2024 Autobacs SUPER GT

第 2 輪富士賽道 [GT500 級]

The second round of SUPER GT took place at Fuji Speedway during the latter half of Golden Week. 88,400 motorsports fans gathered for the qualifying and final rounds. This final race was SUPER GT's first-ever three-hour time race. In the race, a total of 6 sets of dry tyres and 7 sets of wet tyres could be used. The race required two pit stops for refueling.

Mitsunori Takaboshi and Atsushi Miyake, driving Nittera MOTUL Z/Bridgestone, took the lead at the first corner and held it until the end, followed by their teammates R. Quintarelli and Katsumasa Chiyo driving MOTUL AUTECH Z/ Bridgestone. Koudai Tsukakoshi and Kakunoshin Ohta driving Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT/Bridgestone finished third, having started from pole position.

SUSPENSE: FROM START TO FINISH LINE

The starting grid for the finals was determined by adding up the Q1 and Q2 times. Only one set of tyres was allowed from qualifying to the start of the race. The CIVIC TYPE R-GT, introduced by Honda this year, showed its speed during the practice run before qualifying. Tsukakoshi and Ohta set the top time in practice and Q1. In Q1, Tomoki Nojiri and Nobuhara Matsushita driving #8 ARTA MUGEN TYPE R-GT/Bridgestone, and Hiroki Otsu and Ren Sato driving #16 ARTA MUGEN TYPE R-GT/ Bridgestone, dominated the top three.

TOP SEVEN SPOTS ON THE GRID: BRIDGESTONE-EQUIPPED CARS

In Q2, Nissan's time was faster. Quintarelli and Chiyo set the top time in Q2, followed by Takaboshi and Miyake. Based on the combined time, Tsukakoshi and Ohta took the CIVIC TYPE R-GT's first pole position. Bridgestone-equipped cars occupied the top seven spots on the grid.

Koudai Tsukakoshi and Kakunoshin Ohta driving Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT/Bridgestone finished third, having started from pole position.

QUALIFYING ROUND

PO.	NO.	MACHINE	DRIVER	BEST LAP
1	#17	Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT	Kakunoshin Ohta Koudai Tsukakoshi	1'26.709 1'27.222
2	#3	Niterra MOTUL Z Nissan Z NISMO GT500	Mitsunori Takaboshi Atsushi Miyake	1'27.134 1'27.205
3	#23	MOTUL AUTECH Z Nissan Z NISMO GT500	Ronnie Quintarelli Katsumasa Chiyo	1'27.282 1’27.077
4	#8	ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #8 Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT	Tomoki Nojiri Nobuharu Matsushita	1'26.825 1'27.573

AN EXHILARATING RACE

Temperatures as high as July were predicted across the country, and at Fuji Speedway, the temperature rose to 23 degrees and the track surface temperature to 41 degrees at the start. The race was cut off just after the start of the three-hour race at 1:36 p.m.

Bridgestone-equipped team occupied the top three spots on the victory podium. 1st: No. 3 Niterra MOTUL Z (Mitsunori Takaboshi/Atushi Miyake); 2nd: No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/ Ronnie Quintarelli); 3rd: No.17 Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Kakunoshin Ohta)

Takaboshi and Miyake took the lead at the first corner and began to pull away from second place and below. On the 23^rd lap, Quintarelli and Chiyo moved into second place. However, at the timing of their first pit stop, Tsukakoshi and Ohta moved back into second place. At the timing of their second pit stop, Quintarelli and Chiyo were in second place. The Nojiri and Matsushita team moved up to third place, leading to a battle between the Hondas and the Tsukakoshi and Ohta team. However, with eight minutes left on the clock, the Nojiri and Matsushita pair encountered transmission trouble and had to return to the pits and retire. In the end, Tsukakoshi and Ohta finished in third place, following the two cars from the Nismo team, with Bridgestone-equipped cars occupying 9^th place from the top.

ACTUAL RACE

PO.	NO.	MACHINE	DRIVER	BEST LAP
1	#3	Niterra MOTUL Z Nissan Z NISMO GT500	Mitsunori Takaboshi Atsushi Miyake	1'29.559
2	#23	MOTUL AUTECH Z Nissan Z NISMO GT500	Katsumasa Chiyo Ronnie Quintarelli	1'29.872
3	#17	Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT	Koudai Tsukakoshi Kakunoshin Ohta	1'29.659
4	#36	au TOM'S GR Supra TOYOTA GR Supra GT500	Sho Tsuboi Kenta Yamashita	1'30.195

WORDS FROM THE PODIUM

“Honestly, I'm happy to have won. My teammate has changed since this year, and the tyres have been changed to Bridgestone tyres, so I'm still able to find a place where I can perform well.'' However, I was able to finish second overall in the qualifying round, and I was worried about how my long run would go in the final, but my long run pace was relatively stable, which was good data that I can use for the next race. I think it was a race where we learned a lot in everything. However, we still don't have the balance of the car that we want, so we won't be satisfied with this win and will aim even higher.”

Mitsunori Takaboshi, Winning Driver (Nittera MOTUL Z/Bridgestone)

“I'm really surprised and happy to have stepped up to GT500 and won the second race. I think I was able to perform better than I expected in qualifying, and that's why I was able to line up at the front.'' In the first and second stints, Takaboshi made a good start and took the lead, creating a considerable margin, so I really stayed calm and didn't panic and made sure I didn't make any collisions or mistakes. I was able to stay calm and race. Thanks to Takaboshi and the team creating a margin, I was able to race easily and win, and I feel that there are areas where I need to improve my driving. I want to continue without changing."

Atsushi Miyake, Winning Driver (Nittera MOTUL Z/ Bridgestone)

“The two Nismo tyres we have been supplying since this season finished 1-2, and we were able to provide stable performance to other manufacturers and teams as well. I think there was a lot of competition for positions, but I feel like the winning team was one of the best. As the conditions were descending to the bottom, we were able to run the race without losing performance, as all teams ended up pitting at almost the same time. I think the result was more about the team's overall strength than the selection. The next race at Suzuka is a 3-hour race, and we will continue to support each team we supply even though the circuit has different characteristics.”

Takahiko Yamamoto, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Manager

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