2024.09.13

【Round 6 Preview】 Eyes must be kept on until the goal! SUGO could decide title destiny.

With the previous Round 5 Suzuka being rescheduled to December due to Typhoon No.10 that hit the Japanese archipelago, all the heat and intense battle of mid-season will be compacted in the upcoming SUGO GT 300km RACE, Round 6 of the AUTOBACS SUPER GT series. The stage will be set at Sportsland SUGO in Miyagi Prefecture on September 21st (Sat) and 22nd (Sun). While the success weight (SW) accumulates on many of the top ranked teams, there could also be many teams that are keen to capture podium this time for sure. SUGO has entertained many by showcasing unpredictable races in the past, and that can keep the teams with a heavy SW encouraged to stay focused for scoring a big point. Last year was no different and there was unusual ending where the order on the field changed just before the finish, so, for this year's SUGO too, the eyes must better be kept on until the end. In addition, it's become a theory that the point allocation from the Round 6 can create a huge impact to the championship. You must also watch closely the fierce battle that occurs among the teams sitting outside of the podium range fighting to be in a better position than others to gain even one point more.

※Above photo is from 2023 Round 6 SUGO.

 

■Sportsland SUGO information
◎Track details
Length: 3,586m
Width: 10 to 12.5m
Elevation difference:69m

◎Track records
GT500
1'09.413 Toshiki Oyu / No. 8 ARTA MUGEN NSX-GT 2023 Round 6 Qualifying - Q2 (September 16)

GT300
1'16.834 Hideki Yamauchi / SUBARU BRX R&D SPORT 2019 Round 7 Qualifying - Q2 (September 21)

 

 

　Initially, the qualifying format was planned to be revised from the Round 5 Suzuka. With the rescheduling of Round 5, upcoming Round 6 SUGO became the first race post revision.
　Let's go over the detail of the revised qualifying format. There was already a significant change in the qualifying format this season, leaving the knock-out format for a total time of Q1 and Q2. The revision was made in pursuit of addressing the unfairness, which was brought to GTA as feedback on the first half of the season, and making it easier to understand. Please see the pages in below links for details (*1).
　First of all, there are no changes in the fact the qualifying result is determined based on the combined time of Q1 and Q2 and in Q1 and Q2 of the GT500 class. Q1 of the GT300 class has been changed to eliminate grouping and all cars will run for 20 minutes. For Q2, the division into 2 groups based on the Q1 result remains unchanged, but Group 1 will be consisted of 1st to 14th place (Upper 14) and Group 2 will be cars at 15th and below places (Lower 15). Special place switching rule has been terminated.
　Number of tire sets that can be used in the qualifying is increased to 2 sets (8 tires). This will allow the cars to run Q1 and Q2 with new tires which can encourage more attack laps in the final period of both Q1 and Q2. On the other hand, the tires used in the qualifying still need to be worn at the start of the race, and, thus, the teams can take a strategy to intentionally use the tires used in Q1 in Q2 again. Analyzing and making predictions on the tire strategy each team could be taking for the qualifying with the actual race in mind can add another dimension and enjoyment to the fans as they watch the race on Sunday.
　*1: For the revision of qualifying format, please refer "From Round 5 the Qualifying Format is Revised and "Explanations presented for new Regulation Revisions such as the Qualifying Format from Round 5 Suzuka".
　*2: For GT300 class only, the qualifying result will be determined based on the lap times from Q2 if rained or the track conditions detoriates (when declared WET). [same as existing rule]

 

 

　In the success weight (SW) rule of GT500 class, the weight would be loaded on a car up to 100kg, but, as a safety measures, the actual ballast mounted on a car is limited to 50kg. Anything beyond in terms of success weight is covered by limiting the engine power by narrowing the fuel flow restrictor in 3 levels to make it equivalent to the ballast that was supposed to be mounted on the vehicle. Point leader No.36 au TOM’S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita), for example, has SW 82kg but the actual weight loaded on the car is 48kg and the rest is covered by narrowing the fuel flow restrictor by 2 levels. SUGO is said to be a circuit where the impact from SW does not affect the car much, but the reduced engine power by the fuel flow restrictor must be hard for the cars since the circuit has many up and down. In the TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 squad, No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima / Nirei Fukuzumi) and No.37 Deloitte TOM'S GR Supra (Ukyo Sasahara / Giuliano Alesi) are also having their fuel flow restrictor narrowed by 1 level beside No.36 car, and it would be a difficult battle to fight for them. They would want to wait for a drastic change of weather or safety car deployment during the race to convert it to their chance to emerge to the top group.
　In terms of winning the race, No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi / Yuichi Nakayama) and No.38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra (Hiroaki Ishiura / Toshiki Oyu) with relatively lesser impact from SW and fuel flow restrictor should have a pretty good chance. In fact, the possibility is quite high considering Oyu of No.38 clinched his first GT500 win (in No.8 NSX-GT then) and No.39 car finished on podium at last year's SUGO. With a light SW of 6kg, No.19 WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra (Yuji Kunimoto / Sena Sakaguchi) could have the first podium-finish of the season in scope if the team can capture a high position in the qualifying.

