2022 SUPER GT Round 3 Report

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Less than three weeks from the previous race meeting at Fuji, the 2022 Super GT series had its third event at Suzuka Circuit. As was the case in the Fuji round, held in the Golden Week holidays, this meeting at Suzuka also welcomed a crowd of spectators.

As a curious coincidence, each Friday of the three-race weekends this year, including this Suzuka round, wasn’t favored by fine weather, but the concern about rain always dissolved on Saturday and Sunday. However, it was unseasonably hot over the weekend, and many pointed out the possibility that the high-temperature conditions might influence the race’s outcome.

Four GT300 class Yokohama Tire users from Group A got through the Q1 barrier, and so did another four of them from Group B. With some of the leading cars being penalized and their best times being deleted, the class’s championship leader, Kiyoto Fujinami, behind the wheel of Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R, set the third-fastest time in Q2. Given that the car carried a 66kg Success Weight, Fujinami’s performance was amazing.

And Apr GR86 GT followed the GT-R and ended Q2 in fourth. It was worth noting that Hiroaki Nagai clocked the time in Q2 after his veteran teammate, Manabu Orido, survived Q1. Nagai is a gentleman driver based in Mie Prefecture, where Suzuka Circuit is located, so he deserved praise for finely extracting the new car’s potential at his “home” race track.

In the GT500 class, Kohei Hirate in Realize Corporation ADVAN Z ended Q1 in the tenth place and failed to advance into Q2. But WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra with Sena Sakaguchi at the wheel cleared Q1 by setting the sixth-fastest time. And then Yuji Kunimoto broke the course record for the first time in four years on his only second flying lap, which was enough to secure his first pole position in the Super GT series.

Again, the race was eventful, with two Safety Car (SC) periods and two FCYs (Full Course Yellow). Kunimoto in WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra made a good start and led the field through the first corner only to lose the position before he completed the opening lap. Shortly after that, the first FCY came in force because a GT500 car slowed down and then halted.

Kunimoto lost more positions and dropped to fifth, but his effort finally stopped the slide. Helped by the first SC period, he could reduce the deficit to the leading cars to a minimum. And whereas many rivals made early stops because of wilting heat, Kunimoto extended his stint as long as possible and changed to Sakaguchi on Lap 24 when he was the temporary leader. After the stop, the car moved back to fifth, but Sakaguchi drove consistently, and there was no real threat to him even after the second SC from Lap 40 until he finished in that position.

Thanks to other cars’ falls and dropouts, Daiki Sasaki, behind the wheel of Realize Corporation ADVAN Z, emerged to eighth, but he seemed to be struggling. However, things changed after Sasaki handed the car to Hirate on Lap 22 because a slight alteration of tire pressure for his fresh set of tires and other things paid off. Consequently, Hirate gained a few positions and eventually moved up to sixth on the final lap. Thus, the Yokohama shoed GT500 cars accomplished a long-absent double point finish.

Turning to the GT300 class, Fujinami in Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R kept the third place where he started the race, and Orido in Apr GR86 GT and Yusuke Tomibayashi driving MachSyaken Air Buster MC86 Mach-Go followed.

Then, the latter’s team went for a gamble. On Lap 16, when Tomibayashi came in to change to Reiji Hiraki, the team didn’t replace any tires at the stop to save the time to do so. As a result, Hiraki found himself in the lead among the early stoppers. Many thought it was a reckless race strategy since the temperatures were high and it was harsh conditions for the tires. But the drivers managed their one set of tires well, and they gradually climbed through the field as their rivals made pit stops one after another.

Both Fujinami and Orido visited their pit on Lap 23. When their teammates, J.P. de Oliveira and Nagai, rejoined the race after the driver change, they found Hiraki running ahead of them. The pit stops of these cars gave Yuya Motojima at the wheel of Weibo Primez Lamborghini GT3 the interim leading position.

However, Motojima went off the track after a slight collision with another car on Lap 25 when he was about to change to Takashi Kogure. As a result, the Lamborghini’s left-hand rear tire was damaged, which meant the crew dropped out of the fight for the race win, but he didn’t lose too much time, thanks to FCY immediately after the incident.

When all GT300 cars had done the mandatory stops, Hiraki was running in third, followed by Oliveira in fourth and Kogure in fifth. Probably because of this Yokohama trio’s pressure from behind, the car in the second place made a costly mistake on Lap 40, and each of the trio automatically gained a position.

The close battle between Hiraki and Oliveira during the final laps fascinated the spectators. It became one of the race’s highlights, but Hiraki didn’t give way and finished second, which was the best result ever for the team.

Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R extended its championship lead by finishing the race in third. Weibo Pirmez Lamborghini GT3 came in fourth. While Nagai lost two places on the final lap, Apr GR86 GT ended the race in eighth, and the team celebrated their new car’s first point finish.