2022.05.20

【Round 3 Preview】 Season's first-half reaches an end mark at Round 3! Unpredictable is description of this year's Suzuka!?

Round 3 Preview

It's been fierce at every race up to now in 2022 AUTOBACS SUPER GT. Round 3 "Takanokono Hotel SUZUKA GT 300km RACE" is taking place at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture from May 28th (Saturday) to 29th (Sunday). Suzuka is globally known circuit which receives high accolades from many drivers as a racing track worth challenging to the limit. Upcoming Round 3 at such renown circuit of Suzuka is actually an end mark of the first half of the season. Considering the series will enter a 2-month break after this until next Round 4, teams and drivers must be coming in more focused to achieve their objectives here. Looking back at Round 3 Suzuka in past years, Nissan teams had been strong in the GT500 class. However, we see significant improvements in aerodynamics on other models this season and that could make the field dead even. Who will declare triumph and get right on the mainstream of this season?

※Above photo is from last year's Round 3 Suzuka.

 

 

　Stage of Round 3, Suzuka Circuit, is a circuit constructed by Honda and is the center of company's efforts to promote mobility. With such background, it has become the home where time had spent the most to not only Honda NSX-GT but also to the graduates of the racing school located at Suzuka Circuit, which many drivers of the Honda fleet are.
　However, the NSX-GT fleet's last victory at Suzuka Circuit goes back to 2018 and they have not been able to win in recent years. It is not, though, that NSX-GT is not suitable to Suzuka, it seems, because the car was able to capture pole position in three consecutive events from 2020.
　First pick of the fleet would probably be No.8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Nirei Fukuzumi). Although the team scored a win at Round 2, the win may not be regarded as satisfying victory since it came down to them after two cars in front dropped out due to penalties. They would want to win here back-to-back to emerge to the top of the point ranking, which may allow them to catch the stream en route to the championship. With two consecutive podium finishes, No.100 STANLEY NSX-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) is certainly a victorious candidate, but the team might choose a strategy with more focus on the title than fighting with a must-win mindset. Speaking of "must-win", expectations are also put on No.64 Modulo NSX-GT (Takuya Izawa / Hiroki Otsu) that captured pole position twice in recent 3 races at Suzuka and No.16 Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT (Ukyo Sasahara / Toshiki Oyu) with a young driver combination.

 

   

 

 

　No.23 car of the Nissan squad has been extremely strong at Suzuka, currently in a streak of 3 wins at the track. However, that was with NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 which the team was competing with until last year and the car characteristically matched the track of Suzuka. The story may not turn out in the same way as in past years since the car has been changed to Nissan Z GT500 this season. Nevertheless, the know-how established with GT-R must be helpful.
　No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli) should still be a victorious candidate for upcoming Round 3 without a doubt. With a third-place podium finish at last year's Suzuka race and strong performance in qualifying in last 2 events, No.24 Realize Corporation ADVAN Z (Daiki Sasaki / Kohei Hirate) has elements to be called a dark horse.

 

   

 

　Contrastingly, it may not be a wrong statement to say that Suzuka is unfavorable to the TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 squad. With its natural characteristics leaning more to the speed on the straightaway, the car is said to be unsuitable to Suzuka that demands cornering speed. On the other hand, the drastic change in the aerodynamics this season has encouraged drivers to comment that the car can battle evenly against the rivals.
　In terms of candidates for the win, the 2 cars fielded by TOM'S are definitely in the list for their good track record at Suzuka. Next race is certainly a good chance for No.37 KeePer TOM'S GR Supra (Sacha Fenestraz / Ritomo Miyata), which is still no points after ending the first two races in frustration, to emerge especially when the success weight is at 0kg. It won't be a surprise to see Suzuka meister No.38 ZENT CERUMO GR Supra (Yuji Tachikawa / Hiroaki Ishiura) contending for the top. Point leader No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima / Kenta Yamashita) with 46kg of success weight may have a hard time in qualifying, but the path to the title could surface if the team can finish in the top group in the race.

 

   

 

 

　As described with Z/GT-R and GR Supra of GT500 class in above section, Suzuka tends to be advantageous to cars that are quick around the corner as well as have a wider allowance in the setting. If so, which model is applicable of the equation in the GT300 class where 13 different models compete?　Firstly, it would be models like the GT300-regulated and mother-chassissed cars, and if to shortlist by the cornering ability, then GR Supra, BRZ, and 86MC would remain. No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) is the pole-sitter of last year's race, which was won by No.244 HACHI-ICHI GR Supra GT (Kimiya Sato / Atsushi Miyake). GR86 GT that debut this year performs well around the corners too and this gives a reason to keep an eye on No.2 muta Racing GR86 GT (Hiroki Katoh / Yuui Tsutsumi).

 

   

 

　Out of the FIA GT3-regulated machines, Mercedes AMG GT3 is a model that boasts high cornering ability. Both No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Takuro Shinohara) and No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka) have rich experience that can enable them to climb on the podium even if they lag behind in the qualifying. No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta /Shinichi Takagi) should not be underestimated for the car they compete with, LEXUS RC F GT3. NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 is not a 'cornering machine', but if the race becomes stormy, then its all-rounder characteristics could, then, become advantage, and No.11 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda / Keishi Ishikawa), a leading team of the teams fielding NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3, could be battling in the top group. With a success weight of 66kg, point-leader No.56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Kiyoto Fujinami / Joao Paulo de Oliveira), the only team so far with a success weight exceeding 50kg, is most likely to focus on scoring points, but their cleverness in the race can push them up to the podium.

 

   

 

 

 

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