Since AUTOBACS SUPER GT is competed in a total of 8 races again this season, the Round 5 is the point of return of the season. As the event title tells, the Round 5 SUZUKA GT 300km RACE will be held at Suzuka Circuit on August 23rd (Sat) and 24th (Sun). There was no success weight (SW) mounted on the car at the previous Fuji round because the event adopted a race format consisting of 2 sprint races, but the upcoming Round 5 Suzuka will require to load SW on the car that will be driven by 2 drivers as usual races since it will be a standard 300km race. The teams with a large SW will have to cope with the weight whereas the teams with lighter SW could have a chance to charge back. For the teams that have not produced preferable outcomes, especially, the title contention would fade away from their reach if they cannot climb onto the podium here. Round 5 Suzuka could become a clash between the underdogs looking to rise and the burdened top rankers.
※Above photo is from 2024 Round 5 Suzuka Grand Final.
■Suzuka Circuit information ◎Track details Length: 5,807m Width: 10 to16m Elevation difference:52m
◎Track records GT500 1’43.143 Nirei Fukuzumi / No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra 2024 Round 5 Qualifying – Q2 (December 7)
GT300 1’55.092 Joao Paulo Lima de Oliveira No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R 2024 Round 5 Qualifying – Q2 (December 7)
■Struggling battle for Top 3!? Expectations are on previous race winner No.14 as well as No.39 and 19 cars.
5 races in 4 events have taken place this season, and the TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 squad claimed victory at all races. Among them, a prominent achievement is seen from No.1 au TOM’S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita) ranked top in the point standing after scoring points at every race including 2 wins and 2 second-place finishes. If the team finishes Round 5 Suzuka in an upper position, it can draw unprecedented 3 consecutive titles closer to them. Contrarily, the No.1 car has unignorable concern and that is their success weight (SW) of 100kg. The actual weight mounted on the car will be 50kg, however, they will have the fuel flow restrictor that limits the amount of fuel supplied to the engine narrowed, so they might have hard time getting a boost of power, especially in qualifying. The situations are same for the rival teams, No.37 Deloitte TOM’S GR Supra (Ukyo Sasahara / Giuliano Alesi) and No.38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra (Hiroaki Ishiura / Toshiki Oyu), so the top 3 teams in the point standing would need to focus on adjusting the car setup as well as drivers’ plan to accommodate the heavy SW in order to finish the race in an upper position. No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima / Nirei Fukuzumi) and No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi / Sacha Fenestraz), on the other hand, would want a win at Suzuka. They don’t have a light SW (67kg for No.14 and 48kg for No.39), but Fuzukumi in No.14 car just captured his first win at Race 2 of previous round and Suzuka is almost like his home where he learned racing. Both Fukuzumi and the team must be aiming for the win instead of playing safe. No.39 car has not scored a win yet in this season, but they should have a pretty good chance considering SARD has been on the podium at Suzuka in 2022 and 2023 and Sekiguchi and Fenestraz also have climbed the Suzuka podium before. Along with No.19 WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra (Yuji Kunimoto / Sena Sakaguchi) with a light SW due to also being winless, ‘Number one’ could be their only objective.
■Expect dominating run at home Suzuka, sweeping away disappointment from previous round. Big chance arrives to No.16 and 64 cars carrying light SW.
Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT fleet appeared to have gained momentum from climbing on the podium in back-to-back races, the second-place finish by No.100 STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) at Round 2 Fuji and the third position at Round 3 Malaysia by No.8 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #8 (Tomoki Nojiri / Nobuharu Matsushita). However, they suddenly stalled at Fuji, where cars that are fast on straightaway are usually successful, failing to be in even top 6 in both races of Round 4. The fleet as a whole must be more determined than any other races to win at upcoming Round 5 held on the home track of Honda, Suzuka Circuit. No.16 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #16 (Hiroki Otsu / Ren Sato) must be starved for a win given the team is still with no points this season, although some were from just unlucky issue. Suzuka track has been a favorable place for No.16 car that won Round 3 of 2023-season and captured a third place on the podium at last year’s Round 3 with the same driver combination as this season. With 0kg SW, expectations rise for dominating run that would clear out the depressing atmosphere that hangs over them as well as the fans. Fans would also want to see reproduction of Suzuka win from 2017 by No.64 Modulo CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Takuya Izawa / Riki Okusa) with a light SW of 9kg.
