2020.10.30

【Round 7 Preview】Get ready for fiercest fight at Round 7 Motegi! Title contention at its peak.

Competed over 8 rounds, the 2020 AUTOBACS SUPER GT is only left with 2 more races to go. Teams get keener to finish in front of their rivals as the survival begins to stay in the title contention. Considered as the most difficult race of the season for being the second to the last round, the Round 7 FUJIMAKI GROUP MOTEGI GT 300km RACE is taking place on November 7th (Saturday, Qualifying) and 8th (Sunday, Race) at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture. With the handicap weight halved, the fight to be in the top group will get ever fierce. We can expect to see dead-heat battles fighting for a position at every corner of the circuit. This will be a dramatic show you should never miss.

 

 

　No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli) grabbed a dramatic victory in the previous race at Round 6 Suzuka after starting from the very back of the grid due to early exist from the qualifying after crashing in Q1. The win pushed the duo of the No.23 car all the way up to the 3rd place in the driver point standing and put them right in the title contention. There was indeed some luck in the timing when the safety car was deployed, but there is no doubt they proved themselves a true winner by the overtaking maneuver in the early part and then the fast pace after taking the lead in the later part of the race.
　The calculation of the handicap weight will change from multiplying the scored points by 2 kg to 1 kg from the Round 7 by the regulation, thus, despite winning the previous race, the No.23 car will only have to load 45 kg, which is even lighter than what they had during the previous race. Therefore, the win must be the focus of the No.23 team. No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Daiki Sasaki / Kazuki Hiramine) would want to score a win this time after getting their first podium finish of the season by finishing in 2nd place at the previous race. With almost no handicap weight, No.24 Realize Corporation ADVAN GT-R (Mitsunori Takaboshi / Jann Mardenborough) must be also going for the win especially since they have won the Round 3 held at Motegi in 2016 (which was held as an alternative event in November).

 

 

   

 

 

　With many of the TOYOTA GR Supra teams carrying a heavy handicap weight, which is also a proof of a top runner, the squad was not able to conquer the previous race held at Suzuka. Nonetheless, the second new engine they deployed is said to be developed for the races in the final phase of the season, therefore, along with halved handicap weight, the squad is expected to get even stronger at upcoming Round 7 Motegi.
　Their GR Supra is reputed as all-rounder for the speed the car has been showing consistently during the race at any circuits. No.37 KeePer TOM'S GR Supra (Ryo Hirakawa / Nick Cassidy) is definitely the leader of the squad, especially when the team's ace driver Hirakawa's impressive footprint at the circuit is consisted of a win, a 4th place, and a 2nd place in between 2017 and 2019. The team must be targeting at least a podium finish for clinching its first title since 2017. It must be still clear in everybody's mind that last year the LC500 with blue WAKO'S coloring showcased intense battle on the track in its pursuit for the title. Although the team is different, we may see the point leader No.14 WAKO'S 4CR GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima / Sho Tsuboi) replicating the scene this year. Eyes should also be kept on No.36 au TOM'S GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi / Sacha Fenestraz) who was on the other side of the intense fight last year. The team has to fight even stronger this year since they are currently at 5th in the point standing and can fall out from the title contention if they fail here.

 

 

   

 

 

　Being the home of Honda, NSX boasts the most number of wins at Motegi with 11 wins out of 24 races. However, the record becomes 2 wins out of 8 races with the current NSX-GT (including CONCEPT-GT) built based on the NC1 type. 2 wins are from 2019 and the Round 4 of this season. In another words, the circuit is not necessarily favorable to the car. One of the reasons was that the tires didn't get warm quickly enough, which is likely seen with mid-engine cars. With the change in layout to front-engine layout, NSX-GT is now equal to the rivals in that regard. In fact, No.17 KEIHIN NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Bertrand Baguette) won the race at Round 4.
　Top favorite for Round 7 could be the No.17 car. Their handicap weight will be similar to when they won the Round 4. If they win here, they can put one hand on their first ever title and Tsukakoshi (from Tochigi Prefecture) can show himself on the podium in front of the hometown crowd. Speaking of hometown, Yamamoto of No.100 RAYBRIG NSX-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) is from Tochige Prefecture and Nojiri of No.8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Nirei Fukuzumi) is from Ibaraki Prefecture, and the two always get huge rooting at Motegi. For No.100 car, Motegi is the place where they clinched their first title 2 years ago after finishing the race in 3rd place, and it was Nojiri currently with No.8 car who completed the pole to win at that race. All of the 3 drivers and 3 teams must be targeting the best and highest result at Motegi where all of them have association with.

 

 

   

 

 

　When it comes to Motegi race, No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Togo Suganami) is the first to be called for in the GT300 class. The team won the Round 4 of this season impressively despite loading a handicap weight of 57 kg. It also has a record of finishing in 2nd last year and then clinching the title in 2018 by winning the race. The outstanding history also includes a win in 2017. There is no doubt on calling them the top favorite, but the handicap weight could have significant effect at upcoming Round 7. In the GT300 class this season, the handicap weight was calculated by multiplying the scored points by 3 kg up until the previous round (or the sixth race start of the season), but it will be multiplied by 1.5 kg (rounding down to decimal place) at upcoming Round 7 (or the seventh race start of the season). No.65 car currently at the top of point standing, therefore, needs to carry 77kg.
　Considering the rivals, No.11 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Katsuyuki Hiranaka / Hironobu Yasuda), No.55 ARTA NSX GT3 (Shinichi Takagi / Toshiki Oyu), and No.56 Realize Nissan Automobile Technical College GT-R (Kiyoto Fujinami / Joao Paulo de Oliveira), have a handicap weight in the range of 62 to 54 kg also, it is very likely that the race will evolve around these top 4 teams in the point standing pushing and pulling for a higher position.
　Eyes should also be kept on the two teams using Dunlop tire, No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) and No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Sena Sakaguchi). No.61 car at 5th in the point standing would want to win the race here and then take on the final round in an advantageous position. No.96 car finally found a way to match the setting to the Dunlop tire deployed this season and captured the pole position at the previous race. The car could be seen in the battle for the lead also especially since it has been performing well at Motegi. No.360 RUNUP RIVAUX GT-R (Takayuki Aoki / Takuya Otaki), which had a chance to finish in 2nd place after starting from the pole position at the Round 4 Motegi, and No. 88 JLOC Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Yuya Motojima), which finished the race in 2nd place, deserve no underestimation.
　This will be a crucial point for No.52 SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshida / Kohta Kawaai) and No.2 SYNTIUM Apple LOTUS (Hiroki Katoh / Masataka Yanagida), placing 6th and 7th in the point standing, respectively. If they cannot finish in the top group, then they are out from the title contention.

 

 

   

 

 

　Only two races to go in the 2020 AUTOBACS SUPER GT. We can no longer take our eyes away from either the qualifying or the race even for a split second.
　If you won't be at the circuit, then you must use all the means from the broadcast by J SPORTS on live, on demand, and recorded program, the SUPER GT Plus, a TV program broadcast via the network of TV Tokyo, to the official app (all channels offered only in Japan. For overseas, it will be viewable by The Race, a YouTube channel), to stay tuned to the intense battle happening on the track.

 

 

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