SUPER GT’s annual Golden Week classic at Fuji Speedway did not disappoint. In front of over 40,000 spectators, the #36 au TOM’s Toyota GR Supra of Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata took a well-executed victory in the Fujimaki Group Fuji GT 450km Race.
The two-day attendance of 80,200 spectators (including 48,600 for race day) is one of the largest crowds for a SUPER GT event since the days before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. They were treated to a wonderful race: In contrast to last year’s race which was marred by multiple accidents and red flags, this year’s race was run to completion without any Full Course Yellow or Safety Car interventions.
Polesitter Tadasuke Makino led the 15-car GT500 field into the first corner aboard his #100 Stanley Honda NSX-GT. Yuji Kunimoto started second in the #19 WedsSport Advan GR Supra but Nirei Fukuzumi in the #16 ARTA Mugen NSX-GT quickly moved his way through into second position.
Sho Tsuboi started sixth in the #36 au TOM’S Supra but went on a tear early on. He passed both Kunimoto and the #8 ARTA Mugen NSX-GT of Tomoki Nojiri down the frontstretch on lap five – the exhilarating three-wide move put Tsuboi up from sixth to fourth.
Makino and Fukuzumi, linked by their time five years ago as Honda Formula 1 prospects racing in Formula 2, ran closely together in first and second place. On lap 20, Tsuboi overtook the #24 Realize Corporation Advan Nissan Z of Daiki Sasaki to move up to third place and began pursuing the leading Hondas in front of him.
The 2021 GT500 Champion wasn’t done moving up through the field though: Before the end of his first stint, Tsuboi was able to drive past Fukuzumi into Coca-Cola Corner, to take second position.
Makino and Fukuzumi each pitted on lap 31 – the Stanley NSX-GT got a clean start, but the black #16 ARTA NSX got a slow stop and lost some track position.
One lap later, Tsuboi brought the au Supra in for its first pit stop, taking fuel and tyres in just over 40 seconds. The overcut worked to the advantage of Tsuboi, who rejoined the race ahead of Makino, giving him the net lead of the race. Nojiri in the #8 ARTA NSX, who pitted early on lap 22, used that deep undercut to his own advantage and overtook Makino on track to put himself between Tsuboi and Makino.
Sasaki stayed out until lap 39, and Nobuharu Matsushita came in on lap 40 in the #17 Astemo NSX-GT. With these first pit stops complete, Tsuboi officially took the lead, followed by Nojiri and Makino.
Fukuzumi dropped to fourth, but the #16 ARTA NSX would have to serve a drive-through penalty for a pit work violation, which took himself and Hiroki Otsu out of podium contention. This time, they had the fuel hose in while one wheel nut wasn’t fastened properly – pit miscues are rare at this level, for the same team in consecutive races, even more unusual.
Lap after lap, Tsuboi began to stretch the white and orange Toyota’s advantage over the field – up to 15 seconds by the time his double stint ended when he pitted on lap 63. Miyata would hop aboard with a simple task to take care of the car, keep up the consistency, and take home the victory.
Miyata, fresh off his first career win in the Super Formula Championship a few short weeks ago at Suzuka, understood his assignment perfectly. He stretched the lead out to over 20 seconds with five laps to go.
A 28-second margin of victory was only somewhat flattering at the end, Tsuboi and Miyata’s combined efforts brought on a dominating performance.
It was the first win for TGR Team au TOM’s and senior driver Tsuboi since the 2021 season finale at Fuji Speedway, where Tsuboi collected his first career win in SUPER GT’s premier class. His second GT500 win might have come sooner: Last month at Okayama, to be precise – until a pit stop error before the race was halted cost them the victory with a loose left-front wheel.
“Since we were starting from sixth position on the grid, we knew we had to work our way up through the pack,” said Tsuboi. “It was fortunate that we were able to move up through my first stint and second stint to take the lead. Then Ritomo further extended our lead, and this is something that we will be able to take advantage of in the races to come – because Fuji has been a good track for the GR Supra, and I have also done well at Fuji.”
