2021.10.15

【Round 6 Preview】 Title contest intensifies! Second-half of the season making a stop at Autopolis

2020-season boasts 8 races overall, but it’s passed the halfway point already into the second-half where the title contention gets more fierce. 2021 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Round 6 "AUTOPOLIS GT 300km RACE" gets underway at Autopolis in Oita Prefecture on October 23rd (Saturday, Qualifying) and 24th (Sunday, Race). Since the revised calendar of last year, forced by COVID-19 pandemic, did not include the Oita circuit, the venue is hosting SUPER GT for the first time since 2019. Nesting in the vast foot of Mt. Aso, Autopolis is known as one of the most difficult tracks made up with up and down hills which many drivers remark as high speed and very challenging. It guarantees to showcase extreme battles for the victory as well as the title.

 

※Please follow the measures put in place to avoid the spread of COVID-19 by the regional government and/or the circuit while you are at as well traveling to/from the circuit.

 

 

　After experiencing a struggling first half in the 2021-season, the NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 squad bounced back strongly at the fourth race of the season, Round 3 Suzuka, by placing 3 GT-Rs on the podium led by No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli) taking the win. The squad carried on and No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Kazuki Hiramine / Nobuharu Matsushita) captured a win at following Round 5 SUGO to give a back-to-back win to the GT-R squad. It probably was as per plan to the squad since the circuits of these 2 races were their hot target of this season considering the advantage the current GT-R has in terms of cornering performance.
　High- and mid-speed turns are the key at the stage of Round 6, Autopolis, also, and the strategic direction of GT-R would match again, and if that is the case, then No.24 Realize Corporation ADVAN GT-R (Mitsunori Takaboshi / Daiki Sasaki) with no win so far and light Success weight (SW) must be coming in with must-win attitude. After experiencing a first no-point race this season at previous round due to a machine problem, No.3 CRAFTSPORTS MOTUL GT-R (Kohei Hirate / Katsumasa Chiyo) would want to win here to put themselves in the title contention in the final stage of the season. Of course, No.23 and 12 cars should be targeting to finish in the upper group to stay competitive in the title fight.

 

 

 

 

　Honda NSX-GT has been proving its speed with 2 wins, 3 pole positions, and 3 podium finishes over 5 races so far in this season. Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino of No.1 STANLEY NSX-GT stand at first and second in points, respectively, and No.17 Astemo NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Bertrand Baguette) is at third position. With heavy SW, these 2 teams' main interest could be to pick up as many points as possible.
　In contrast, other 3 NSX-GTs would want to win no matter what. We should keep our eyes on No.8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Nirei Fukuzumi), who stumbled down to the back of the pack due to a mistake occurred during the pit-stop despite leading the first half of the race at previous Sugo, No.64 Modulo NSX-GT (Takuya Izawa / Hiroki Otsu), who's pole position was spoiled by an issue in their car during the race at Round 3 Suzuka, and No.16 Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT (Ukyo Sasahara / Toshiki Oyu) with the young driver combination who is yet to connect their quickness to a satisfying result in the race.

 

 

 

 

　Autopolis is not a favorite place for TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 in terms of the track's layout. However, last time the series visited the venue in 2019, No.39 car, which is DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Heikki Kovalainen / Yuichi Nakayama) this season, took advantage of the heavy rain fell in the middle and won the race, although the car was LC500 then. Moreover, the races in 2018 and 2017 were also won by an LC500. Indeed, the actual suitability of GR Supra GT500 to Autopolis is unknown because there had not been a race, but No.39 car sure is tough to beat when it comes to a race, and, also, it is very possible to see No.37 KeePer TOM'S GR Supra (Ryo Hirakawa / Sacha Fenestraz) and No.38 ZENT CERUMO GR Supra (Yuji Tachikawa / Hiroaki Ishiura) with a light SW fighting for the lead.

 

 

 

 

　The season is remained with 3 races only. Previous race winner No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) stands at top in the driver point standing. It will be Iguchi's home race, who is from Fukuoka Prefecture, but the situation may not allow even a podium finish with his Success weight (SW) hitting the upper limit of 100kg. Similar to No.61 car, No.56 Realize Nissan Automobile Technical College GT-R (Kiyoto Fujinami / Joao Paulo de Oliveira) and No.244 TAKANOKONOYU GR Supra GT (Atsushi Miyake / Yuui Tsutsumi), second and third in points, respectively, may set their first priority to score as many points as possible for subsequent title contention and wait for a chance if and when the weather becomes a significant factor of the race like the Round 6 Autopolis in 2019.
　If in any case these 3 teams finish with no points, then what awaits is 'upset'. There are surprisingly 11 teams in the gap of a win (20 points) from the leader No.61 car (as of at the end of Round 5). In another word, No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka) currently at 11th in points can jump up to 3rd or higher if they win here. Therefore, 6 teams, including No.4 car, who are currently holding 20 to 26 points, would want to target a podium finish, if not win, even with heavy SW.

　Title contention is definitely a factor that would affect the destiny at Autopolis, but, before that, cars would probably need to be equipped with good cornering ability to be advantageous in the race. Aforementioned No.61 car's BRZ is certainly one of them. Others in the club would be mother-chassis cars, like No.5 MACHSYAKEN GTNET MC86 MACH GO (Yuya Hiraki / Reiji Hiraki), Mercedes AMG GT3, fielded by the teams like No.4 car and No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Togo Suganami), and mid-engined cars like Lamborghini and NSX GT3. It would be its first take-on of Autopolis, but GR Supra, fielded by teams including No.52 SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshida / Kohta Kawaai), is not shy to show its cornering performance, thus, we could be seeing the car competing in the upper group.
　RC F GT3 should also be in the candidate list since it won the race at Autopolis 2 years in a row from 2018 to 2019, which is a bit surprising. Especially, No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Sena Sakaguchi) will have Sakaguchi, who was racing in the GT500 class this season as a substitute, back and if he can fully exert his driving ability that was already good enough for GT500, the team can be an interesting player of the game.

 

   

 

   

 

 

　Fans of Kyushu region must had been eagerly waiting to see the race at Autopolis especially since the round was excluded from the calendar last year, and, of course, the SUPER GT fans across the nation are also looking forward to the showdown. Competition will get more intense from here and the teams would need to refresh their mind and get their concentration back together again to be ready for the battle. For those who won't be able to be at the circuit, you can still enjoy the intense and heated battle fully through the broadcast by J SPORTS on live, recorded program, and on demand, and the SUPER GT Plus, a TV program broadcast via the network of TV Tokyo (all channels offered only in Japan. For overseas, Motorsport.tv distributes qualifying and race live).

 

 

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