2015.05.03

GT300 winner also a GT-R, as GAINER TANAX GT-R triumphs

Round2 Fuji Speedway : Race GT300

The FUJI GT 500km RACE, Round 2 of the 2015 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place on the afternoon of May 3rd at Fuji Speedway (Shizuoka Pref). The GT500 class winner was the No. 1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R driven by Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli in a perfect race from pole position to win. In the GT300 class, the No. 10 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Andre Couto / Katsumasa Chiyo / Ryuichiro Tomita) scored its second consecutive win of the season.

 

  

 

Due to trouble in its muffler before taking to the grid, the No. 87 CrystalCroco LAMBORGHINI GT3 was unable to move from in front of its pit. Eventually, it was unable to start the race.
At the start of the GT300 class race, the pole-sitting No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT (Sasaki Kota) got a good start and came through the first lap ahead of the No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R (Kazuki Hoshino), the No. 11 GAINER TANAX SLS (Bjorn Wirdheim) and the No. 10 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Andre Couto). These four machines continued a close battle for the lead separated by less than a second.
As the leading car No. 31 was finishing its eighth lap, the No. 88 MANEPA LAMBORGHINI GT3 (Kazuki Hiramine) suffered a left rear tire burst at the end of the main straight. This caused the machine to spin out and off the track at the first corner. An oil spill occurred in the process and car No. 88 caught fire. Meanwhile the spilled oil caused several cars to spin as well. This brought the Safety Car out to lead the cars in their running order while the accident was being cleaned up. The race was restarted when the GT500 cars finished the 15th lap. From around the 20th lap, the pace of the leading No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT began to slow and it was passed by the No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R on the first corner of the 27th lap. Meanwhile, the other GT-R, the No. 10 GAINER TANAX GT-R, had made an early pit stop on the 22nd lap and changed drivers to Katsumasa Chiyo. This enabled it to move into the lead when the No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R (driver change to Mitsunori Takaboshi) made its pit stop on the 36th lap. Once in the lead, Chiyo (No. 10), who has won an overseas race in the GT-R, ran at a very fast pace and pulled away from the rookie Takaboshi Chiyo in car No. 3. However, Takaboshi was by no means running at a slow pace and was managing to build a big lead for the two front runners over the No. 11 GAINER TANAX SLS (Katsuyuki Hiranaka) in 3rd position.
On the 60th lap of the race, the No. 10 GAINER TANAX GT-R made its second routine pit stop. This put the No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R in the lead again and picking up the pace in a spurt to open up as large a gap as possible over car No. 10. But. An unexpected accident occurred on the 64th lap. While running down the straight, the left rear tire of the No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R burst. This meant that it had to run slow for a full lap to return to the pit, thus dropping it out of the competition for the win completely.

 

 

By the time all the cars had finished their second pit stop on the 75th lap, the No. 10 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Andre Couto) was in the lead again. A long 34 seconds behind in 2nd position came the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT (Yuichi Nakayama > Koki Saga). It was more than enough of a lead for Couto, who has experience as a winner in the GT500 class. Being a long race that is always fraught with tire trouble among the other cars, Couto continued to run at a controlled pace to minimize stress on his tires.
In the final stages of the race, the No. 11 GAINER TANAX SLS (Bjorn Wirdheim) was closing in on car No. 31 in second position. Soon these two cars were battling side-by-side, and as their pace slowed, another car started to gain on them rapidly. It was the No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R driven by Kazuki Hoshino that had lost ground due to tire trouble earlier in the race. Over the last five laps of the race, these three cars became locked in a 3-way battle. It was Hoshino in the B-MAX NDDP GT-R that had the fastest pace, Saga in the TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT and Wirdheim in the GAINER TANAX SLS were struggling to keep their machines in control due to sliding resulting from their worn tires. With three laps to go, Hoshino (No. 3) overtook Saga (No. 31) who was running in 3rd position on the Dunlop Corner. On the first turn of the next lap, Hoshino drew up side-by-side and passed Wirdheim (No. 11) to move into 2nd position again. After this the battling continued in a way that cause interference for the GT500 cars. The three cars entered the last lap with the faster No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R followed in order by the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT and the No. 11 GAINER TANAX SLS. While trying to hang on for the third spot on the podium, Saga (No. 31) suffered a painful spin on the first turn. Although he recovered quickly, he had of course let the No. 11 GAINER TANAX SLS past into 3rd position. In the end, Hoshino, who had driven the No. 3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R to catch up while recording the fastest laps of the GT300 race, crossed the finish line in 2nd place. The No. 11 GAINER TANAX SLS finished in 3rd place, while the pole-starting No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT finished 4th, keeping Saga and teammate Nakayama at the top of the drivers ranking.
Running in the lead during the latter stages of the race, the No. 10 GAINER TANAX GT-R had lost some of its pace due to a piece of a damaged machine that had gotten lodged in its front end, but it was not serious enough to cause a change in the order. For the No. 10 team that is using the Nissan GT-R for the first time from this season, it was a very impressive win. For Chiyo of the No. 11 GAINER TANAX SLS team it was his second GT300 class win. For Couto, who has two GT500 wins to his credit, this was his first GT300 class win. The No. 10 team's third driver, Ryuichiro Tomita, ended up not driving in this race, so he receives no driver points.

 

 

 

 

 

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