“Since yesterday, we knew that we would have good speed in the race. We came to this race with the intention of making up for the trouble that kept us from finishing at Okayama, and since we were able to do that, I felt it was a great result.”
It was also the second career GT500 win for Miyata, who’s now won the last two races at Fuji Speedway. He won last August’s Fuji GT 100 Lap Race alongside Sacha Fenestraz in the number 37 TOM’s Supra.
“The reason that we were able to build a big lead over the cars behind was because of the great effort of Tsuboi-san in the first half,” said Miyata. Still, I am very happy with this result.”
The 24-year-old can also be relieved that he no longer feels like a bad luck charm for the number 36 TOM’s crew.
“The fact is that four years ago, when I was given the opportunity to drive as a substitute in car #36, we ran into trouble that brought us to a stop, and it happened again in the last race, so I have a finishing rate of zero,” he laughed. “So, I am very happy about finally winning today in car #36 by a big margin.”
Naoki Yamamoto took over the reins of the Stanley NSX after Makino’s double stint, got back ahead of the #8 ARTA NSX after the final round of pit stops, and consolidated a second-place finish.
While they would have preferred a victory for Honda in the final Golden Week race for the current NSX-GT, Team Kunimitsu and its drivers will also be happy with the result they achieved, when considering the Full Course Yellow pit-in miscue which arguably cost Yamamoto and Makino a fighting chance at the podium.
While the top two positions were all but settled heading into the final laps, the final podium position wouldn’t be decided until the penultimate lap.
Taking over from Sasaki for the middle portion of the race, Kohei Hirate continued the #24 Realize Z’s great run. After the final round of pit stops, Hirate was running third. With five laps to go, the two-time GT500 Champion caught slower GT300 traffic ahead of him, the #5 Mach Syaken/Air Buster MC86 and the #244 Hachi-Ichi GR Supra.
The two cars made contact and Hirate had to check up in the left-hand corner of the Dunlop Corner complex – but he couldn’t avoid slamming into the rear of the #5 Mach MC86 ahead of him, which damaged the radiator of the blue and silver Nissan. Sasaki and Hirate went from a podium to out of the race in the blink of an eye.
This gave the position to the #8 ARTA NSX, now in the hands of Toshiki Oyu. Oyu had been fighting with Koudai Tsukakoshi in the #17 Astemo NSX for position late in the race and even touched wheels twice on the run from TGR to Coca-Cola Corner.
When Oyu gained separation it looked like the orange ARTA NSX would be in line for back-to-back podiums. But on the penultimate lap, it began to slow rapidly! The car had run out of fuel just short of taking the white flag – both ARTA cars had been hit with unthinkable misfortunes and lost out on the podium with each.
Thus, the Astemo NSX of Tsukakoshi and Matsushita – which had flown under the radar as a podium contender during the race meeting – grabbed the third position after starting eighth in the race.
The #14 Eneos X Prime GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima/Kenta Yamashita) was right behind them, finishing in a strong fourth place on a quiet but productive day for ROOKIE Racing in front of its new garage.
With the late retirement of the #24 Realize Z, the highest-finishing Nissan was the #3 Niterra Motul Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/Mitsunori Takaboshi) in fifth. Takaboshi’s late battles with Tsukakoshi were a highlight of the last portion of the race.
Late dramas for the #24 Realize Corporation Advan Nissan Z (Daiki Sasaki/Kohei Hirate) elevated the intra-make battle between the #8 ARTA Mugen NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri/Toshiki Oyu) and the #17 Astemo NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Nobuharu Matsushita) to a fight for the last podium position. Amazingly, Oyu’s car slowed down on the penultimate lap, and Tsukakoshi drove past to give the Astemo NSX the final podium position!
