2022.07.29

[Round 4 Preview] Season's second stop at Fuji destined to intense battle! Series' middle stage brings two consecutive long-distance races in midsummer.

Round 4 Fuji Speedway : Preview

After completing 3 first races, the 2022 AUTOBACS SUPER GT is now moving into the middle part of the competition consisted of 2 back-to-back long-distance races in August which can be a crucial point for the title contenders. Firstly, the Round 4 "FUJIMAKI GROUP FUJI GT 100 Lap RACE" will be held at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture on August 6th (Sat) and 7th (Sun). Being a second stop at Fuji this season after Round 2, teams are equipped with sufficient baseline data of the track. Important differentiator would be, then, to be able to set up the car as well as to choose the right tire for the high air and track surface temperatures of August. In addition, since the race distance is longer than the usual 300km at 450km (100 laps), the pit-stop strategy and the order of driver's stint that the teams select for the race could become a key for win or lose. 3 automakers shared wins in the 3 races up to now in the GT500 class and the FIA GT3-regulated cars have scored 3 wins in the GT300 class. However, looking at Fuji solely, BRZ has captured 3 consecutive pole positions in qualifying with its boasting speed, thus, it is not easy to make any predictions. Nonetheless, one thing that's assured is that the midsummer long distance race of Round 4 Fuji will offer a full of SUPER GT’s iconic red hot battles.

* Above photo is from 2022 Round 2 Fuji

 

 

No.3 CRAFTSPORTS MOTUL Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi) scored an impressive win after qualifying third to achieve the first win of the Nissan Z GT500 that debut this season at previous Round 3 Suzuka despite being questionable to even participate in the Round 3 after the car suffered serious damage from unfortunate crash at the Round 2 race at Fuji. Nissan Z could be indeed nailing consecutive victories from Suzuka to Fuji considering No.3 car was competing for the top position until it crashed at the Round 2 Fuji and No.24 Realize Corporation ADVAN Z (Daiki Sasaki / Kohei Hirate) qualifying in second, which also proves that the characteristics of the car is not much lopsided like its predecessor (GT-R), which was strong on the technical track like Suzuka but not quite so at Fuji's high-speed circuit.
No.3 car now has rather heavy success weight of 52kg after becoming the point leader with the win at previous race. The team could be taking a strategy to settle for a higher position possible instead of pushing too hard at Round 4. In contrast, No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli) that could only produce disappointing results in recent 2 races and No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z (Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette) should be coming in with must-win determination.

 

   

 

 

It's true that Nissan Z has proved its speed also at Fuji, but the speed the TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 squad has been showing in past years will probably remain unchallenged. Looking back at the Round 2 Fuji, No.19 WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra (Yuji Kunimoto / Sena Sakaguchi) took the pole position in the qualifying and No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi / Yuichi Nakayama) ran at the top until the race suspension. GR Supra squad has shown compelling performance to believe they have advantage at Fuji. With a consecutive pole position at previous Suzuka event after the Round 2, there is no doubt No.19 car has the speed and the team is certainly one of those who would be saying "This time for sure". Similarly, the eyes should be kept on No.38 car, which lost a win from a penalty it was imposed for avoidable mistake the team made during the race suspension, and No.36 au TOM'S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Giuliano Alesi), which completed a dramatic victory and became the champion last year at the final round Fuji.

 

   

 

No.8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Nirei Fukuzumi), which won the race but appeared frustrated at the Round 2 Fuji, is another team to keep an eye on. No.8 car was actually the third car to cross the finish line, but it was moved up to the winner's position after GR Supras at first and second places were imposed a penalty after the race. They must be with "This time for sure" determination also. In addition, with the Round 2 race finishing short of the regulated race distance, the granted series point was halved, but, in return, No.8 car's success weight for the Round 4 only increased to 30kg, which is lighter than other top-ranking cars, placing the team in a comfortable position to aim for the win. We could probably see past Fuji winners, such as No.17 Astemo NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Nobuharu Matsushita) and No.100 STANLEY NSX-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino), engaged in the fight for the top position also considering the race will be competed in a long distance.

 

   

 

 

There have been 7 races held at Fuji from 2020 up to this point in this season, of which 4 races were won by the TOYOTA GR Supra squad. Although the NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 fleet completed 1-2 in what turned out to be a turmoil race at second round of this season, past winners No.52 SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshida / Kohta Kawaai) and No.60 Syntium LMcorsa GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshimoto / Shunsuke Kohno) would be picked by many if simply asked for the top favorites. On the other hand, No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) has been capturing pole positions in 3 consecutive events from the Round 2 of 2021 to the Round 2 of this season. Considering it was able to finish in third position at last year's final round to clinch the title, No.61 car should be in the list of victorious favorites for the Round 4 also.

 

   

 

Mercedes AMG GT3s are the top eye-catcher out of the FIA GT3 regulated cars. Among them, No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Takuro Shinohara), which has pulled off a top-group finish by taking no tire change strategy, is expected to show its expertise in fighting intelligently, like emerging to the top group in the last phase of the 450km race. It is probably difficult for Round 2 Fuji winner No.10 TANAX GAINER GT-R (Ryuichiro Tomita / Riki Okusa / Yusuke Shiotsu) to compete for the win with its 45kg success weight, but No.11 GAINER TANAX GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda / Keishi Ishikawa) from the same team could be fighting strongly. JLOC fielding Lamborghini Huracan has stolen a win from 13th-start with their No.87 car at 2019 Round 5 Fuji by twisting their pit-stop strategy, and, thus, their No.88 Weibo Primez LAMBORGHINI GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Yuya Motojima) and No.87 Bamboo Airways LAMBORGHINI GT3 (Kosuke Matsuura / Natsu Sakaguchi) can be considered as dark horses of upcoming Round 4.

No.25 HOPPY Schatz GR Supra will not be participating in the Round 4 since the team will not be able to finish repairing the car that suffered a crash during the tire test held this month. No.34 BUSOU raffinee GT-R will also be absent, making the total number of cars in GT300 class to 26 cars for the Round 4.

 

   

 

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