2019.09.13

[Round 7 Preview] Fiercest battle unavoidable! Title contention at climax

Round 7 Sportsland Sugo : Preview

While the thrill and excitement of Round 6 Autopolis still remains fresh in the memory, the Round 7 of AUTOBACS SUPER GT, "SUGO GT 300km RACE", is already nearby taking place at Sportsland SUGO on September 21st (Sat / Qualifying) and 22nd (Sunday / Race). SUGO race has been providing numerous scenes of fierce battle along its history, but this year the intensity will probably get even higher than any other years since the coefficient of the handicap weight will be a half of previous round due to the event being scheduled as the seventh round of the season. Intensity is also building up in the title contention, and we may see a new champion rising at upcoming race. Dramatic race with increased tension has always been an allure to the fans of motorsports and next race is certainly no different.

 

 

There are only two races remaining in this season including upcoming Round 7 SUGO which means the championship is entering one of the most exciting and critical point of the season. Current leader of the point ranking is No.6 WAKO'S 4CR LC500 (Kazuya Oshima / Kenta Yamashita) who won Round 4 Thai and Round 5 Fuji back to back. Right behind No.6 car is another two LC500s, No.37 KeePer TOM'S LC500 (Ryo Hirakawa / Nick Cassidy) and previous Autopolis winner No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD LC500 (Heikki Kovalainen / Yuichi Nakayama), second and third in the point ranking, respectively. Both No.37 and No.39 cars are a former champion, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and it will not be surprising to see both experienced teams drawing up a strategy for last two races of the season already. However, given the point gap against No.6 car, they must finish in front of their rivals at SUGO to reduce the gap. From No.6 car's point view, however, the team just want to avoid finishing the race with no points and move on to the final round with as much advantage as possible over other teams behind them. Thus, they may just concentrate on finishing the race safely at Round 7 SUGO. Furthermore, if the teams in the top group of the point ranking end up with no points and No.6 car finishes on podium, then the title winner will be decided at SUGO. Considering how the point leading team has been constant in last three races, the chances are quite high.

For No.38 ZENT CERUMO LC500 (Yuji Tachikawa / Hiroaki Ishiura) at fourth in the point ranking, they would at least need a podium finish plus No.6 car finishing at seventh or below position for capturing the title since the point deficit is large. In other words, the team must come in with strong determination to take pole and then keep the leading position from the start to the finish line.

 

 

No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli) is sharing a place with No.38 car at fifth overall with same amount of points. The situation is similar to No.38 car, however, the Nissan team would want to score a win since they have not won a race yet this season. No.8 ARTA NSX GT3 (Tomoki Nojiri / Takuya Izawa) and No.1 RAYBRIG NSX-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Jenson Button) trailing behind No.38 car need nothing but a win to even talk about championship. They may see a chance for the title at the final round if they win and depending on how the top group would do at SUGO.

 

 

No.36 au TOM'S LC500 (Kazuki Nakajima / Yuhi Sekiguchi) and No.17 KEIHIN NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Bertrand Baguette) would need to win not only SUGO but both of last two races and wait for a miracle to happen. No.19 WedsSport ADVAN LC500 (Yuji Kunimoto / Sho Tsuboi) and No.24 Realize Corporation ADVAN GT-R (Mitsunori Takaboshi / Jann Mardenborough) could be just focusing on winning the race and not even bother about the title.
SUGO is known for fierce battle on the track and, with less effect from the handicap weight this year, it can get even fiercer than ever with teams trying to survive to stay in the title contention.

 

 

 

The championship of GT300 class is even closer competition than GT500 class and just unpredictable. There are 15 teams packed shoulder to shoulder in the 25 point range from the point leader, a range where a team can still win the title with a decent possibility depending on the outcome of remaining two races. Therefore, even the point leader No.55 ARTA NSX GT3 (Shinichi Takagi / Nirei Fukuzumi) is not in a situation to ease their pace. Further, No.55 car would want to score a win at SUGO considering they are still winless. The situation is same for No.88 MANEPA LAMBORGHINI GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Yuya Motojima) at second in the point ranking. Following behind No.55 and No.88 cars in the ranking, No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Sena Sakaguchi) has two wins this season, thus, the team would want to finish the race in front of the two cars and move on to the final round as the point leader.
No.56 Realize Nissan Automobile Technical College GT-R (Kazuki Hiramine / Sacha Fenestraz) would also want to capture its first win here to give the team momentum for the final round. No.87 T-DASH Lamborghini GT3 (Tsubasa Takahashi / Andre Couto) at fifth in points and other teams below it needs a win or a podium finish at least.

 

   

 

JAF-GT300 cars (including mother-chassis cars) have a little bit of advantage at SUGO in terms of suitability to the circuit layout. No.52 SAITAMA TOYOPET GB MARK X MC (Shigekazu Wakisaka / Hiroki Yoshida), No.25 HOPPY 86 MC (Takamitsu Matsui / Kimiya Sato), and No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi), who completed a pole-to-win at SUGO last year, could be coming in with a must-win determination to not only here but also the final round. However, despite the theory, FIA GT3 cars have won three races in last eight years at SUGO, hence, it's not actually a one-sided game either. No.11 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Katsuyuki Hiranaka / Hironobu Yasuda), No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka), and No.10 GAINER TANAX triple a GT-R (Kazuki Hoshino / Keishi Ishikawa) would want to score a win before taking on the final round.
Round 7 SUGO will adopt a similar qualifying format as the season opening round at Okayama. Q1 of the GT300 class qualifying will be divided into two groups, A and B, in order to avoid traffic building up on the track. First place (No.55) and other cars at an odd number position, a total of 14 cars, in the point ranking will be in Group A and the second place (No.88) and other cars at an even number position, a total of 14 cars, will be in Group B. Cars in top eight fastest lap times from each group, a total of 16 cars, will advance to Q2.

 

   

 

 

Upcoming Round 7 SUGO is definitely a race any teams, regardless of GT500 or GT300, would want to win, and we can for sure expect to see cars showcasing fierce battle on the track at one of the most critical races of the year.

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