2019.05.26

GT300: K-tunes RC F GT3 second victory this season in come from behind win! Nitta sets new record with 22 GT300 wins

Round 3 Suzuka Circuit : Race GT300

The SUZUKA GT 300km RACE, Round 3 of the 2019 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, was held at the Suzuka Circuit (one lap 5.807m × 52 laps) in Mie Prefecture on May 26. In the GT500 class, No. 36 au TOM’S LC500 (Kazuki Nakajima/Yuhi Sekiguchi) held the top spot from the pole position to take its first win of the season. In the GT300 class, the No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta/Sena Sakakuchi) continued its winning streak at Suzuka from last year, giving it its second win of the season.

 

 

 

 

 

From the opening lap, No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC (Kimiya Sato) in the pole position started with a spurt. Then came No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta) followed by No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Hideki Yamauchi) who moved up to third place at the hairpin corner on the 1st lap. In the intense heat, track surface temperatures were high, there was no furious battling in the early stages; the race seemed to develop in order to conserve the tires.

 

In the top spot, the No. 25 car had built up a two-second lead by the 3rd lap, but a GT500 class machine was coming up close behind, giving the No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 running in second place and the No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT the chance to narrow that lead. There were gaps in the cars behind them, No. 10 GAINER TANAX triple a GT-R (Kazuki Hoshino), No. 360 RUNUP RIVAUX GT-R (Takayuki Aoki), and No. 5 ADVICS MACHSYAKENMC86 MACH GO (Yuya Hiraki), which had fallen from its third-place starting position.

 

On the 17th lap of the race, there was a single car crash of a GT500 class machine at the 130R curve, bringing the Safety Car out. The top runners were once again close together. As the Safety Car left the track and the race was nearing the halfway point on the 23rd lap, many of the teams headed for the pits to change drivers, refuel and change tires.

 

 

 

Nine of the GT300 class machines took this opportunity to go into the pits, as did the No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC. Takamitsu Matsui took over from Kimiya Sato, but the team sought to take advantage of the no-tire-change strategy it is so good at that let them build up a substantial margin. Then two laps later, second-place No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 made its pit stop, changing all four tires. On the following lap, third-place No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT went into the pit, changing its two rear tires.

 

In front of No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Sena Sakaguchi) as he returned to the course were the No. 25 car and No. 5 ADVICS MACHSYAKENMC86 MACH GO (Natsu Sakaguchi), which had also opted for the no-tire-change strategy, but Sakaguchi overtook him on the 31st lap at the Hitachi Automotive Systems Chicane. This brought him back to second place, and putting the fresh set of tires to good use gradually closed in on the leader No. 25.

 

 

Since the tires on No. 25 had not been changed they were losing their grip, but with the fresh set of four tires the No. 96 car was clearly closing the gap as the race moved into the final stages. On the 42nd lap as they entered the Degner Curve, the No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 with Sakaguchi at the wheel grabbed the top spot. The gap began to widen immediately and No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta/Sena Sakaguchi) took the checkered flag in the top spot. The team also took the win in Round 3 last year, making for consecutive wins at Suzuka. That makes this their second victory this season following the win in the season opener at Okayama, moving Nitta and Sekiguchi up to the top spot in driver rankings. On top of that, Nitta set a new record for GT300 wins with this 22nd victory.

 

A furious battle for second place among three cars, No. 25 and No. 5, as well as No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi), came down to the final lap. No. 25 was desperate to hold onto its second place, but overran its last attempt at the Hitachi Auto Systems Chicane, being passed by No. 5 and No. 61 who finished the race in that order. No. 5 ADVICS MACHSYAKENMC86 MACH GO (Natsu Sakaguchi/Yuya Hiraki) took second place, much pleased with their first podium finish. No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT finished third.
No. 4 AMGGOODSMILE HATSNEMIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Tatsuya Kataoka) moved up throughout the race to finish fourth. No. 25 HOPPY 86 MC took the checkered flag in fifth position.

 

 

 

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