The 2022 Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours has reached half-distance. After 12 hours of racing, GTNET Motor Sports’ #81 Daishin Nissan GT-R GT3 has a one lap lead over the #888 Grid Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the battle for the overall and ST-X class victory.
Shinichi Takagi started on pole in the #888 Grid AMG GT3, and led til the end of his opening stint. Martin Berry, Haruki Kurosawa, and Daisuke Yamawaki kept the bright yellow Mercedes at the front of the field as the sun set over Fuji Speedway. In the night, Yamawaki was overtaken by the #62 HELM Motor Sports GT-R. Yutaka Toriba had taken the start in the blue and orange Nissan, before handing off to Reiji Hiraki, and then his older brother Yuya, who took the lead during a double stint.
The first Full Course Yellow and subsequent Safety Car intervention came four and a half hours into the race, as a result of the ST-Z class #310 GR Garage Mito Inter Supra GT4 of Seita Nonaka losing its right rear tyre. After the ensuing restart, the #81 Daishin GT-R, in the hands of Natsu Sakaguchi, was able to overtake the #888 Grid AMG GT3 for second place, before making a pit stop and conceding the position.
In the seventh hour, there was a second Safety Car for oil at TGR Corner (turn one). Both the #888 Grid AMG GT3 and #62 HELM GT-R pitted for routine service under this Safety Car period.
The race resumed with Takagi out in front aboard the #888 Grid AMG GT4, ahead of Shaun Thong, who was doing a double stint in the #62 HELM GT-R. The two drivers ran tail-to-nose for several laps before Thong passed the baton to Yuya Hiraki.
Just before midnight, HELM Motorsports were given a three-minute stop/go penalty, for violating the maximum three-hour stint length with Thong. This dropped them to third place in class, and elevated the #81 Daishin GT-R to second.
On lap 283, the ST-5 class #37 DXL/Wako’s NOPRO Mazda Demio of Tatsuya Nogami had an accident that required a Full Course Yellow. Natsu Sakaguchi in the #81 Daishin GT-R pitted just before the FCY was declared, and this helped them gain a significant amount of ground on the #888 Grid AMG GT3. Sakaguchi took the lead on lap 300 after the #888 Grid AMG GT3 pitted under green.
Another well-timed pit stop for the Daishin/GTNET crew came on lap 364, just before another FCY was declared for the stranded ST-TCR class #97 Racer HFDP Honda Civic TCR.
As it stood after twelve hours of racing, the #81 Daishin GT-R of Noboyuki Oyagi, Kiyoto Fujinami, Takayuki Aoki and Natsu Sakaguchi took the overall lead by one lap, despite making one more pit stop than the #888 Grid AMG GT3 of Berry, Takagi, Kurosawa, and Yamawaki.
Both cars had not served their mandatory ten minute maintenance period, which must be done before the end of the 19th hour. The #62 HELM GT-R was third overall, trailing by two laps.
The #31 Denso Lexus RC F GT3 fell out of contention after Hideki Nagai collided with another vehicle and suffered suspension damage – the apr crew would also suffer a gearbox issue which has them 74 laps down. After ten hours of racing, the #9 MP Racing GT-R also went to the garage to replace a failed gearbox.
The #2 Syntium Apple KTM X-Bow GTX leads ST-1 and runs fourth overall, one lap ahead of the #47 D’station Aston Martin Vantage GT8R in fifth overall (second in ST-1). This is despite a 60 second stop/go penalty served by the KTM for a pit work infraction. Sixth overall was the #3 Endless Mercedes-AMG GT4, which runs in the non-competitive ST-Q class.
The #22 Porsche Team EBI Waimarama Cayman GT4 RS has led the ST-Z class since the first hour, with Katsumasa Chiyo, Naoya Yamano, Giuliano Alesi, Riki Okusa, and Lee Jung Woo taking turns at the front of the class. They lead the #500 5Zigen AMG GT4 by a little over a minute, followed by the #885 SHADE Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4, and the #21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS GT4. A lonely battle for ST-TCR honours has been led by the #75 Team Noah Honda Civic TCR since the start of the race.
Likewise, the #52 Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave Toyota Crown RS has been in control of ST-3 since the first hour, but the field is still within reach. In ST-2, the #13 Endless Toyota GR Yaris has led since the second hour, and had an eight-lap lead in its class.
The #86 TOM’s Spirit Toyota GR86 has had a trouble-free first half of the race while all of their other ST-4 rivals have suffered issues – with a whopping 49-lap lead in its class, only a catastrophe in the second half would deny them a win in the ST-4 debut for the new GR86. And in ST-5, the front-wheel drive #17 DXL Aragosta NOPRO Mazda Demio leads the way by two laps.
As it pertains to some more of the innovative cars in ST-Q: The #61 Team SDA Engineering Subaru BRZ CNF Concept has had a relatively trouble-free race, completing 335 laps in 12 hours and running 25th overall.
The #32 ORC ROOKIE Racing Toyota Corolla Sport H2 Concept is set to eclipse its total distance from 2021 by a wide margin. They’ve completed 252 laps in 12 hours of racing.
Unfortunately a gearbox issue has put the #28 ROOKIE Racing GR86 CNF Concept in the garage after 315 laps, while engine and gearbox problems have resulted in lengthy garage stays for the #55 Mazda Spirit Racing Mazda2 Bio Concept, which has now completed 257 laps.
The Nissan Z Racing Concepts have enjoyed mixed fortunes so far. The #244 Max Racing Z is 13th overall and has completed 353 laps. The #230 NISMO Z, which is running on Carbon Neutral Fuel (CNF), has suffered recurring engine issues and was being repaired after 268 laps out on track.
Images © Fuji Speedway