■Suzuka is the place for Z’s, especially No.12 IMPUL! No.3 car very possible for top contention.
Nissan fans must have good memories with Suzuka. Suzuka is where the Nissan squad achieved 5 wins in a row over the races hosted at the circuit, and both No.12 and 23 cars showcased a huge come-from-behind drama after starting from the end of the GT500 class grid for their eventual victory. They may not have that much advantage now, but the match-up between the characteristics of Z NISMO GT500 and Suzuka is not so bad still. No.12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette) has the best record among the squad at the circuit with 3 podium finishes in 5 races, including the come-from-behind win at 2022 Round 5, and that should be lifting their confidence level. They may see a road to champion like in 2022 appearing in their sight if they can win the upcoming Round 5 Suzuka. Another car to name from the Z squad would be No.3 Niterra MOTUL Z (Daiki Sasaki / Atsushi Miyake). No.3 car has won in Suzuka, the Round 3 of 2022-season, but the car was driven by Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi who are currently with No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z. Then, No.23 car should be listed as a candidate for the win too, but the car came in behind No.12 car at the previous race in Fuji, therefore, it appears to be more possible to see No.3 car with mere SW taking a good position in the qualifying by utilizing Sasaki’s speed and engage in the top contention in the race. And, at the end, Miyake, who is from Mie Prefecture and Suzuka Racing School, will outrun the rivals till the finish line… This would be a winning scenario which Nissan fans would be satisfied with.
■Would it be patience race for GT300 upper rankers too? Let’s wait for strike-back from No.0 and 61 cars!
The winner of opening round in Okayama, No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Togo Suganami), is maintaining the top position in the driver ranking up to Round 4 also in the GT300 class. Top 4 teams in the standing, including No.777 D’station Vantage GT3 (Tomonobu Fujii / Charlie Fagg) at second place in points, are having success weight around 100kg. For a safety reason, the actual ballast mounted on the car for imposed SW is limited to 50kg also in the GT300 class from this season and a restrictor is required to be fitted in the pipe used for refueling during the race, intended to extend the duration of refueling, for SW beyond the limit. It would be interesting to see how No.65 car and others in the upper group will manage SW and find their way to the upper pack of race classification.
Who, then, will be in the fight for victory at Round 5 Suzuka? Firstly, the eyes should be focused on No.0 VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Yuya Motojima) that completed a pole-to-win at last year’s final round in Suzuka (Round 5 Grand Final). There was obvious expectation for a consecutive title, however, the team has not even been on the podium yet in 4 rounds up to this point, some owing to unfortunate circumstances. They would need the win or at least podium-finish here otherwise they would be left out of the title contention. Round 5 could be crucial to No.0 car. No.87 METALIVE S Lamborghini GT3 (Kosuke Matsuura / Natsu Sakaguchi) that fields same Huracan GT3 EVO2 as No.0 car is another car that requires attention at Suzuka. Matsuura has experience of winning a race there in his GT500 era and been on the second highest position of podium at 2023 Round 5 with the same team as now.
No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) with a brand-new model from this season also bears expectations. The team also has not been able to score a large point partly due to an issue in the car, but the new BRZ certainly has impressive speed, therefore, if they could capture front row in the qualifying at Suzuka, then they could possibly run away and cross the finish line first in the 300km race. They were struck with an issue in the car again at the previous race, but if the team and SUBARU can come in with a firm remediation, then they may become the main role of not only Suzuka but also the entire second half of the season. Dark horse of the Suzuka race would be No.5 MACHSYAKEN AIR BUSTER MC86 MACH GO (Yusuke Shiotsu / Iori Kimura). The team has become stronger after addition of 2023 Super Formula Lights champion this season. Kimura came very close to the podium, fourth place, in Race 2 of the previous Fuji round. It has become uneasy to take no-tire-change strategy this season because the size of the tire changed by the revision of GT300 technical regulations, but if they could successfully execute the strategy at upcoming Suzuka 300km, then the first podium for the team since 2022 Round 3 Suzuka, or even the first win for the team if No.5 car can retain the speed in the last phase of the race, could happen.
