2023.11.06

Following the final race of the season, track tests with the carbon-neutral fuel to be used in next season’s GT300 class cars were held at Motegi

　On November 6, the day after the final race of the 2023 season, Mobility Resort MOTEGI (Tochigi Prefecture) was the site of track testing of the Carbon Neutral Fuel (hereinafter CNF) that is intended for use by cars in the GT300 class in the 2024 season.

　In the GTA regular press conference held before the season’s final round, GTA Chairman Masaaki Bandoh gave an explanation of the “SUPER GT Green Project 2030” and the CNF to be used in accordance with it, as well as the fact that from this season cars in the GT500 class are already using the “GTA R100” synthetic fuel manufactured by the Haltermann Carless company that contains no fossil fuel whatsoever. As for the GT300 class, although tests of the same fuel were held prior to and during this year’s season with the aim of adopting it in this class as well, unfortunately it was not possible to introduce use the fuel in actual races in the GT300 class this year.
　However, as a result of those earlier tests, a new synthetic fuel called “GTA R50” containing 50% synthetic fuel was developed, and it was this fuel that was used in this day’s track tests. The test event was organized by the GT Entrants Association (GTE) made up of teams participating in SUPER GT, and it provided the GT300 class cars the opportunity to run test laps on the track following the final race of the season.

 

 

 

 

　Each of the participating cars was supplied with 300 liters of the “GTA R50” CNF, and the six cars participating included the No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT, the No. 30 apr GR86 GT, the No. 31 apr LC500h GT, the No. 52 SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT, the No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT and the No. 65 LEON PYRAMID AMG.

 

 

 

 

　In the morning session, all of the cars practiced short runs, going repeatedly out of and back into the pit to confirm the conditions of the track surface and their machines. This time, four of the teams used the same driver line-ups as they had in the final round of the series here at Motegi, but for the No. 52 SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT that won the championship title, Seita Nonaka, who had been registered as the team’s third driver for Round 7 at Autopolis, joined the driver team again.

 

 

 

 

　Also, joining the No. 31 apr LC500h GT team driver Kazuto Kotak for the CNF tests this time were the 2023 champion of the FIA-F4 series, Rikuto Kobayashi (pictured in the lower right), and Jin Nakamura (pictured at center), who had competed against Kobayashi to finish 2nd in the FIA-F4 series. Both of these drivers were experiencing driving a SUPER GT machine for the first time.
　The skies over Motegi this day were cloudy, and as with the final race the day before, the air temperature didn’t drop much during the course of the tests, making for relatively good conditions for testing. What’s more, during the tests there were no serious accidents or machine trouble during the two sessions run for two hours from 10:00 in the morning and another two from 1:00 in the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

　As for lap times, the fastest time was recorded by Shinohara in the No. 65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou/Takuro Shinohara), with a time of 1’47.410 in the morning session. The second and third fastest times went to the No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi/Hideki Yamauchi) and the No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi/Hibiki Taira) respectively.

 

 

 

 

　Listening to the comments of the drivers afterwards, the impression was that, in terms of the power of the GTA R50 fuel compared to the usual fuel that they used this season, as well as the driving feeling, they felt very little difference. This reaction appears to indicate a big step forward toward the use of the CNF in the GT300 class.

 

 

 

 

 

Yuui Tsutsumi （No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT）

“There was not much difference caused by this new fuel. We also had CNF tests after the final round of the 2022 season, and at that time it seemed that we experienced less trouble with that fuel than some of the other car makes had. But at that time there were more changes in the track conditions, and in that respect, there may be some need for concern. This time there wasn’t much difference between the lap times, and there was little difference in the impressions I got when I put my foot to the accelerator. It appears that the other car makes didn’t have much trouble either, so it seems that this is a fuel that can be used in races.”

 

 

 

 

 

Kazuto Kotaka（No. 31 apr LC500h GT）

“I didn’t have any troublesome feelings at all. In things like official tests where a lot of cars have been running on the track, there have been times when we get things like oily spots (slippery conditions), but perhaps since there were only six cars running this time, there wasn’t much difference in the running conditions. I think we were able to run with no real problems.”

 

 

 

 

 

Kota Kawaai（No. 52 SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT）

“When we tested the GTA R100 fuel before, I felt some drop in power, but I didn’t feel any particular change like that this time. We also didn’t see any change in the exhaust of the rivals with turbo-charged engines, and I feel that we were running with the same kind of image as we did yesterday (in the season’s final race). This time we also did mostly short runs, so I think things will be OK if we don’t see any problems occurring in longer runs later.”

 

 

 

 

 

Hideki Yamauchi（No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT）

“The feeling when I drove this time was that I couldn’t tell the difference (from gasoline), in a positive sense. There was a slight difference in the feeling of the power delivery, but I was able to run well anyway. I think there also wasn’t much difference in terms of the track surface conditions.”

 

 

 

 

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