2016.09.30

[Round 7 Preview] Survive for the title!! Don’t miss hottest battle in Thailand!

Round 7 Thailand : Preview

As 2016 season moves into the last phase of battles, the AUTOBACS SUPER GT Round 7 “BURIRAM SUPER GT RACE” will be held at Chang International Circuit in Thailand on October 8 and 9. With only three races remaining in the season (two races are scheduled for the final round in Motegi), the outcome of upcoming Thai race can even decide the destiny of the championship.
There is no way for the teams to avoid a battle that heats up even hotter in the tropical land of Thailand. Keep your eyes on not only the title contention but also the intense battles seen all over on the track fighting for even a single point.

 

Change International Circuit was built in 2014. The international circuit located in Buriram Province, northeast part of Thailand, will be hosting a series round of SUPER GT for the third time this year. The track has three long straights and a wide variety of mid- and high-speed corners on a very flat land with only ten meter of difference in elevation, none like a circuit in Japan. It looks simple, but it is highly recognized by many drivers as more challenging than expected and more fun as you drive on it more. But, being a southern land, heat can be a large enemy. Measures and driving style to ease off the load on the tires as well as engine could be critical in deciding the game in the race in Thailand.
In last year’s race, which was held as Round 3, Yuji Tachikawa in No.38 ZENT CERUMO RC F and Satoshi Motoyama in No.46 S Road MOLA GT-R (last year’s car name), both are the iconic top drivers of SUPER GT, battled it out for victory side-by-side and ignited the stands.
There have been two SUPER GT events at Chang and, as seen in the battle mentioned above, the two models matched up evenly in Thailand, GT-R taking the pole position and RC F winning the race in 2014 and in 2015 it was RC F on pole and GT-R at the center of podium.

 

 

Top favorite for this year’s race should be No.46 S Road KRAFTSPORTS MOLA GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama / Katsumasa Chiyo), a team that has been strong at Chang with pole position in 2014 and a win last year. Considering other GT-Rs have scored a win and they are in a disappointing situation with no win, the team must grab a win here as that can put them right in the title contention at the final round. As for No.1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli), a 100kg of handicap weight will not be any help, but the team can pull the title closer to its reach if it can finish on the podium.
Out of the RC F fleet, No.38 ZENT CERUMO RC F (Yuji Tachikawa / Hiroaki Ishiura), the winner of previous round in Suzuka, has been good at the track, but a 90kg of handicap weight can be a little too heavy. However, it must finish in front of rival No.1 car considering the title contention. No.36 au TOM'S RC F (Daisuke Ito / Nick Cassidy), the winning machine of two years ago, would want to conquer the Thai round once more to be in a better position in the ranking. The race would be a critical point for No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD RC F (Heikki Kovalainenn / Kohei Hirate) also in order for the team to capture the long-awaited title.

 

 

NSX CONCEPT-GT squad was having some difficulties in the beginning of the season. However, it is catching up with the rivals in terms of speed as seen in a second in qualifying in Round 4 SUGO and a fourth finish in Round 5 Fuji by No.17 KEIHIN NSX CONCEPT-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Takashi Kogure) and pole position in previous round in Suzuka by Hideki Mutoh of No.15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT. NSX CONCEPT-GT’s mid-engine layout should naturally suit a flat circuit like Chang, therefore, the squad would want to take the advantage to achieve its inaugural win in Thailand this season. No.64 Epson NSX CONCEPT-GT (Daisuke Nakajima / Bertrand Baguette), which captured the highest place on the grid among all NSX CONCEPT-GTs last year, would be the one to lead the expectation.
And, a big news has arrived just before the Thai event. FIA-F4 alumna Tadasuke Makino has given a shot to take a role as a second driver of No.15 Drago Modulo NSX CONCEPT-GT and will make his debut in GT500 class. Despite being his first GT300 class competition, Makino made his electrifying SUPER GT debut at the previous round in Suzuka by grabbing the first place in Q1 of the qualifying with a record-breaking lap time. It will not be an easy debut race with his first attempt on a GT500 car and a new circuit, but all attention should be given to this challenge of 19-year-old young gun.

 

 

 

No.3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R is in a winning streak at Chang in GT300 class. Ace driver Kazuki Hoshino would want to complete his and team’s three consecutive wins to jump up to the top of point ranking along with his partner, Jann Mardenborough.
Cars that have been showing good performances this season are the JAF-GT300 cars including the mother-chassis cars. No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi), which the win at previous race push it up to the top of ranking, and No.31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT (Koki Saga / Yuichi Nakayama), second in points, would want to get a podium finish to secure their place in the ranking. Finishing past two races with no points, No.25 VivaC 86 MC (Takashi Tsuchiya / Takamitsu Matsui) would want to pick up a big point here to keep the hope alive for the title until the final round.

 

 

Looking at the FIA GT3 cars, the upcoming race would be a critical place that you must survive to stay in the title contention for No.55 ARTA BMW M6GT (Shinichi Takagi / Takashi Kobayashi), No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka), and No.21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS (Richard Lyons / Tomonobu Fujii). It would be exciting to see these racing expert teams fighting back hard in the contention.
Another topic of upcoming Thai round is the participation of wildcards, No.28 Vattana BMW M6 GT3 fielding a BMW M6 GT3 and No.35 Arto 86 MC fielding a Toyota 86 built on the mother-chassis. We have seen wildcards running in the top group in the past backed by a huge support from home crowds at Thai races. Wildcards may be the one giving a hard time to the regular teams once again this time.

 

   

 

 

So the Round 7 marks the start of the final phase of 2016 season. We should expect to see more-intense battle as the title contention reaches the climax in both classes and the teams looking for their best result of the season. What kind of a battle awaits this year at challenging Chang International Circuit? Nonetheless, there is no doubt it will be one of the most important races this season that you must keep your eyes on.

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