As the 2009 Super GT Series is nearing the finale, the seventh round of nine-round series, Fuji GT 300km race was held.

For the past several years this Fuji round in autumn used to be the season closer in November. However, this year it was held in the lingering summer heat which caused many headaches for engineers of both ADVAN and race teams before the race weekend because it was quite difficult to predict what kind of tire compound would best suited the race day's conditions.

Although the sessions on Saturday were hampered by rain, the sky cleared up for the race. The thick clouds in early morning dissipated as the start time approached and the racing began with fine autumn weather.

The starting driver of HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R, Joao Paulo Lima de Oliveira, steered clear of the mess during the opening lap after his usual good getaway and completed the lap in fourth. The car's setup for dry surfaces seemed to be good and he began to reduce the gap with the current point leading car, Motul Autech GT-R, just in front of him.

Soon de Oliveira caught the tail of his opponent and dove into the inside of it at Turn 1 of Lap 5. He actually pulled ahead once but the attempt was overturned because he had to take a tighter line, which allowed Motul Autech GT-R to fight back. However, the Brazilian tried exactly the same thing on the same corner of next lap and successfully completed the move this time. Coincidentally, the race leading ENEOS SC430 was given a drive through penalty and this promoted HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R to second on Lap 6.

Holding off Motul Autech GT-R, de Oliveira went on and came into the pit as scheduled at the end of Lap 33 when he was temporarily leading the race as the leading car came in a few laps earlier. After quick routine works in the pit, now Seiji Ara took the wheel of HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R and resumed the race in third. Due to cold tires, he lost some positions on the track but got back to fourth when all cars completed their mandatory stops.

Ara pursued his immediate rival Motul Autech GT-R, looking after his tires at the same time. The prospect was good and, with his really effective style, a podium finish or even the second win of the season could be expected. However, then he was hit by the most bizarre accident.

On Lap 46, a door of a GT300 car suddenly fell off when it was running just in front of HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R at 300R, immediately after Hair pin corner. Damage to Ara's car was minimum but the car lost all electric power, as the door hit its emergency cut off switch (which can be operated by a marshal from outside in case of accident). He parked the car in an escape zone to check through it. And as soon as he realized what happened to the switch, he fixed it by himself and got back to the pit to repair the other parts of the car before resuming the race.

From then on, Ara went on in a good pace which was equally matched with the leading cars but the lost ground was too large to make up. As a result, the team had to settle for finishing in 13th, even though the victory wasn't out of their reach.

In the GT300 class, the ADVAN equipped cars contended for the class win.

Yuya Sakamoto driving the pole sitting 'triple a' Gallardo RG-3 initially led the field after making a good start. But he seemed to be too optimistic when he entered Turn 1, competing against Tomonobu Fujii in Daishin ADVAN Ferrari, and overshot the corner. So Fujii automatically inherited the lead position, only to be beaten out by Masami Kageyama's Porsche and Hiroyuki Iiri in 'giraffa' Gallardo RG-3 soon and moved down to third.

When all cars completed their pit stops, the second driver of Daishin ADVAN Ferrari, Takayuki Aoki, and Katsuyuki Hiranaka in Jim Gainer ADVAN F430 formed the top two. Eventually, this order remained unchanged until the closing stage.

The Daishin car changed only two tires on left hand side earlier but the Jim Gainer car had four fresh tires at the pit stop which they made just at the midpoint of the race. Because of this, the latter had an obvious advantage and was able to push the former so hard that a final few laps saw a very close battle between the two all over the track.

They continued the duel until the final lap and, after a slight contact between Prius corner and Panasonic corner, Daishin ADVAN Ferrari was narrowly able to hold off another Ferrari to score the car's maiden victory. By finishing in second, Jim Gainer ADVAN F430 made their point tally to 51. This meant the team still has a mathematical chance to take up the championship, along with the winner of the day, the Daishin team drivers, which now also has 51 points.

　[Result : Winner in the GT300 class]
"We had many good races this year but always missed a win. I also felt pressure because everybody said 'Why? You have a winning car...', so now I'm relieved, to be honest.
"We changed only two tires on the left hand side at the pit stop as we planned. But I was told that the tires on the right hand side wouldn't last until the finish, judging from the wear condition of changed tires.
"Therefore, I had to block (the opponent's attack) so hard in the last couple of laps. Usually, I don't do that just to protect my position but both of us really wanted to win today. Having said that, I think the battle was fair.
"I can recall it as a good and enjoyable racing but I was too busy in the car to enjoy it (laugh)."