Both races of the SRO Japan Cup decider will be led to green by Ferrari 296 GT3s after Qualifying was held this morning.
For the first time this weekend, drivers were treated to consistently dry conditions at Suzuka Circuit. Q1 set the grid for this afternoon’s race at 1:45 PM JST, where the #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Yorikatsu Tsujiko won the pole with a lap of 2:01.299.
Championship leader Yusaku Shibata was second in the #24 Max Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, just 0.058 seconds behind Tsujiko with a lap of 2:01.357.
Mineki Okura timed in third aboard the #19 Spirit of FFF Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, but was under investigation for potentially speeding in pit lane by the end of Q1. For now, Okura is set to start next to the #1 Hitotsuyama with Cornes Racing Ferrari of Akihiro Tsuzuki in fourth, with the #88 Miracolo Tokyo McLaren 720S GT3 of Tadao Uematsu in fifth, and the #9 Bingo Racing with LM corsa Porsche 911 GT3 R of Shinji Takei in sixth.
Yusaku Maezawa qualified his #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari in seventh despite spinning off at 130R during his run.
Q2 would set the grid for the final race, taking place Sunday morning before the 50th Suzuka 1000km at 9:10 AM.
And with the professional drivers at the wheel, the intensity kicked up. Midway through the session, Naoki Yokomizo in the #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari set the first sub-two minute lap time of the weekend, taking provisional pole with a 1:59.674. Yokomizo’s time appeared to be able to hold up for pole, until reigning champion Shintaro Kawabata stepped forward.
Kawabata, on his last flying lap, found another three tenths to put the #1 Hitotsuyama Ferrari on pole for Race 2, with a 1:59.357. It’ll be an all-Ferrari front row for the decider, coming off last year’s Japan Cup Suzuka races which were both won by Ferrari teams.
Ukyo Sasahara in the #9 Bingo Racing Porsche qualified third, ahead of Sena Sakaguchi, who put the returning #96 K-tunes Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R fourth on the grid.
Behind him, Yuya Motojima qualified fifth in the #24 Max Racing Mercedes-AMG, Jake Parsons was a solid sixth in the #27 AWD Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, and Kenta Yamashita was seventh in the #88 Miracolo Tokyo McLaren. The top GT3 Am car was the #19 Spirit of FFF Lamborghini driven by Hiroshi Hamaguchi in eighth.
Zenko RS Garage’s #82 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport driven by newly-crowned champions Yoshitomo Makino and Takeshi Suehiro won the GT4 pole position for both races.
Also of note is Norik Racing, whose only Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo was involved in an accident during Night Practice for the Suzuka 1000km last night. The team was granted and completed a hardship lap this morning, but neither Norikazu “Norik” Shibata or Taku Bamba completed a qualifying run.
Images © SRO Motorsports Group
