2022 SUPER GT Round 8 Report

【SUPER GT Round 8 ／ Mobility Resort Motegi】

Regaining First Championship Since 2020 After Losing A Wheel!, Lady Luck Smiles On Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R

SUPER GT Round 8

Date	5-6 November 2022
Course	Mobility Resort Motegi
Weather	Race : Fine / Qualifying : Fine
Surface	Race : Dry / Qualifying : Dry
Race Laps	63 Laps (1Lap = 4,801m)

The eight-race 2022 Super GT championship finally reached the season’s last round. In this race at Mobility Resort Motegi, almost all cars ran without Success Weight. Therefore, it was presumed that their inherent competitiveness would govern the outcome more so than in the season opener, when no one had such weight, considering the progress and development throughout the year.

Among the Yokohama Tire users, the Kiyoto Fujinami/Joao Paolo Oliveira pair, driving Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R, still had a chance to win the GT300 class championship when the final round began.

On Saturday, November 5th, the official practice session was held in the morning hours. Although it was chilly in the early morning, a clear blue sky prevailed soon, bringing warm air to the track before the qualifying session started.

In the GT300 class, eight Yokohama-shoed cars survived the fight for Q2. Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R with Fujinami behind the wheel was the second fastest in Group A, which was a promising start for the title battle. And Takashi Kobayashi in UpGrage NSX GT3 took the top slot in Group B.

In Q2, Kakunoshin Ohta, at the wheel of the NSX, lost out to the eventual pole sitter but still got the second grid. Tatsuya Kataoka, sharing GoodSmile Hatsune Miku AMG with Nobuteru Taniguchi, came in third, and Takashi Kogure driving Weibo Primez Lamborghini GT3 followed in fourth. Oliveira secured seventh place behind one of the title contenders, but it looked to be quite possible to hold the championship lead if they could keep the same position to the end.

Regarding Q1 for the GT500 class, Daiki Sasaki in Realize Corporation ADVAN Z marked the second fastest time, and Yuji Kunimoto came in third. Hence, both Yokohama-shoed cars easily cleared the bar for Q2. At this time, the expectations for the season’s fifth pole position by a Yokohama Tire user grew even higher.

However, Kohei Hirate’s qualifying attempt in Kondo Racing’s Z was ranked only fifth. And Sena Sakaguchi in the WedsSport-backed Supra made a near-perfect qualifying run after warming up his tires carefully and placed the car’s name on the top of the leaderboard. But, in the last minutes of the session, his time was beaten by the eventual pole sitter, so they had to accept the second grid.

The weather remained fine on Sunday, November 6th. The air/track temperatures just before the start were 16/27 degrees centigrade, precisely the same as those at the beginning of the qualifying. Therefore, Yokohama Tire users might well repeat the equally good performance they had done the day before regarding track conditions.

UpGarage NSX GT3, with Kobayashi in the driving seat, made a brilliant start in the GT300 class. He overtook the pole-sitting NSX at Turn 3 and held it off.

However, on Lap 6, when everybody found their pace, a multi-car crash occurred at Turn 3. The race control declared Full Course Yellow immediately, but it had to be switched to the Safety Car period because the oil spilled on the track needed treatment. And when everything was ready to resume the race, another accident happened on the pit straight. As a result, it took more than 30 minutes to restart on Lap 21, which meant the pit stop window, in view of driver change, opened soon after the Safety Car period ended.

Therefore, many starting drivers headed to the pit lane, but Ohta in UpGarage NSX GT3 stayed out until Lap 26. Then, unfortunately, because the car had a problem with its clutch, it lost more than ten seconds at the stop and many positions.

Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R came into the pit one lap earlier than Ohta’s NSX, and Fujinami handed the car to Oliveira. But they also lost a few positions during the stop and allowed the three title contenders, all of which stopped earlier, to get ahead of the car. Nevertheless, the GT-R’s crew could still win the championship on their own if they could stay there.

