2024.06.02

Rd. 3 Race GT300: Keeping rivals following an array of strategies at bay! D'station Vantage GT3 wins from pole position

Round 3 of the 2024 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, the “SUZUKA GT 3Hours RACE” took place at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture (one lap 5,807m × 3 hrs.) on June 2nd (Sun.). In the GT500 class, the No. 37 Deloitte TOM'S GR Supra (Ukyo Sasahara/Giuliano Alesi) that started from pole position would give up the lead to rivals at one point but eventually regain the lead to take a gratifying first win. In the GT300 class, the No. 777 D'station Vantage GT3 (Tomonobu Fujii/Charles Fagg) took an impressive win from pole position.

 

 

 

 

 

　On race day for Round 3, it was mostly cloudy in the morning over Suzuka Circuit and the weather report predicted the possibility of rain. And although there was some sprinkling of rain during the race, it was never enough to make the track wet. At 1:30 there was a Traffic Safety Promotion parade lap led by six motorcycles and four patrol cars of the Mie Prefectural Police. Then, after one Formation Lap, the field jumped into action at the start of the 3-hour race.

　The race saw Fujii in the No. 777 D'station Vantage GT3 (Tomonobu Fujii/Charles Fagg) start from pole position and begin to build a lead over the pack, which was led by the No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi/Hideki Yamauchi) and the No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi/Hibiki Taira), followed also by the No. 6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (Yoshiaki Katayama/Roberto Merhi Muntan) in 4th position further back.

　As No. 777 pulled away in the lead, a hot battle for 2nd position developed between the pursuing cars No. 61 and No. 2. Still, at the Hitachi Astemo Chicane on the 15th lap, car No. 2 emerged in 2nd position. Behind that, the No. 31 apr LC500h GT (Kazuto Kotaka/Jin Nakamura /Yuki Nemoto) overtook the No. 20 SHADE RACING GR86 GT (Katsuyuki Hiranaka/Eijiro Shimizu) running in 5th position. What’s more, No. 31 went on to pass No. 6 and move into 4th position.

　As the race approached the one-hour point after the start, a drizzle of rain appeared, but never grew any stronger before it stopped completely. After that, the track remained dry for the rest of the race. However, that initial sprinkle of rain may have been what caused some of the GT300 teams to begin making their first pit stops early. Among the leaders, car No. 61 running in third position made its pit stop on the 28th lap. On the next lap, the leading car No. 777 also headed for the pit, where it changed drivers from Fujii to Charles Fagg. Then it was car No. 2 running in 2nd position that returned to the pit at the end of the 32nd lap. It changed drivers and tires as well. In contrast, the No. 52 Green Brave GR Supra (Hiroki Yoshida/Seita Nonaka) opted not to change drivers while also applying its usual no-tire-change strategy. Also, No. 31 chose not to change drivers while also adopting for no-tire-change.

 

 

 

 

 

　After all of the cars had finished their first pit stop, car No. 31 had emerged in the lead. Conducting the full range of pit work, car No. 777 was now in 2nd position, and No. 52 had also emerged in 3rd position. But now running on fresh tires, cars No. 777 and car No. 61, which was now in 4th position, both made the most of that advantage and managed to overtake the two cars that had taken the no-tire-change strategy. However, car No. 61 that now stood in 3rd position and was looking to move further ahead, suddenly began to slow down coming out of the hair-pin turn of the 47th lap. The car was brought to a stop off the track and its race ended there.

　After regaining the lead, Fagg in car No. 777 made the team’s second pit stop at the end of the 61st lap. There, Fujii was given the job of finishing out the race. And with a dominant pace, he kept the lead to bring car No. 777 to the end of the 3-hour race with a total of 85 laps completed. With this, victory in Round 3 of the series at SUZUKA went to the No. 777 D'station Vantage GT3 (Tomonobu Fujii/Charles Fagg). For the D'station Racing team and for Fagg, this was their first SUPER GT win, and for an Aston Martin car it was the first GT300 win since Rd. 7 at AUTOPOLIS in the 2013 season. For Fujii, it was his ninth win, and his first since Round 3 of the 2016 season.

　Meanwhile, the competition for 2nd position brought together a mix of different team strategies in the final stages of the race. Car No. 2, which had changed its tire during its first pit stop, help off on making its second pit stop until the 69th lap. There, it only refueled and made no driver or tire changes to save time, which succeeded in bringing it up to 2nd position. Behind it, car No. 6 had passed No. 31, which left No. 6 running on fresh tires in pursuit of car No. 2, which had not changed its tires. But the gap between the two was just under 20 sec., and although the gap was closing, it was not fast enough for an overtake. This gave the No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi/Hibiki Taira) the second spot on the podium. And coming in 3rd for its first podium finish of the season was the No. 6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (Yoshiaki Katayama/Roberto Merhi Muntan).

　With these results, the No. 2 pair of Tsutsumi/Taira held their lead in the Drivers standing by a big margin of 43 points. They were followed by the No. 88 JLOC Lamborghini GT3 pair of Takashi Kogure/Yuya Motojima that finished out of the point range this time, while others like while last year’s champions, the No. 2 pair of Yoshida/Nonaka, and the No. 777 pair of Fujii/Fagg, were able to close the gap in the standing.

 

 

 

 

 

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