Toyota stamped its authority on the first SUPER GT Fuji GT Sprint Race on Saturday, converting a top-three lockout in Qualifying into a top-five sweep in Saturday’s 35-lap sprint.
Three-time and defending GT500 Champion Sho Tsuboi in the #1 au TOM’S Toyota GR Supra took his second win of the season, leading the Toyota brigade.
Tsuboi began the day with the quickest time in Practice, then qualified second behind Sena Sakaguchi in the #19 WedsSport Advan GR Supra, who took his second pole of the year and sixth of his career – by only 0.053s.
In Practice and Qualifying, the weather was sunny – but by the start of the race, rain clouds were rolling overhead. Sakaguchi led the field to the green flag, while Toshiki Oyu in the #38 KeePer Cerumo GR Supra tried to wrestle second place from Tsuboi. Oyu got ahead into TGR Corner (turn one), but Tsuboi was able to get back ahead at Dunlop Corner and tried overtaking Sakaguchi for the lead.
But behind them, contact between Kazuya Oshima and Tadasuke Makino sent the #14 Eneos X Prime GR Supra of Oshima into the tyre barrier and brought out a Safety Car.
On the ensuing restart, Tsuboi got a great launch out of TGR Corner, setting him up to overtake Sakaguchi for the lead on lap six. Oyu would follow Tsuboi through into second shortly after, and the #39 Denso Kobelco SARD GR Supra of Sacha Fenestraz overtook the #3 Niterra Motul Z of Daiki Sasaki to make it an all-Toyota top four.
As Tsuboi and Oyu began to separate from the field, Ukyo Sasahara in the #37 Deloitte TOM’S GR Supra was charging through the field from 11th on the grid. After gaining three places on the first lap, Sasahara moved up to sixth, and then overtook Bertrand Baguette for fifth place, putting five Toyotas in the top five.
Oyu kept the pressure up, but Tsuboi would hold him off to take the win in Saturday’s multi-class sprint. It’s Tsuboi’s ninth career GT500 victory and his second of the year.
And, it’s a record-extending eighth consecutive GT500 race win for Toyota.
“Rather than the race, I feel embarrassed about my mistake in the qualifying!” Tsuboi laughed after the race. “So, I felt that it would be just too embarrassing if I didn’t win the race. I knew that I could run at a good pace in the race, but at the start I guess I was a little too cautious.
“With this race format, it is hard on the mechanics. Still, the team was able to set up the car perfectly, and so this win is also one that will also contribute to tomorrow’s second race. Also, since there was no Success Weight to deal with this time, we were able to race without any stress for the first time in a while.”
Oyu brought the #38 KeePer GR Supra home in second place, 2.529 seconds behind Tsuboi, and over 20 seconds ahead of the next car in Toyota’s top-five lockout.
Fenestraz was able to overtake Sakaguchi for third place with ten laps to go, and took the chequered flag ahead of Sasahara in fourth, with Sakaguchi in fifth. However, Fenestraz was given a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage over the #3 Niterra Z.
Sasahara, therefore, moved up to third, with Sakaguchi in fourth, and Fenestraz in fifth.
Bertrand Baguette brought the #12 TRS Impul Nissan Z home in sixth place, ahead of the #100 Stanley Honda Civic Type R-GT of Tadasuke Makino in seventh, the best of their respective manufacturers.
Daiki Sasaki, Syun Koide, and Tomoki Nojiri rounded out the top ten.
Over in GT300, GTA-GT300 cars locked out the front row. Hibiki Taira took his first career pole in the #2 Hyper Water INGING Toyota GR86, ahead of Hideki Yamauchi in the #61 Subaru BRZ R&D Sport.
Rikuto Kobayashi, who was second-quickest in Practice, put his #7 CarGuy MKS Ferrari 296 GT3 third on the grid.
Taira led the opening lap ahead of Yamauchi, while Kobayashi dropped to fifth behind the #777 D’station Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Charlie Fagg, and the #4 Goodsmile Hatsune Miku Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Tatsuya Kataoka.
They remained in that order after the restart, but by lap 10, Fagg was closing in on Yamauchi for second, and overtook the Subaru at TGR Corner. Roberto Merhi’s #6 Uni-Robo Bluegrass Ferrari overtook Kataoka for fifth, but was then given a drive-through penalty for overtaking before the start/finish line on the restart, dropping him to 15th by the finish.
Light rain was falling by the time there were 15 laps to go, and on lap 21, Fagg made another lunge to overtake Taira for the lead.
One lap later, Kataoka overtook Taira at Advan Corner to move up to second place. Meanwhile, the #65 LEON Pyramid AMG of Naoya Gamou would work his way up to third.
Kataoka and Gamou were closing in, and Kataoka even made a lunge up the inside of Advan Corner for the lead – but Fagg would hold off the two Mercedes and take his second career GT300 victory, and the second for D’station Racing.
He said after the race: “I am very happy. Since I was starting from fourth on the grid, I didn’t think I would be able to take the lead. But from the middle stages of the race the feeling of the car was very good, and although there was some light rainfall, that is what made me determined to go all out for the win. That’s why things worked out so well, I think. I just want to say thanks to everyone!”
Back in SUPER GT after a very difficult Spa 24 Hours, Kataoka finished just 0.785 seconds behind in second place. Gamou was a further half-second behind in third.
Kobayashi drove the #7 CarGuy MKS Ferrari to fourth in the end, while the #52 Saitama Green Brave GR Supra of Hiroki Yoshida finished fifth as the top GTA-GT300 car, after getting by Taira, who dropped to sixth at the flag.
Yusuke Shiotsu was an impressive seventh in the #5 Mach Syaken/Air Buster MC86, ahead of Yamauchi, who finished eighth in his Subaru.
Tsubasa Kondo, Takashi Kobayashi, João Paulo de Oliveira, Ryuichiro Oyagi, Takuro Shinohara, Igor Fraga, and Merhi occupied the rest of the points-paying positions down to 15th.
Takashi Kogure in the #0 Venteny Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 retired after 17 laps with a mechanical issue.
Images © GTA
