Kobuta wins Group C at 2011 Silverstone Classic in Nissan R90CK

July 28, 2011 - PRLog -- After a wet qualifying resulting in a P3 starting position with a time of 2.11.767 on Friday evening, Katsu Kubota drove a superb race to take victory in Race 1 of the Group C at the 2011 Silverstone Classic. The atmosphere was very special with the evening sun setting and the headlights cutting the cool dusk air against a cacophony of  Group C Racing sound. These racing cars from the Group C and C2 era take some taming and Katsu drove with skill and determination – the Silk Cut Jaguar and Sauber Mercedes C11 were expected to be the main competition; and so it proved but the Nissan R90CK has huge power on tap and Silverstone was the perfect track/car combination. The Nissan and Jaguar fought throughout the race, swapping the lead until the mighty Nissan and Katsu proved dominant and took the chequered flag. Alistair Bennett;  CGA Race Engineering commented,”That was a race! Katsu drove very well – in fact, that has to be one of his best races as he doesn’t really know the track and with the setting sun challenging the drivers it really captured the magic of endurance racing. The Silverstone Classic is one of THE events of the year and to win with that driver, in that car, at this track is something special – the car ran without a hitch, fast and reliable… it is a real honour and we at CGA are proud of this achievement.” Colin Bennet, CGA Race Engineering, added, ” This is exactly why we do this – there is no substitute for the way winning makes you feel!”

Hideki Yamauchi – winner of the Group C Race at Brands Hatch took the wheel in the second Group C race at the Silverstone Classic on the Sunday to take a close second place behind the Sauber Mercedes C11… and it was close; with thousandths of seconds separating the two cars’ fastest lap times and Hideki’s relentless driving style, fast and smooth, closing on the leader in the final laps until ‘traffic’ allowed the leader to escape as the Nissan R90CK was unleashed around Silverstone in sunny, warm conditions. Considering Hideki had never driven the Silverstone circuit in dry conditions it again proved the talent and potential of this young Formula 3 driver.

As the CGA Race Engineering team loaded the car after a successful weekend at the Silverstone Classic they had time to reflect, “We know the car has the potential to win the Group C Racing Championship and we have a very strong driver line-up, Katsu is driving very well and Hideki is learning and getting faster all the time. We’re able to prepare the car to the highest standards so we’re looking forward to Paul Ricard and another great race. After the win at Brands and now with two podium results this weekend we’re very pleased with how the season is going.” concluded Alistair Bennet.

Katsu Kubota – Group C Racing – Nissan R90CK: This Nissan R90CK is one of 5 chassis built in 1990 for the works assault on Le Mans. Featuring the fearsome VRH35Z engine, the V8, quad cam, 3.5litre twin turbo unit famously held the qualifying lap record at Le Mans for 17 years (in the mulsanne chicane era). In qualifying trim, the engine could produce 1100bhp! It has already won in Group C at Silverstone in 2008. Katsu has been racing in Europe since 2006, where he competed with his Lotus F1 cars – now racing and consistently winning with CGA Race Engineering in his ex Ronnie Peterson March 761. 2010 saw Kubota, driving his Williams FW07c,  become the first Japanese National to win an FIA sanctioned Formula One race at Monza in the FIA Historic Formula One race along with lifting the European Historic Formula 2 title.

Silverstone results:
Race 1
1 – Katsu Kubota - Nissan R90CK
2 – Alex Buncombe Jaguar XJR9
3 – Gareth Evans Mercedes C11
4 – Gary Pearson Jaguar XJR11
5 – Steve Tandy Nissan RC90
6 – Martin O’Connell Nissan NPTI 90
Fastest Lap: Katsu Kubota | Nissan R90CK | 1.54.346 | 114.88mph

Race 2
1 – Bob Berridge Mercedes C11
2 – Hideki Yamauchi Nissan R90CK
3 – Andy Meyrick Spice SE89C
4 – Gary Pearson Jaguar XJR11
5 – Alex Buncombe Jaguar XJR9
6 – Martin O’Connell Nissan NPTI90

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Somerville Baddeley Marketing - Motorsport marketing and sponsorship activation agency based near Silverstone, UK. 25 years excperience including Formula One, NASCAR, ALMS and MotoGP. Team and driver websites, graphics, livery, marketing and PR.