With a double-file formation start, the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours began at 3:00 PM local time. Hideki Yamauchi, starting the #3 Endless Nissan GT-R, broke away along with Kiyoto Fujinami in the #99 GTNET Y’s Distraction GT-R from the rest of the field.
Atrition began even before the start of the race, when the #19 Birth Racing Project Audi RS3 LMS did not start the race. Only three laps into the race, we had our first mechanical failure with the #168 FCA Racing Honda Fit slowing down and stopping.
The first Safety Car came out after a Lap 16 crash involving the #82 Phoenix Racing Asia Audi R8 LMS of Alex Yoong, which collided with the drivers’ side door of the #59 DAMD Motul Subaru WRX STI at the TGR Corner (Turn 1). A Full Course Yellow was first deployed, as Yoong tried to drive his stricken Audi back to the pits – but the car was too heavily damaged to go anywhere, leaving it stuck on course and resulting in a full Safety Car deployment.
Manabu Osawa was able to drive the #59 Subaru back to the pits, but now the overwhelming ST-2 class favourites have a long way to go as they lost nearly a half-hour in the garage replacing the driver-side door of their WRX STI – with one from a civilian version of the car at the circuit!
With the incident, the #6 Shinryo Auto Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X of Tomohiro Tomimasu jumps out into the lead of the ST-2 class.
ST-3 has been led by the #68 Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave Toyota Mark X, with racing legend Naoki Hattori rolling back the years as he fends off a stern challenge from the 18-year-old phenom Ritomo Miyata in the #62 Denso Le Beausset Lexus RC 350 behind him in 2nd. Ryohei Sakaguchi runs third in the #38 muta Racing Lexus RC350, and Manabu Yamazaki runs fourth in the #14 Okabe Jidosha Motorsports EVA Racing Nissan Z.
The sole ST-Z runner, the #51 Diamango Porsche Cayman GT4, has moved up to 18th overall thanks to a cool, collected opening stint from veteran Atsushi Yogo. Meanwhile, the sole remaining ST-1 car, the #47 D’station Porsche 911 GT3 Cup started by Tatsuya Hoshino, has been running 7th, firmly between the ST-X and ST-TCR fields.
Daisuke Imamura has been leading the ST-TCR class since the start of the race, and has the #65 L&JR Mars Audi RS3 LMS out front ahead of the two Dome Racing Honda Civic TCRs, the #98 of Hiroki Katoh, and the #97 of Hiroki Otsu. Takuya Shirasaka runs fourth in the #45 Prisma Illya RS3, followed by Philippe Devesa in the #10 Racingline Performance Volkswagen Golf, and the #75 m-1 Carfactory RS3 of Toshiro Tsukada sixth.
And up front, with 31 laps completed, it’s still the #3 Endless GT-R of Yamauchi that leads by six seconds over the #99 GTNET GT-R of Fujinami, with Shintaro Kawabata running third in the #81 J-Fly Racing Audi R8. Seiji Ara runs fourth in the #777 D’station Porsche 911 GT3-R, ahead of Tetsuya Tanaka in the #244 MAX Racing Lexus RC F GT3 in fifth, and in sixth, Marchy Lee in the #83 Phoenix Racing Asia Audi R8.
In Group 2, the leaders are the #86 TOM’s Spirit Toyota 86 in ST-4, and the #69 J’s Racing Honda Fit leads the way in ST-5.
