2018.04.08

GT300 class victory goes to UPGARAGE 86 MC for the first time

Round 1 Okayama International Circuit : Race GT300

The OKAYAMA GT 300 Km RACE, opening round of the 2018 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place at the Okayama International Circuit (one lap 3,703 m x 82 laps) on April 8. In the GT500 race, No. 17 KEIHIN NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Takashi Kogure) won the race from a pole position start. Finishing 2nd was the No. 100 RAYBRIG NSX-GT (Naoki Yamamoto/Jenson Button) to give the Honda NSX-GT a one-two finish. In the GT300 class, the No. 18 UPGARAGE 86 MC (Yuhki Nakayama/Takashi Kobayashi) rose from a 9th-position grid start to bring the team their first win.

 

 

   

 

In the start of the GT300 class race, the No. 88 MANEPA LAMBORGHINI GT3 (Kazuki Hiramine) held the lead for its pole-position start, followed by the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda) and the No. 21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS (Richard Lyons). But tightly-fought battles ensued as the 4th-position No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC (Sho Tsuboi) and the No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (NakayamaYuichi) joined the fray of frequent passes and re-passing.
As the leading Hiramine gradually began to fall off the pace, Yasuda managed to pass Hiramine on the hairpin of lap nine and Sho Tsuboi in the No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC also managed to get by him on the tenth lap. Charging up from behind, the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT (Koki Saga) also overtook Hiramine on the 12th lap to move into 4th position.

 

 

By the 15th lap of the race, the battle for the lead was a 4-wat fight between the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R, the No. 21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS, No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC and the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT.
Things changed when Lyons in No. 21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS made a swift in-side move on the last corner of the lap 17 to move into the lead. Then on lap 21, the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R was passed from behind by the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT. With this, it became a two-car battle for the lead between the No. 21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS and the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT. The two cars raced on nose-to-tail in a tight contest until the 29th lap when there was a light bump-up between the three lead machines as the No. 21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS and the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT got caught behind the No. 30 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT as it slowed to enter the pit lane. Seemingly as a result of this, the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr G began to slow with drivetrain trouble on the 31st lap. It was about this time that many of the cars began make their tire changes.
After making its pit stop on the 37th lap, the No. 21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS (Ryuichiro Tomita) returned to the race only to suffer ABS trouble that forced it to pull off the track at the Atwood Curve on its first lap out of the pit. Then on the 43rd lap, it slowed down again with driveshaft trouble and came to a stop at the exit to the pit road.

 

 

When all the teams had finished their routine pit stops, the lead cars were the ones that had opted for a no-tire-change strategy to cut pit time. Both the No. 18 UPGARAGE 86 MC (Yuhki Nakayama.>Takashi Kobayashi) had been in 9th place when making its pit stop on lap 28 and the No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC (Takamitsu Matsui) that made its pit stop on lap 30 chose to make no tire change. Also, the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG (Haruki Kurosawa > Naoya Gamou) and the No. 7 D'station Porsche (Sven Muller) chose to change only their two rear tires. When all the pit stops were complete, it was the No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC that led the race. Right behind it came the No. 18 UPGARAGE 86 MC, and about 10 sec. behind them in 3rd position came the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG and the No. 7 D'station Porsche.
The battle for the lead was a close nose-to-tail contest until the 57th lap, when Kobayashi in the No. 18 UPGARAGE 86 MC overtook Matsui as he struggled to keep pace. Meanwhile, the No. 7 D'station Porsche running in 4th position was putting pressure on the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG until it managed to pass it on the 70th lap. Then, on the 72nd lap, the Porsche passed the No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC that was now paying the price of its no-tire-change choice. With this the Porsche had passed its 18th car of the race.
Meanwhile, the No. 18 UPGARAGE 86 MC in the lead managed to cross the finish line first thanks to Kobayashi’s brilliant defense. This turned the team’s first SUPER GT podium into a victory as well. The No. 7 D'station Porsche finished 2nd and the No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC took 3rd to fill out the podium. In 4th place came the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG and in 5th the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R.

 

 

 

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