The #14 Eneos X Prime GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima/Kenta Yamashita) finished fourth, ahead of the top Nissan, the #3 Niterra Motul Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/Mitsunori Takaboshi), in fifth. Takaboshi’s late battles with Tsukakoshi were a highlight in the final stages of the race – and a great tale of redemption after his horrible crash in this race last year.
Further back, the #37 Deloitte TOM’s GR Supra (Ukyo Sasahara/Giuliano Alesi) finished in sixth, this was another car that fell afoul of the closed pits at Okayama during an early incident but came back for Fuji to score valuable points.
And speaking of valuable points scored, Okayama winners Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli were able to retain the GT500 Championship lead with a seventh-place finish in the #23 Motul Autech Z.
The #39 Denso Kobelco SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi/Yuichi Nakayama) finished eighth, the #1 Marelli Impul Z (Kazuki Hiramine/Bertrand Baguette) finished a disappointing ninth, and after the drive-through penalty, Fukuzumi and Otsu consolidated tenth place in the #16 ARTA NSX while the #8 of Nojiri and Oyu dropped to 11th after running out of fuel on the last lap.
It was also a tough day for the #19 WedsSport Supra of Kunimoto and Sena Sakaguchi, which appeared to have the same problems converting qualifying form into race pace. After Kunimoto fought and fought to keep as many as seven other cars behind him at one stage, the Yokohama-clad Toyota slipped out of points contention before Sakaguchi even got in the car, and they finished 12th.
The GT300 class produced a nail-biting finish. The #56 Realize/Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R of João Paulo de Oliveira and Teppei Natori won a compelling battle of various pit strategies, but only by about six-tenths of a second!
The Fuji 450km, like the other SUPER GT 450km rounds, requires teams to make two refuelling stops to comply with the regulations and at least one driver change.
From the start of the race, Oliveira was determined to execute a conventional strategy for the GT3-spec Nissan. But the teams with GTA-GT300 spec vehicles have often been tempted to try different strategies. One such tactic was to pit at the end of the first lap, top off the tank, and run what is effectively a one-stop strategy.
This is the tactic deployed by muta Racing INGING, who brought the #2 muta Racing Toyota GR86 of Yuui Tsutsumi in after one lap. Oliveira was content to lead the race and run as long as he could at the front. He had a 15-second advantage by the time he pitted after 30 laps.
The #2 muta GR86 took the virtual class lead, ahead of the #52 Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave GR Supra of Kohta Kawaai, which had a similar strategy and pitted after three laps. Oliveira was effectively running third.
Sadly for some other contenders their races came to an abrupt end. Two tyre issues caused by a left-rear suspension problem forced the #18 UPGarage Honda NSX GT3 (Takashi Kobayashi/Syun Koide) to retire around half-way into the race, while the #4 Goodsmile Hatsune Miku Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Tatsuya Kataoka) bowed out after running second early on, because of an oil leak.
On lap 46, the muta GR86 made its one and only full-service stop – refuelling, changing tyres, and drivers to Hibiki Taira. Likewise, the #52 GreenBrave GR Supra came in for a full-service stop with Hiroki Yoshida relieving Kawaai.
Oliveira cycled back out to the lead, where he ran until his 61st lap. The Realize GT-R made its final stop and Natori would take over for the final stint of the race.
After Natori rejoined the race, Taira was in front by over nine seconds – the alternate strategy had helped the creme and navy GR86 gain valuable track position. The only question now is whether or not the tyres would last and if the fuel could be managed.
It soon became apparent that Taira would have a tough task as Natori began cleaving several tenths of a second out of his race lead. Taira was able to buy some time when Natori couldn’t overtake the #96 K-tunes Lexus RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta/Shinichi Takagi) on track before it had to make its last pit stop – at least not as easily as Nissan’s new young prospect would have liked!
Eventually he was able to get past and Natori continued his pursuit. On lap 80, Taira and Natori let a faster GT500 car through at Dunlop Corner, but doing so compromised Taira’s line and allowed Natori to close right in. All Natori needed was a good exit out of Panasonic Corner (turn 16) to slipstream past Taira, outbrake him into turn one, and take the class lead back.
