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 Teams and drivers receive top awards
in front of Tokyo crowd
After an opening address by Mr Kunimitsu Takahashi, head of series' organizer the GT-A, the
first of the trophies was handed out.
First up was The Rookie of the Year award, going to former F1, CART and IRL driver Toranosuke
Takagi for his spectacular first season in SUPER GT. The year saw him score three victories on
his way to the drivers' title along with partner Yuji Tachikawa in the #38 ZENT Cerumo Supra.
Next it was the Best Performance award, going to veteran driver Tetsuya Yamano for his title-winning
run in the GT300-class #30 Reckless MR-S.
The GT300 Team Awards followed. Third place went to ARTA, campaigning the #43 ARTA Garaiya; 2nd
place was presented to M-TEC for their success in the #0 M-TEC NSX; and taking the GT300 title for
the first time, TEAM RECKLESS for their class victory in the #30 RECKLESS MR-S.
In the drivers' category, GT300 saw the pairing of Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi take third
(#43 ARTA Garaiya) while second went to Haruki Kurosawa and Shinya Hosokawa (#0 M-TEC NSX), while
class champions Tetsuya Yamano and Kota Sasaki received the award for first place (#30 RECKLESS MR-S).
This was followed by the GT500 Team Awards. Third place went to TEAM TOM'S, second to Team Honda
Racing, and the class victory to NISMO.
GT500 featured Satoshi Motoyama and Richard Lyons in third place (#1 Xanavi NISMO Z), the duo
of Daisuke Ito and Ralph Firman in second (#8 ARTA NSX), and Yuji Tachikawa and Toranosuke Takagi
crowned drivers' champions in the #38 ZENT Cerumo Supra.
An address by GT-A director Mr Jiro Kaji announced changes for 2006, including the final event
taking place at Fuji Speedway (from its traditional home of Suzuka Circuit), a new tire supplier
coming on board (official announcement to follow), as well as offers to hold SUPER GT events from
venues in Australia and Korea in the near future.
The 2006 SUPER GT season kicks off at Okayama International Circuit on March 18-19 for a nine-round
battle that includes a visit to Suzuka Circuit in August for a 1,000-kilometer event at the mid-point
of the season.
There will also be new awards starting from next season including: New Team award, Foreign Constructors'
award, Original Brand car award, and SUPER GT Race Car award.
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