SUPER GT GT300 class team Pacific Racing Team announced today that they will miss the upcoming Fuji GT 450km Race on 3-4 May.
The difficult decision to skip next week’s running of SUPER GT’s annual Golden Week race comes in the wake of a crash during the season-opening race at Okayama International Circuit. Rookie driver Liang Jiatong was hit by the #88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Takashi Kogure after a Full Course Yellow, and the contact between the two cars sent the #9 Pacific VSPO NAC Mercedes-AMG GT3 head-on into the concrete barrier at Attwood Curve.
“Since Okayama, the team has been working as one to restore and recover the vehicle, but we have made this decision after discussions with the drivers and other parties involved. We apologise for any concern this may cause our fans, but we will be fully prepared for round three at Suzuka, so we ask for your continued support and encouragement,” the team said in a post to its social media accounts.
Before the accident, Liang and co-driver Ryohei Sakaguchi were running solidly inside the top ten in GT300, thanks to well-timed pit stops which allowed them to gain significant track position in changing weather conditions.
Sakaguchi and Liang were due to be joined at the Fuji 450km by third driver Shintaro Kawabata. The trio will instead return to action on 3-4 June for the Suzuka GT 450km Race.
DSC’s entry list for the Fuji 450km has been updated to reflect this announcement, which brings the GT300 field down to 26 cars for next Thursday’s race.
Feature image © Pacific Racing Team