But Taira, himself a top prospect of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge academy, didn’t let Natori out of his sights as easily. On the last lap he got a great run through the final corners and closed right up to Natori with a chance to snatch the win away on the final lap!
But that was as close as Taira got. Natori held on by 0.579 seconds to give Kondo Racing a not-so-straightforward, pole-to-win victory.
“Over these two days, we dedicated ourselves to the goal of running a perfect race. But in this race, car #2 ran with a very good strategy that got them out in front of us in the lead. I thought it would be difficult to come from behind and win,” Oliveira said after the victory. “But Natori-san did a great job of overtaking them, and the machine maintained a strong pace that enabled us to win. I want to thank everyone for this.”
This is the fifth career GT300 class win for Oliveira, the two-time and defending GT300 Champion. For Natori, Oliveira’s new team mate who came into the seat at Kondo Racing under extraordinary circumstances – and who himself, didn’t think he’d race at all a year ago when a deal to race in F2 collapsed from under him, it was his first SUPER GT victory.
“For this first win for me in SUPER GT, I am full of gratitude to our Manager, Mr. Kondo and the team and all the fans who cheered us on,” Natori said. “At the end, it was a hard fight with car #2, but they were every bit as fast as us. To pass it, I was able to take advantage of the presence of GT500 cars to catch up, and it was just a very narrow margin of opportunity that made the overtake possible. I think it was a wonderfully exciting SUPER GT race.”
The #2 muta GR86 of Tsutsumi and Taira finished in second place, atoning for a loose wheel that came off before the end of the rain-soaked Okayama race. Legendary driver Hiroki Katoh did register as the third driver, but was content to leave his new Team Director hat and clothes on and watch from the pitwall instead of getting behind the wheel himself.
The #52 GreenBrave GR Supra of Yoshida and Kawaai rounded out the podium in third, giving them two top-five finishes to start the season.
In fourth place was the #65 LEON Pyramid AMG of Naoya Gamou and Takuro Shinohara, which took the GT300 Championship lead after this result, a pole position, and a second-place finish in Okayama. Oliveira and Natori are just two points back after their win from pole.
Considering that the #10 Ponos Gainer GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda/Riki Okusa) had been spun out after first-corner, first-lap contact, a fifth-place finish was a remarkable effort from last year’s winning team. This particularly rang true after the sister #11 Gainer TanaX GT-R (Ryuichiro Tomita/Keishi Ishikawa/Yusuke Shiotsu) dropped out of contention after two left-front tyre punctures in the race.
The other car involved in that first-lap incident, the #88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Takashi Kogure/Yuya Motojima), likewise recovered to finish in sixth place. Both cars did it without the aid of a Safety Car or FCY.
On the heels of rumours that the Audi R8 LMS GT3 may not be long for the world of top-flight sports car racing, the #6 Dobot Audi R8 LMS (Yoshiaki Katayama/Roberto Merhi – Seiya Jin, did not run) had a strong performance, running up front early and converting it into seventh place after a troubled race in Okayama.
The #31 apr Lexus LC500h (Koki Saga/Kazuto Kotaka/Yuki Nemoto) put its strong straight-line speed to the test, and came away with an eighth-place finish in its second race. Nitta and Takagi finished ninth in the #96 K-tunes RC F, and the final point was won by the #25 Hoppy Schatz GR Supra (Togo Suganami/Seita Nonaka), in tenth.
Just outside the points was the #61 Subaru BRZ R&D Sport (Takuto Iguchi/Hideki Yamauchi) which had a strong opening stint but slipped out of the top ten late in the race.
There will be fond memories of this year’s Golden Week race at Fuji Speedway for sure – and a race of this quality was exactly what fans of the series hoped to see. Now, SUPER GT looks forward to the final round before its two-month summer break: The Suzuka GT 450km Race at Suzuka Circuit, on 3-4 June.
Images © GTA
