qualifying

Bjorn — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 05:13:27 +0000

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We’ve been surprisingly quick here in Sepang today, ending the qualifying 4th overall. At one point it looked like we were going to challenge for Pole but in the end the gap was too big. With 64kg of penalty weight it’s a really strong performance, especially considering that amount of weight should cost us over a second per lap.
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Arrived in Malaysia

Bjorn — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:34:22 +0000

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Friday and first day at the track here in Sepang. Arrived on Wednesday and spent Thursday having a look around Kuala Lumpur. Then off to dinner with Daisuke, team manager Takuya and the Tom’s drivers.

This will be the first really warm race of the season with airtemp expected around 34 and humidity at 60. The coolsuits are ready and I’m now making sure I’m properly hydrated.

Plenty of Eneos guests here this weekend, we had over 400 items to sign on Friday afternoon.

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Round 3 Fuji Highlights

Bjorn — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:19:30 +0000

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Latest highlights from Fuji Round 3.

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3rd and Podium at Fuji Round 3

Bjorn — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:06:30 +0000

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Our strong form continued at Fuji Round 3 with another podium for 3rd position despite carrying a 42kg weight handicap. For this weekend we were back to our regular qualifying format with the Superlap and we managed an excellent 3rd starting position for the race. I really thought that the extra weight would make it difficult for us to qualify inside the top-5, especially at a track like Fuji but our top-speed turned out to be one of the best all weekend.

Since this race was slightly longer (400km) than the normal distance we decided that Daisuke would drive a short first and third stint and I would do the longer middle stint. We dropped a position at the start but our pitstops were perfect and halfway through my stint I had managed to get the position back and was challenging the #1 Tom’s Lexus for second. At that point it was crucial for me to look after the tyres to try to stay out for as long as possible. The strategy worked out but the #1 car had a very strong final stint and it turned out that 3rd was the best we could manage.

This meant we lost the Championship lead but we’re only 2 points behind with five races to go. This year we have 9 races but only 8 of them count towards the Championship. With two podiums now in three races we’ve had a very strong start to the season putting us in a perfect position for the 2nd part.

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