Video: Japan GT Championship 2003 Race 4 Highlights

 


Okay, so here's the next round of the 2003 but this race was a bit unusual so I thought I'd talk a little bit about why it's unique.

First off, it's EXTREMELY ironic looking back on this race given the current situation we're in with the global pandemic still raging because this event was actually also affected by coronavirus! This was back in 2003 so of course it wasn't COVID-19 but instead the older brother SARS-CoV-1 that caused the SARS outbreak of 2002-2004. It wasn't a huge deal in Western countries but that first epidemic caused many countries in Asia to restrict travel just like the issues we're having today with COVID-19. Because of those travel restrictions the JGTC decided to hold Race 4 at Fuji Speedway instead of the initial plan to have it at the world-famous Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. Thankfully SARS-CoV-1 proved to be less contagious than its sibling SARS-CoV-2 that's currently making all our lives more difficult so back in 2003 there were a lot less lives lost.

Second, the JGTC decided to use a different race format for this round because of the sudden change of venue. Instead of the usual semi-endurance format where you have two drivers playing musical chairs in one race car during a longer race with a mandatory number of pit stops the "Malaysian JGTC in Fuji Speedway" split the racing into two separate sessions. The new format was two sprint races with each of the two drivers taking one session. Each driver would score points for his individual race and then their totals would be added up to decide which car won the round overall.

Lastly, the weather was very different from the sunny skies of previous rounds. Heavy rain and fog made conditions very treacherous. When you see how poor the visibility was you'll really appreciate the skills and guts these drivers have! Obviously these guys have some gigantic attachments between their legs so it's all the more amazing they were able to go as fast as they did!

And with that, please enjoy another amazing round of the All Japan GT Championship!


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