{"id":37391,"date":"2019-04-22T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T21:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37391"},"modified":"2021-02-17T10:42:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T01:42:29","slug":"pccj-okayamakokusai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/pccj-okayamakokusai\/","title":{"rendered":"Watching the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan (PCCJ) Season Opener at Okayama International Circuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

PCCJ Season Opener<\/h3>\n

On April 13th and 14th, my family and I went to watch the season opener of the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan (hereafter PCCJ)<\/span> held at Okayama International Circuit.<\/strong> PCCJ mainly runs as a support race for SUPER GT, but it is also known as the “world\u2019s fastest one-make race (a race where all participants drive identical racing machines)<\/span>.”<\/p>\n

This was our second time visiting Okayama International Circuit to watch PCCJ. The last time, our kids were still small, so it was just my husband and me. But this time, we were able to go as a family of four for the first time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We had just been to a driving event at Fuji Speedway recently, and in the past, we\u2019ve also gone to watch WEC races, so readers might think that I\u2019m a big racing fan,<\/strong> but I actually had no interest in racing before.<\/strong> Even when my husband watched F1 or WEC races on our home TV, I used to scoff,<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s so interesting about watching cars just driving around endlessly?\u201d<\/p>\n

I was always a bit dismissive.<\/p>\n

However, after going to several races with my husband, I started to feel that watching a race live is completely different from watching it on TV<\/strong> (I guess that\u2019s true for any sport)<\/span>, and recently, I\u2019ve gradually become more interested in racing.<\/p>\n

Also, this time at Okayama International, one of the Carrera Cup pilots (they call them pilots rather than drivers in Carrera Cup)<\/span> I had interviewed for the blog before was participating, so I was even more excited than usual.<\/p>\n

Heading to PCCJ Okayama<\/h3>\n

The weather was clear on departure day, Saturday. However, since heavy rain was forecast for Sunday, I decided to just wear rain boots from the start to avoid hassle (lol).<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Last month, we drove about 450 km and 6 hours one way to Fuji Speedway, but this time, Okayama International Circuit was only about 140 km and 2 hours away.<\/strong> Super close. Two hours by car might be considered a long distance by most people, but\u2026 I feel like I\u2019ve been brainwashed by my husband and my sense of distance is getting warped.<\/p>\n

There was no significant traffic on the way, but when we were just a few kilometers from the circuit, I noticed the cars ahead were crawling along slowly. \u201cWhy are they driving so slowly here?<\/strong>\u201d I wondered, and then I saw a speed trap ahead. I see\u2026 they do that even here.<\/p>\n

Anyway, we arrived safely, checked in at the entrance, received our passes, and parked near the paddock.<\/p>\n

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Walking from the parking lot, we headed to the Porsche Lounge behind the Carrera Cup car pits. The cup cars were already lined up in the pits,<\/strong> and engineers were busy working on them.<\/p>\n

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It was rare to see cup cars without tires on yet. Then, a racer I know made an offer:<\/p>\n

\u201cWant to try sitting in a cup car? Normally, that\u2019s absolutely not allowed, but since it\u2019s a special occasion, please have a seat in the driver\u2019s seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought, \u201cNo way\u2026 it\u2019d be terrible if I scratched a race car before the race\u2026<\/strong>\u201d but since opportunities like this might only come once in a lifetime, I accepted the kind offer.<\/p>\n

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Opening the door, I was surprised. The door was incredibly light and thin.<\/strong> Maybe because I was still feeling the heavy doors of the Panamera from the drive here, it felt unreal how light it was. It looks like a Porsche, but it\u2019s completely different from the production models.<\/strong> Carbon fiber is used extensively for thorough weight reduction, and the Carrera Cup car is about 300 kg lighter than a production GT3.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sitting in the driver\u2019s seat, everything was different from a production car \u2014 the steering wheel, the seat, everything. The seat held me deeply and firmly in place,<\/strong> and the pedals were three-pedal.<\/strong> Normally, paddle shifters are used for driving, but a clutch is used for starting, so everything was race-spec.<\/p>\n

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Thanks to their kindness, our two-year-old youngest daughter also got to sit in the driver\u2019s seat, but she was totally bewildered by the sudden experience (lol).<\/p>\n

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Meeting the President of Porsche Japan\u2026<\/h3>\n

After that, we went to the Porsche Carrera Cup Lounge.<\/p>\n

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This lounge is where staff and drivers come and go, and you can check the race status, times, and rankings on monitors.<\/strong> It\u2019s also where a second awards ceremony is held exclusively for Porsche personnel after the usual podium ceremony.<\/p>\n

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We arrived at the lounge around 10 a.m., with some time before the PCCJ qualifying, so we watched the official SUPER GT practice session<\/strong> and wandered around a bit. The roaring engines were loud all around,<\/strong> but surprisingly, the kids weren\u2019t scared and enjoyed watching the cars zoom past.<\/p>\n

In the parking lot in front of the lounge was a GT2 RS<\/strong>\u2026 and it had the Weissach Package.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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My husband said,<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing it like this in person, it\u2019s just insanely cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

and stared at it for quite a while (lol).<\/p>\n

In the afternoon, Porsche personnel arrived one after another\u2026 among them was Mr. Yamazaki, an executive I had spoken with at Porsche Japan headquarters before\u2026!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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