2024 Autobacs SUPER GT

Round 2 Fuji Speedway [GT300 class]

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The 2024 Autobacs SUPER GT Round 2 was held at the Fuji Speedway on 3 – 4 May 2024. Hiroki Yoshida and Seita Nonaka, driving the Green Brave GR Supra/Bridgestone, finished 3rd from the 10th qualifying position in the GT300 class.

A race that lasted for 3 hours, the number of dry tyre sets allowed was 6, while 7 sets of wet tyres were allowed. It was also mandatory to make two pit stops for refueling for this round.

During the race, Yuui Tsutsumi and Hibiki Taira, who won the opening race, competed for the lead in the early stages but lost ground in the middle and final stages, finishing in 6th place. Naoya Gamou, Takuro Shinohara, and Haruki Kurosawa aimed for the podium but fell to the bottom due to brake trouble. Yoshida/Nonaka and Kotaka/Nakamura/Nemoto made a strategic decision to change tyres once during their two pit stops, resulting in improved track positions.

QUALIFYING ROUND

 

PO. NO. MACHINE DRIVER BEST LAP TYRE
4 #65 LEON PYRAMID AMG
Mercedes AMG GT3		 Takuro Shinohara
Naoya Gamou
Haruki Kurosawa		 1'36.719
1'36.268		 BRIDGESTONE
5 #2 muta Racing GR86 GT
TOYOTA GR86		 Hibiki Taira
Yuui Tsutsumi		 1'36.450
1'36.749		 BRIDGESTONE
10 #52 Green Brave GR Supra GT
TOYOTA GR Supra		 Seita Nonaka
Hiroki Yoshida		 1'37.047
1’36.502		 BRIDGESTONE
13 #31 apr LC500h GT
LEXUS LC500h		 Kazuto Kotaka
Jin Nakamura
Yuki Nemoto		 1'36.796
1'36.517		 BRIDGESTONE

During the qualifying round, the grid for the final was determined by the combined time of Q1 and Q2. The GT300 class was divided into two groups, A and B, and the top eight cars from each group decided the top grid for the Q2 Upper group of 16 cars.

 

SECOND IN THEIR GROUP

Gamou/Shinohara/Kurosawa finished first in qualifying and second in the finals in the opening race, making them 2nd in their group despite having a success weight of 36kg. The 4th place Yoshida/Nonaka pair advanced to the Q2 upper group of the top 8 cars in 7th place.

Naoya Gamou/Takuro Shinohara/Haruki Kurosawa (LEON PYRAMID AMG) make an emergency pit stop due to brake trouble.

ACTUAL RACE

 

PO. NO. MACHINE DRIVER BEST LAP TYRE
3 #52 Green Brave GR Supra GT
TOYOTA GR Supra		 Hiroki Yoshida
Seita Nonaka		 1'37.927 BRIDGESTONE
5 #31 apr LC500h GT
LEXUS LC500h		 Kazuto Kotaka
Jin Nakamura
Yuki Nemoto		 1'38.620 BRIDGESTONE
6 #2 muta Racing GR86 GT
TOYOTA GR86		 Yuui Tsutsumi
Hibiki Taira		 1'38.322 BRIDGESTONE
26 #65 LEON PYRAMID AMG
Mercedes AMG GT3		 Naoya Gamou
Takuro Shinohara
Haruki Kurosawa		 1'37.851 BRIDGESTONE

In the final race, the Tsutsumi/Taira team got off to a good start and moved up two positions. The Kogure/Motoshima pair was in the lead, followed by Gamou/Shinohara/Kurosawa in 3rd and 4th place.

 

ONE-TIME TYRE CHANGE STRATEGY

Yoshida/Nonaka and Kotaka/Nakamura/Nemoto opted for a one-time tyre change strategy and improved their rankings. Yoshida/Nonaka and Kotaka/Nakamura/Nemoto opted for a one-time tyre change strategy and improved their rankings. Tsutsumi/Taira's pace did not improve after their second pit stop, making it difficult for them to move up in the rankings. Gamou/Shinohara/Kurosawa had to make an emergency pit stop due to brake trouble and dropped significantly in the order.

Kazuto Kotaka/Jin Nakamura/Yuki Nemoto (apr LC500h GT) finishes in 5th place for one-time tyre change strategy.

WORDS FROM THE TEAM

“A three-hour race is about 500km in distance. It's longer than the 450km races I've experienced so far, so considering the distance covered in each stint. If you choose to do a double stint with one set of tires, we will inform the team of the maximum distance the tires can cover without taking any risks, and within that time, each team will decide that two cars will be allowed to do one stint at a time. The two cars moved up in the rankings, but it was unfortunate that the four-car team that supplied them fell to the bottom, as we thought they would be able to finish in the top. We believe that we have been able to supply tires that can handle two different situations and strategies for each vehicle."

Takahiko Yamamoto, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Manager