R’Qs Motor Sports, one of the last true pro-am privateer outfits competing in Super GT’s GT300 category, have announced their withdrawal from the upcoming seventh round of the 2021 season at Twin Ring Motegi this weekend following a heavy accident in the previous round at Autopolis.
“Considering the short time until the next round and the need to procure parts and perform inspections, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from Round 7 at Motegi on the 6th and 7th of November,” the team announced yesterday on social media.
The accident occured on the eighth lap of the Autopolis GT 300km Race on 24 October, when lead driver Hisashi Wada was battling for 27th place with the #48 Shokumou/K’s Frontier Nissan GT-R GT3 of Yudai Uchida. Wada was rear-ended by Uchida as the two cars approached the hairpin turn 11, turning Wada head-on into the concrete barrier along the right side.
Wada, who is also the founder and representative director of R’Qs Motor Sports, was not injured in the accident.
However, the extensive damage to the frame of their #22 Mercedes-AMG GT3 has resulted in their withdrawal from the upcoming race, and the team admits that their future may be in jeopardy.
“For a privateer team that does not have the backing of a car manufacturer or a major sponsor, a severe crash like this one that results in the total loss of the car would make it difficult for the team to survive.”
“The entire team staff is working hard to make a comeback at any cost.”
Since being established in 2010, R’Qs Motor Sports have had a grueling task just to keep pace with the GT300 field. Wada and co-driver Masaki Jyonai, both of whom turned 59 this year, haven’t finished inside the top ten in a race since September 2015 at Sportsland Sugo.
They’ve finished last in the GT300 Teams’ Championship for the last three seasons, and are currently ranked at the bottom of the table after six races this season.
R’Qs began a crowd funding initiative in 2019, similar to those used by the likes of Goodsmile Racing & Team UKYO, and Hoppy Team Tsuchiya. R’Qs will now be recruiting additional individual and corporate backers to try and help them continue to race.
