2022.05.29

Rd. 3 RACE GT300： Studie BMW M4 takes brilliant win from pole position! Strong resilience despite having big leads taken away twice

Round 3 Suzuka Circuit : Race GT300

The Takanokono Hotel SUZUKA GT 300km RACE, Round 3 of the 2022 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series took place at Suzuka circuit (one lap 5,807m X 52 laps) in Mie Prefecture on the afternoon of May 29 (Sun). In a rough race that saw the Safety Car brought out twice, the GT500 class winner was the No. 3 CRAFTSPORTS MOTUL Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/Mitsunori Takaboshi) took its first win in the Nissan Z GT500’s debut season. In the GT300 class race, the winner was the No. 7 Studie BMW M4 (Seiji Ara/Tsubasa Kondo).

 

 

 

 

 

At the start of the race, the pole-sitting No. 7 Studie BMW M4 (Seiji Ara) made a good start, followed by the No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 and No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R in 2nd and 3rd positions. On the second lap, a GT500 class car came to a stop on the course to bring an early FCY (Full Course Yellow) call.

After the restart, No. 7 gradually pulled away from the pack. In contrast, the cars from 2nd position back became involved in battles at close quarters. At the Hitachi Astemo Chicane of the eighth lap, the No. 18 UPGARAGE NSX GT3 ran off the track and crashed due to brake trouble. Also, a GT500 class car came to a stop at trackside, which brought out the Safety Car to control the race. This development led cars like the 17th-position starting No. 52 SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT to opt for a quick pit stop and refueling.
The Safety Car run had caused the leading car No. 7 to lose its margin of lead. Nonetheless, after the restart, No. 7 began to build its lead again. Then, after the 20th lap of the race, No. 7 made its routine pit stop and changed drivers to Tsubasa Kondo. Meanwhile, cars like the No. 5 MACHSYAKEN AIR BUSTER MC86 MACH GO and No. 52 SAITAMATOYOPETGB GR Supra GT opted to take advantage of the GT300 (mother chassis) and go with a no-tire-change strategy to move up through the field.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time all of the cars had finished their routine pit stops, car No. 7 was back in the lead. Moving up into 2nd and 3rd positions respectively were the No. 52 SAITAMATOYOPETGB GR Supra GT and the No. 5 MACHSYAKEN AIR BUSTER MC86 MACH GO (Reiji Hiraki). These leaders were followed by the No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R and the No. 88 Weibo Primez LAMBORGHINI GT3 that had overcome a punctured tire and a collision with a GT500 class car.
However, as the GT500 class cars entered the 40th lap of the race, there was a collision between the No. 244 HACHI-ICHI GR Supra GT and a GT500 class car. Since both cars came to a stop at trackside, the Safety Car was brought out for the second time in the race.

Just before that incident, the leading car No. 7 had held a more than 7-sec. lead over car No. 52 in 2nd position, which would be erased to zero by the SC run. But, at the restart, Kondo in car No. 7 retained his lead and showed excellent speed in pulling away from the pack once again. Conversely, car No. 52 ran off the track in the chicane after the restart. This left car No. 5 and No. 56 in a close battle for 2nd place, to which car No. 88 soon came up from behind to make it a 3-way battle.
With this fight going on behind, the No. 7 Studie BMW M4 (Seiji Ara/Tsubasa Kondo) ran on to score the win in a perfect race. It was a magnificent first win for the BMW Team Studie + CSL from pole position, coming in the BMW M4 GT3’s debut season. Also, for Ara it was his win since a GT500 class win in 2009 and his first in the GT300 class, while for Kondo it was his second win.
Finishing 2nd after holding off the competition was the No. 5 MACHSYAKEN AIR BUSTER MC86 MACH GO (Yusuke Tomibayashi/Reiji Hiraki), while 3rd place went to the No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Kiyoto Fujinami/Joao Paulo de Oliveira), which enabled the No. 56 team to maintain their top ranking in the series.

 

 

 

 

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