2024 Autobacs SUPER GT

Round 2 Fuji Speedway [GT500 class]

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The second round of SUPER GT took place at Fuji Speedway during the latter half of Golden Week. 88,400 motorsports fans gathered for the qualifying and final rounds. This final race was SUPER GT's first-ever three-hour time race. In the race, a total of 6 sets of dry tyres and 7 sets of wet tyres could be used. The race required two pit stops for refueling. Mitsunori Takaboshi and Atsushi Miyake, driving Nittera MOTUL Z/Bridgestone, took the lead at the first corner and held it until the end, followed by their teammates R. Quintarelli and Katsumasa Chiyo driving MOTUL AUTECH Z/ Bridgestone. Koudai Tsukakoshi and Kakunoshin Ohta driving Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT/Bridgestone finished third, having started from pole position. 

 

SUSPENSE: FROM START TO FINISH LINE

The starting grid for the finals was determined by adding up the Q1 and Q2 times. Only one set of tyres was allowed from qualifying to the start of the race. The CIVIC TYPE R-GT, introduced by Honda this year, showed its speed during the practice run before qualifying. Tsukakoshi and Ohta set the top time in practice and Q1. In Q1, Tomoki Nojiri and Nobuhara Matsushita driving #8 ARTA MUGEN TYPE R-GT/Bridgestone, and Hiroki Otsu and Ren Sato driving #16 ARTA MUGEN TYPE R-GT/ Bridgestone, dominated the top three.

Koudai Tsukakoshi and Kakunoshin Ohta driving Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT/Bridgestone finished third, having started from pole position.

In Q2, Nissan's time was faster. Quintarelli and Chiyo set the top time in Q2, followed by Takaboshi and Miyake. Based on the combined time, Tsukakoshi and Ohta took the CIVIC TYPE R-GT's first pole position. Bridgestone-equipped cars occupied the top seven spots on the grid. 

 

QUALIFYING ROUND

 

PO. NO. MACHINE DRIVER BEST LAP TYRE
1 #17 Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT
Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT		 Kakunoshin Ohta
Koudai Tsukakoshi		 1'26.709
1'27.222		 BRIDGESTONE
2 #3 Niterra MOTUL Z
Nissan Z NISMO GT500		 Mitsunori Takaboshi
Atsushi Miyake		 1'27.134
1'27.205		 BRIDGESTONE
3 #23 MOTUL AUTECH Z
Nissan Z NISMO GT500		 Ronnie Quintarelli
Katsumasa Chiyo		 1'27.282
1’27.077		 BRIDGESTONE
4 #8 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #8
Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT		 Tomoki Nojiri
Nobuharu Matsushita		 1'26.825
1'27.573		 BRIDGESTONE

 

AN EXHILARATING RACE

Temperatures as high as July were predicted across the country, and at Fuji Speedway, the temperature rose to 23 degrees and the track surface temperature to 41 degrees at the start. The race was cut off just after the start of the three-hour race at 1:36 p.m. Takaboshi and Miyake took the lead at the first corner and began to pull away from second place and below. On the 23rd lap, Quintarelli and Chiyo moved into second place. However, at the timing of their first pit stop, Tsukakoshi and Ohta moved back into second place. At the timing of their second pit stop, Quintarelli and Chiyo were in second place. The Nojiri and Matsushita team moved up to third place, leading to a battle between the Hondas and the Tsukakoshi and Ohta team. However, with eight minutes left on the clock, the Nojiri and Matsushita pair encountered transmission trouble and had to return to the pits and retire. In the end, Tsukakoshi and Ohta finished in third place, following the two cars from the Nismo team, with Bridgestone-equipped cars occupying 9th place from the top.

ACTUAL RACE

 

PO. NO. MACHINE DRIVER BEST LAP TYRE
1 #3 Niterra MOTUL Z
Nissan Z NISMO GT500		 Mitsunori Takaboshi
Atsushi Miyake		 1'29.559 BRIDGESTONE
2 #23 MOTUL AUTECH Z
Nissan Z NISMO GT500		 Katsumasa Chiyo
Ronnie Quintarelli		 1'29.872 BRIDGESTONE
3 #17 Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT
Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT		 Koudai Tsukakoshi
Kakunoshin Ohta		 1'29.659 BRIDGESTONE
4 #36 au TOM'S GR Supra
TOYOTA GR Supra GT500		 Sho Tsuboi
Kenta Yamashita		 1'30.195 BRIDGESTONE

 

Bridgestone-equipped team occupied the top three spots on the victory podium. 1st: No. 3 Niterra MOTUL Z (Mitsunori Takaboshi/Atushi Miyake); 2nd: No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/ Ronnie Quintarelli); 3rd: No.17 Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Kakunoshin Ohta)

 

WORDS FROM THE PODIUM

“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

 

Honestly, I'm happy to have won. My teammate has changed since this year, and the tyres have been changed to Bridgestone tyres, so I'm still able to find a place where I can perform well.'' However, I was able to finish second overall in the qualifying round, and I was worried about how my long run would go in the final, but my long run pace was relatively stable, which was good data that I can use for the next race. I think it was a race where we learned a lot in everything. However, we still don't have the balance of the car that we want, so we won't be satisfied with this win and will aim even higher.”

Mitsunori Takaboshi, Winning Driver (Nittera MOTUL Z/Bridgestone)

 

“I'm really surprised and happy to have stepped up to GT500 and won the second race. I think I was able to perform better than I expected in qualifying, and that's why I was able to line up at the front.'' In the first and second stints, Takaboshi made a good start and took the lead, creating a considerable margin, so I really stayed calm and didn't panic and made sure I didn't make any collisions or mistakes. I was able to stay calm and race. Thanks to Takaboshi and the team creating a margin, I was able to race easily and win, and I feel that there are areas where I need to improve my driving. I want to continue without changing."

Atsushi Miyake, Winning Driver (Nittera MOTUL Z/Bridgestone)