The Brazilian overtook one of their main rivals on Lap 27 and got closer to the other two, so it looked like their chances of winning the title were high. Then, however, the car suddenly lost the right-hand front wheel at Turn 3 on Lap 41 due to a loose wheel nut. It was fortunate that he could bring the GT-R back to the pit and rejoin the race, but many thought their championship hope was dashed at that moment, as the car was now out of points and lapped by the leader.

Thus, the title crown might go to either the GR Supra running in second or another GT-R in third. But, in the closing stage, other Yokohama Tire users showed a superior pace than other title contenders. To start with, Kosuke Matsuura, behind the wheel of Bamboo Airways Lamborghini GT3, passed the GT-R on Lap 52. And Ohta in UpGarage NSX GT3 followed Matsuura’s path on the next lap after a tumultuous catch-up.

Matsuura overtook even the title-contending GR Supra on the final lap and moved up to second. Moreover, Weibo Primez Lamborghini GT3 driven by Kogure also passed the GT-R, and the championship point situation changed dramatically. In the end, none of the rivals couldn’t surpass Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R, which ended the race in 19th, in the final point standings, so Fujinami/Oliveira pair regained the GT300 championship title, which they first won in 2020. Most noteworthy about this reversal of fortune was the invaluable help from other Yokohama Tire users who robbed the points from their rivals.

In the GT500 class, Kunimoto in WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra began the race from the second grid and kept the position for a while. On the other hand, starting from the fifth on the grid, Realize Corporation ADVAN Z with Sasaki at the wheel dropped to tenth because he tried to avoid a collision between the cars ahead at Turn 5. And things went bad to worse, as he was involved in the pile-up mentioned above and forced to retire the car only after eight laps from the start.

The Safety Car period helped WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra reduce the gap with the race leader. But Sakaguchi, who drove the car after the driver change on Lap 22, struggled with the tire warm-up on his out lap and lost a few positions. Furthermore, he had to control his pace because of the excessive fuel consumption and ended the race in a disappointing seventh.

Drivers’ Voices

Kiyoto Fujinami (REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R)

【Result : 19th.(2022 Series Champion) in the GT300 class】

“We regained the title! Much of the credit goes to Yokohama Tire, who has provided us competitive tires throughout the year. We appreciate it very, very much. When the car lost a wheel during the race, we were on the verge of giving up, to be honest. But we didn’t stop praying, which was rewarded at the end. It’s like a miracle. We promise to keep our heads down and make more and more effort to become the back-to-back champion next year.”

Joao Paolo de Oliveira (REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R)

【Result : 19th.(2022 Series Champion) in the GT300 class】

“I didn’t know we won the championship when I crossed the finish line because the radio was switched off. And I heard the voice telling me “We are the champions” for the first time when I exited Turn 1! Yokohama supplied us the tires that were strong in a long stint, and I am pleased with that. I knew the tires were good instantly after I went to the track, so I slightly saved them in the first part of my stint. I was shocked when a loose wheel nut went off. After that, I wasn’t sure if we could still win the title but just kept pushing to the end, believing that we would. It was lucky for us that the Lamborghini overtook one of our rivals on the final lap, but that’s what Super GT is all about. The very best season for us.”

Yuji Kunimoto (WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra)

【Result : 7th. in the GT500 class】

“It took a while to warm up my tires after the start, but I managed to keep the position where we started, which was good. Despite my pace after that wasn’t ideal, I was still in second when we did the driver change, so I hoped to get on the podium at the end. But it turned out to be a very difficult race for us, since the same problems about the pace on the out lap and the tire warm up recurred in the second stint. Looking back at the whole season, we have always performed really well in the qualifying. But things to be improved, such as the out lap pace or the warm up, have also been there all the time. Therefore, those are the area we need to review and develop further in the coming months. During this off season, we must take the time to reflect and learn to improve details as far as we can as a preparation for the next year.”

Sena Sakaguchi (WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra)

【Result : 7th. in the GT500 class】

“Kunimoto-san fought hard to keep the position in the first stint, although he had some difficulties. But when I went out on the track after the driver change, I found we had lost a couple of positions for some reasons, which we must review later. On top of this, I had to give way to some more opponents due to the tire warm-up issue on the out lap. Then I was told not to drive flat-out because we weren’t sure we had enough fuel to finish the race. So it was a frustrating race, in which we weren’t allowed to show our full abilities. We had a good track record here at Motegi, but we didn’t have a good long-run pace today. So I think we have to review what we have done to date thoroughly.”

