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A look into GT Live
By David Fielding
GT Live has quickly become one of the most anticipated racing events to hit U.S. soil this year. It will take place on December 18th and 19th at California Speedway in Fontana, California. One of the main attractions for the event will be the 2004 JGTC.
JGTC stands for Japanese Grand Touring Championship, which is a racing series founded in 1994 as the successor to the failed Japan Sport Prototype Car Championship (also known as JSPC). The JGTC is run by the GT Association and was established to be more fan-friendly and give better return to sponsors than its predecessor JSPC.
The biggest difference between JGTC and the failed JSPC is the cars. JSPC consisted primarily of cars that were not easily identifiable by the public. In looking back at why the JSPC failed, the GT Association realized that they needed to come up with something the public could relate to. The also needed to find a balance between technology, human drama and entertainment. Instead of obscure cars they decided on using production cars everybody could relate to.
In 1994 JGTC started out with only 18 cars and a very moderate crowd. After only 7 years it has grown to 48 teams and is attracting over 450,000 fans on race day making it one of the greatest motor racing series in Japan.
So what kind of cars can you expect to see in JGTC? This year features some of the top tuner cars including the Nissan Skyline, Fairlady Z and Sylvia. Also competing are the NSX from Honda, the Celica and MR-S from Toyota, Impreza from Subaru and more. All cars competing in JGTC are tuned to the max and considered the most capable GT cars on the planet. Unlike other racing series such as NASCAR, JGTC doesn't put any limits on performance meaning you can do just about anything to the motor. To keep it equal cars are governed through air restrictions so they may not exceed the set horsepower per class.
JGTC consists of two classes, GT300 and GT500. The GT300 class cannot exceed 300 hp and the cars eligible are JAF-GT (class 2), Le Mans cars and cars specially authorized by the JAF. Some teams competing in this class are Privee Zurich Kumho with their NSX, A'PEXi I-mobisess with their MR-S and Cusco Subaru Advan with their Impreza.
The GT500 class cannot exceed 500 hp and the cars eligible are JAF-GT (class 1), Le Mans cars and cars specially authorized by the JAF. A few of the teams competing in this class are Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello with their Ferrari 550, Xanavi Nissmo with their Fairlady Z and Eclipse Advan with their Supra.
To keep the race competitive there are rules that go beyond horsepower limitations. JGTC uses a system of handicap weights to keep a level playing field. Weights are added after a race for finishing first, second or third, qualifying first, second or third or setting the fastest race lap. The maximum total handicap weight is 120kg (about 265 pounds) for GT500 and 80kg (about 176 pounds) for GT300. If a car running in handicap weight finishes sixth, 10kg is removed from the total in GT500 and 5kg in GT300. Handicapped cars that finish seventh or lower will loose 20kg in GT500 and 15kg in GT300. Handicaps for qualifying and fastest laps cannot be removed.
All teams must perform a mandatory pit stop as well. During the pit stop only five people can work on the car at the same time. Of the five people two people are responsible for changing the tires, two for refueling the car and one to complete other tasks. There is no limit to the amount of crewmembers that do not touch the car directly.
Points are awarded to the first 10 finishers across seven races. GT Live will feature a special JGTC Allstar 200 race featuring 25 top cars invited from Japan as well as some local entries.
If watching Skylines, Fairlady Zs, Porches and the like battle it out on the same track doesn't get you going perhaps seeing the worlds top drifters will. Another great feature of GT Live is that it will have three forms of drifting. D1, Formula D and XDL. Originally the D1 Grand Prix was scheduled on Sunday December 19th at a separate venue, which was causing a problem for the unfortunate people that wanted to see both. To solve this problem the D1 Grand Prix will be at California Speedway on Sunday December 19th with GT Live. So not only will you be able to see JGTC cars battle it out you'll also be able to witness the top drifters from the US compete against the top drifters from Japan.
Both Formula D and D1 are competitive drifting events that pit team against team, driver against driver. The Extreme Drifting League, or XDL is pure show. It's an event where drifters can do things they wouldn't be permitted to do anywhere else. There is no judging so the idea is to show fans driving that is more on the wild side.
A Tuner Time Attack will take place on Sunday featuring the top 20 cars from the Eurotuner/Super Street Time Attack event that took place in early November.
GT Live goes beyond just watching cars race. It's more like heaven for people that are into the import scene or just into cars themselves. You'll be able to see some of the hottest cars and girls in the Super Street Car Show, listen to live DJs and MCs on the main stage and shop at the vender display area. Some lucky fans will even be able to ride along with JGTC Racers themselves to get a first hand feeling of what its like to be a racer in the JGTC.
To sum it all up this event is going to be one of the biggest events to hit the United States this year. Below you'll find links for further information and ticket purchase. We'll be bringing you full coverage so look for future articles to be posted shortly.
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