The GT Association (GTA) has issued an amendment to the SUPER GT Sporting Regulations that will limit the maximum amount of Success Weight in GT300 for the remaining five rounds of the 2024 season.
Effective from the upcoming Fuji GT 350km Race in August, the maximum Success Weight in GT300 will be reduced from 80 kg to 50 kg per car.
In response to a few severe accidents last season, SUPER GT implemented measures to slow down both classes of cars. In GT300, all vehicles were given 33 to 52 kilogrammes of additional weight to limit speeds, while the maximum Success Weight was limited to 80 kg per car.
But this weekend at Suzuka, several GT300 teams are already tipping the scales at around or above 1,400kg when accounting for this special weight adjustment, plus BoP and Success Weight.
One of the four cars which weighed in at 1,400kg or more is the championship-leading #2 muta Racing Toyota GR86 (Yuui Tsutsumi/Hibiki Taira). Last week, in response to SUPER GT publishing the BoP tables for Suzuka, Tsutsumi remarked on social media: “Even at the last round in Fuji, the car was so heavy that the power steering motor broke. I don’t know what kind of trouble will happen if the car is even heavier.
“A hot, long race in a heavy car puts too much load on tyres and suspension, so it would be nice if everyone was lightened up – and not wait until after a big crash.”
Despite the power steering issue, Tsutsumi and Taira finished sixth – but they, along with INGING Chief Engineer Shintaro Watanabe and LM corsa driver Hiroki Yoshimoto, have expressed concerns about the trend of increasing weight.
Feature image © Saitama Green Brave
