2022.03.12

【Official test at Okayama: Day 1】 Tsuboi in Champion au TOM’S GR Supra marks top time! Morning and afternoon topped by two Lamborghinis in GT300.

Official test: Okayama International Circuit 3/12 (Sat)

SUPER GT's first official test of the year started at Okayama International Circuit on March 12 prior to the season opening round of 2022 AUTOBACS SUPER GT taking place in Okayama on April 16 and 17. All 15 cars entered this season in GT500 class and 25 GT300 cars, 3 cars less than expected entry list, a total of 40 cars, participated in the pre-season test. Track was very active as teams sent their cars out for testing to get ready for the season opener that will be hosted at the circuit this month.

 

 

 

　As a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, no event programs were conducted in the area behind the main stand, but spectators were allowed for this official test in Okayama. Day 1 of the 2-day test was scheduled with a total of 4 hours of running session, 2 hours each in the morning and afternoon. Exclusive 10-minute session time was set for both GT500 and GT300 at the end of afternoon session, and some of the cars were showing hot lap like in a real qualifying session.

 

　A moment of silence was offered before the start of the morning session to express condolences for Yutaka Suzuki, former team manager of No.23 NISMO who passed away last December, and Keikichi Nakano, former team manager of No.360 TOMEI SPORTS.
　Session 1 started at 10:00AM. Earning No.1 pit box by winning the team championship last year, No.36 au TOM'S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Giuliano Alesi) led the cars onto the track. Session was quickly suspended with a red flag after a GT300 car span and came to a stop.　　However, it didn't take much time to resume and from there the session carried on until the checkered flag at 12:00PM without any suspensions.
　Honda NSX-GT fleet was showing good lap times from early part of Session 1 and No.100 STANLEY NSX-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) climbed to the top by marking 1 min 18.218 in 21st lap. Top time was replaced with 1 min 18.184 marked by No.8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Nirei Fukuzumi) in 34th lap.
　At 11:35AM, Tsuboi at the wheel of No.36 au TOM'S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Giuliano Alesi) displayed a greatness of the defending champion by lapping with a top time of 1 min 18.150. Tsuboi's lap time eventually became the fastest lap time of Session 1. Morning track activity finished with a testing of full-course yellow (FCY), which was implemented last year, carried out right after the closure of Session 1.

 

 

 

　Session 2 in the afternoon started from 2:00PM for 2 hours. During the mixed class running session, No.17 Astemo NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Nobuharu Matsushita) stood at top with 1 min 18.467 followed by two of a new face on the block this season, Nissan Z GT500, fielded by No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli) and No.3 CRAFTSPORTS MOTUL Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi).
　Nobuharu Matsushita in No.17 car secured the top position by renewing his own top time to 1 min 18.215 during the 10-min exclusive time for the GT500 class set at the end of the session. Nonetheless, Matsushita's lap time was not enough to beat the top time of Session 1 and, thus, the 1 min 18.150 marked by Tsuboi in No.36 car in the morning became the best lap time of Day 1.
　No.3 car and No.8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Nirei Fukuzumi) sat at second and third places after improving their lap times during the exclusive time.

 

 

　Although the morning session ended with the top positions split between TOYOTA GR Supra squad and Honda NSX-GT fleet and Nissan Z GT500 teams lining up behind them, the time differences were actually very slim. The gap between No.36 car at top and the 12th place No.16 Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT (Ukyo Sasahara / Toshiki Oyu) was only 0.777 sec. It came down to 0.372 sec if you look at top 8 cars.
　Matsuda of No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli) appeared satisfied after his new model Z positioned at ninth fastest, "We were able to reach this point rather smoothly. Since we brought tires with a prediction that the air and track temperatures would be lower this time (than the official test in Okayama in past years), we were little off. But, even after taking that into account, I think we had a good test. It's difficult to judge because I don't know what kind of test scenario or what kind of condition the rivals were doing their tests, but we are able to smoothly complete the programs and test scenarios that we had planned. Considering the rivals, Honda (NSX-GT) seems to continue to be fast and Toyota (GR Supra GT500) are fast at Fuji too. With the introduction of new Z, the cowl and aerodynamic parts have changed completely and I experienced the decrease of drag at the test in Fuji, but the downforce should have decreased also, so the challenge would be how to balance them. On the other hand, the feeling was not bad (with regards to downforce) at Suzuka test, so I think we can make a lot more progress."

 

 

 

 

 

　In GT300 class, Session 1 held in the morning was topped by Kogure with 1 min 25.210 in No.88 Lamborghini (Takashi Kogure / Yuya Motojima), the car name yet to be announced. No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Shinichi Takagi) and No.9 PACIFIC hololive NAC Ferrari (Takeshi Kimura / Kei Cozzolino) followed at second and third places, respectively.
　JLOC was on top again in Session 2 in afternoon by Matsuura in No.87 Lamborghini (Kosuke Matsuura / Natsu Sakaguchi) marking the fastest lap time with 1 min 26.149. No.96 car continued to stay at second position from the morning and No.88 car concluded at third place. After all, the lap time of No.88 car set in the morning became the top time of the class of Day 1.

 

 

 

 

We've only completed the first day of official test, and many parts of the power structure including the rivals are not clear. Still, I'm happy to be able to mark the best time of Day 1 of the first official test. I didn't drive in the afternoon since the team dedicated Session 2 for Giuliano (Alesi) to learn about GR Supra GT500. He gained experience in GT300 and I have a long career in the GT500 class, so if I can be his help on driving (a GT500 car), then that would be my pleasure.

 

There are a lot that we have built up from last year in terms of the car and it felt really good. Tires were great. Yokohama had put a lot of effort in the work and brought good tires. I don't know about the condition in the afternoon because I didn't drive, but I think we have been able to consistently perform at a good level since the other car (of same JLOC), No.87 car, had the top time and our No.88 car was at third with a mere gap. Today, we concentrated on choosing tires (for the season opener in Okayama). That made us to have a good test.

 

 

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