2018.05.04

ARTA BMW M6 GT3 wins from pole in the GT300 class

Round 2 Fuji Speedway : Race GT300

The FUJI GT 500km RACE, Round 2 of the 2018 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place at Fuji Speedway (Shizuoka Pref.) on May 4. The GT500 class race winner running from a 3rd-position start was the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli). In the GT300 class, the No. 55 ARTA BMW M6 GT3 (Shinichi Takagi/Sean Walkinshaw) won in a strong race from pole position. With these victories, both Tsugio Matsuda and Shinichi Takagi extended their own records for most wins in the GT500 and GT300 classes respectively.

 

 

 

At the start of the GT300 class race, the pole-sitting No. 55 ARTA BMW M6 GT3 (Shinichi Takagi) led the pack through the first corner. Following to fill out the top three were the No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi) and the No. 0 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Tatsuya Kataoka) that had moved up into 3rd position. Behind them came a second group led by the No. 2 SYNTIUM Apple LOTUS (Hiroki Katoh) and followed closely by the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT (Kohei Hirate) and No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG (Naoya Gamou) and others in a tight battle for 4th. It proved to be Hirate who emerged from this group and on the 17th lap also managed to pass the No. 0 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG to move into 3rd position.

 

 

In this race all the cars had to make two pit stops, and the first in the GT300 class to make its initial routine pit stop was the No. 18 UPGARAGE 86 MC on the 24th lap while running in 15th position. Among the leaders, the No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT made its stop on the 32nd lap while running in 2nd place. It changed drivers there from Iguchi to Hideki Yamauchi for the second stint. Then the leading No. 55 ARTA BMW M6 GT3 made its stop on the 37th lap and changed drivers from Takagi to Sean Walkinshaw.
When all of the top group had finished their first routine pit stop, the No. 55 ARTA BMW M6 GT 3 (Walkinshaw) was still in the lead, with the No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Yamauchi) in 2nd position and the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT (Koki Saga) holding 3rd position. Behind them was a battle between the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG (Haruki Kurosawa) and the No. 0 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi).
In the middle stages of the race, there were no big changes in the order among the lead group, but on the 55th lap the 2nd-place No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT suddenly came to a stop. This left the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT in 2nd place. And it turned the close competition between the No. 0 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG and the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG into a battle for the final spot on the podium.

 

 

After the 60th lap of the race, the cars began to make their second pit stops. Among the leaders, the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG and the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R were the first to make their stops, followed by the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT on the 71st lap and the No. 55 ARTA BMW M6 GT371 on lap 72.
When the pit work was over and each machine returned to the race, the No. 55 ARTA BMW M6 GT3 was still in the lead, while having changed drivers from Walkinshaw to Takagi for the final stint. Behind it in 2nd position came the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT, now in the hands of Hirate. Meanwhile, in the No. 0 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG Nobuteru Taniguchi that had delayed making the second pit stop until the 87th lap under a strategy by which the team would change only its two right-hand side tires.
When that change was complete and No. 0 returned to the track, it was now in 3rd place in front of Katsuyuki Hiranaka in the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R that had been holding a strong pace through the middle stages of the race. Pushing at a good pace, Hiranaka managed to pass the No. 0 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG at the Toyopet 100R turn on its first lap out of the pit. This put the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R in 3rd place.

The rescheduling of the official practice session the day before due to fog in the morning had meant that none of the teams were able to run a long-distance test of their tire performance before the 110-lap race, but when it came down to end of the race, the pole-starting No. 55 ARTA BMW M6 GT3 (Shinichi Takagi/Sean Walkinshaw) had effectively outrun the competition without ever surrendering its lead. This proved to be its second consecutive win from pole position at Fuji Speedway, following another in fifth round of the 2017 season. And this win today gave Shinichi Takagi a new record of 19 career wins in the GT300 class.
Finishing 2nd was the No. 31 TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT (Koki Saga/Kohei Hirate) and 3rd place went to the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Katsuyuki Hiranaka/ Hironobu Yasuda ).

 

 

 

Page Top