 

   

 

 

　In the Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT fleet, No.100 STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) at second place in the point standing has SW74kg and fuel flow restrictor at level 2 (40kg mounted on the car). They also have to play patient in the race like No.36 GR Supra to try to earn as many points as possible.
　Contrastingly, No.16 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #16 (Hiroki Otsu / Ren Sato) and No.17 Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Kakunoshin Ohta) must be aiming to capture their first win of the season since both teams don't have any restrictions on their fuel flow restrictor. After seeing No.8 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #8 (Tomoki Nojiri / Nobuharu Matsushita) bringing in the first victory of CIVIC TYPE R-GT at the Round 4 Fuji, No.16 car must be fired up to clinch back-to-back win as a sister ARTA team of No.8 car. No.64 Modulo CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Takuya Izawa / Riki Okusa) that fought strongly at previous Suzuka, third in the qualifying and sixth in the race, would want to take advantage of the light SW to be in the competition for the top position and stand on the podium that has been away since the Round 4 of last year.

 

   

 

 

　Nissan Z NISMO GT500 squad has many stories to tell when it comes to SUGO, and the one-two finish by No.3 CRAFTSPORTS MOTUL Z (former team name) and No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z at the Round 6 of 2022-season is still fresh in our minds. Nissan squad emits an image of being especially successful at SUGO in recent years where No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (former team name) won in 2021 after another win in 2019.
　For this year's Round 6, third-ranked No.3 Niterra MOTUL Z (Mitsunori Takaboshi / Atsushi Miyake) may need to take an approach for scoring as many points as possible since the team has SW at 60kg and the fuel flow restrictor at level 1. On the other hand, No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Ronnie Quintarelli) and No.12 MARELLI IMPUL Z (Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette) must be focused to capture the win. Both teams are yet to be imposed of the fuel flow restrictor restriction and must score a big point here because otherwise the championship could become difficult to tackle. Chiyo and Hiramine from No.23 and No.12, respectively, both boasting an experience of winning the race at SUGO, could become valuable resource to the teams. No.24 Realize Corporation ADVAN Z (Tsugio Matsuda / Teppei Natori) with SW at just 4kg could have a first podium-finish with the new driver combination of this season if they can break into the top group in the qualifying.

 

   

 

 

　We have to follow the GT300 class closely from the qualifying. At last year's Round 6 SUGO, it was initially presumed that Hideki Yamauchi (No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT / Takuto Iguchi), who had accomplished the all-time most number of pole positions (14 times) at previous event, would extend the record at SUGO where he had captured pole positions 4 times consecutively up to that point, but former record holder Shinichi Takagi (No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 / Morio Nitta) snatched the pole position to tie the most number of pole positions record. Since then, both drivers have not been able to update the record, but it is collecting attention since either one could clinch the pole to become the sole holder of the record.

 

   

 

　No.52 Saitama Toyopet GB GR Supra GT (car name of last year) is the winner of last year's Round 6 SUGO, but, actually, the privilege of crossing the finish line first was taken away by No.18 UPGARAGE NSX-GT3 (Takashi Kobayashi / Syun Koide) because No.52 lost speed due to out of gas just before the goal. However, No.52 car was officially named as the winner in the final classification after the race since a breach was found in No.18 car during the post-race scrutineering check. Clash between No.52 Green Brave GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshida / Seita Nonaka) and No.18 car is what we can expect to see on the track of SUGO again this season as both would be wanting to have a clear and obvious ending of the race especially with the bitter history lying in between them. No.52 car is loading the maximum mountable success weight (SW) of 50kg, but the team has an experience of winning a race with 90kg last year. No.18 car is only carrying 8kg at upcoming event, whereas it was SW100kg last year, so both teams must be hoping to score their first win of the season.
　Current point leader No.2 muta Racing GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi / Hibiki Taira) has marked a win at SUGO in 2022 and, thus, they are a sure candidate for the win. Although their SW is at the limit of 50kg, they could still have a chance considering how they showed a strong performance last year with a heavy load and the impact from carrying the SW at the limit of 50kg, which was reduced from this year, is not so large at SUGO. No.61 is another team that should be aiming to score their first win of the season at SUGO, where they have captured pole positions consecutively and a win in 2018 and 2021.
　First win is also expected at last year's runner-up and third place finisher, No.20 SHADE RACING GR86 GT (Katsuyuki Hiranaka / Eijiro Shimizu) and No.6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (Yoshiaki Katayama / Roberto Merhi Muntan), respectively. All of No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka), No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Shinichi Takagi), and No.56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Daiki Sasaki / Joao Paulo de Oliveira) have been on the podium at SUGO in recent years, and they continue to be the contenders for a podium-finish. GAINER as a team has been strong at SUGO, and it would be interesting to see how the team can continue their success with the new model car they deployed this season as No.11 GAINER TANAX Z (Ryuichiro Tomita / Keishi Ishikawa).

 

   

 

 

 

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