Kohei Hirate (Realize corporation ADVAN Z)

【Result : Retire in the GT500 class】

“I didn’t drive in the race because we retired the car early. However, looking back on the whole season, I strongly felt the progress of the tires we have developed. We got on the podium twice, and I think we have been more consistent than the other team in the Yokohama camp. And I could feel the progress of myself through the season. So I’m ready to put even more effort into it next year.”

Daiki Sasaki (Realize corporation ADVAN Z)

【Result : Retire in the GT500 class】

“I was so unlucky today. I lost momentum when the no.8 car and the no.3 car collided just in front of me on the opening lap, resulting in losing a lot of positions. Then, a car dove into the corner and hit another one, and someone crashed into me from behind, as all I could do was hit my brake. It was a kind of ‘being in the wrong place at the wrong time’ situation. I think we had a pace toward the end of the season, so I hope to start the next year from where we were today. And I will give everything to win a race or races next season.”

Kosuke Matsuura (Bamboo Airways LAMBORGHINI GT3)

【Result : 2nd. in the GT300 class】

“I didn’t know about the title fight situation at all when I was driving. But I am really happy about contributing to Yokohama Tire’s great achievement, as a result of doing our best in the race. Essentially, we should also be one of the title contenders, and it is our aim. But today we would like to thank Yokohama because we could fight for those important positions. We took an unorthodox strategy when the Safety Car came out, and it led to our better pace in the second half of the race. It was a well-executed race, I would say.”

Natsu Sakaguchi (Bamboo Airways LAMBORGHINI GT3)

【Result : 2nd. in the GT300 class】

“I had a hard time immediately after the start, but the strategy my team opted for worked very well. So I could push when I drove alone on the track and handed the car to Kosuke-san in an optimal way. With Kosuke-san overtaking a few more opponents, I am happy about executing a really nice race today. Engineers from Yokohama Tire joined us to cheer him, like “Go ahead and pass them!” The tires were excellent, and I could drive at a good pace.”

Takashi Kobayashi (UPGARAGE NSX GT3)

【Result : 4th. in the GT300 class】

“I knew it’s a what if story, but we would have won this race for sure, if we didn’t have the problem. We couldn’t disengage the clutch, so we had to start off with the power of starter motor after the pit stop. Unfortunately, we lost more than ten seconds because of the problem. Our out lap was faster than that of no.55 car which eventually won, so I’m sure that we could undercut and get ahead of them, and our pace after that was good, especially in the second stint. I really want to win a race and please our fans next year.”

Kakunoshin Ohta (UPGARAGE NSX GT3)

【Result : 4th. in the GT300 class】

“I was informed later that we assisted [Nissan Mechanic Challenge] GT-R and Yokohama Tire to win the championship, and I wasn’t aware of it at all during the race. As for our race, we were leading when the car came back to the pit, but we lost about 15 seconds at the stop and dropped back a lot. But it is what it is. The tires were fine. It was frustrating, but I think the way we executed the race was acceptable.”

Engineer’s Voice

Takayuki Shiraishi　[The Yokohama Rubber Co.,LTD. Motorsports Tire Development Dept. No.1 Tire Development Division]

“We would like to thank the team and the drivers of Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R for winning their second championship title with us. We were weary and worn out by just watching how things went! The tires worked well from the qualifying day, and their race pace was good enough, so I thought we were closing in on winning it. And when I knew the car’s wheel went off due to a loose wheel nut, I was like, ‘Oh, no, it’s over.’ We must thank the two Lamborghinis of the JLOC team, as they performed really well and robbed the championship points from our rivals. They reported the tires suited to the car and the track conditions. We have conducted tire testing with JLOC this year, so we are pleased to see their excellent results today. I would say ‘All Yokohama Effort’ made this startling conclusion possible.

“As for the GT500 class, while the track temperature on the race day wasn’t that low, the tire’s warm up characteristics seemed to be off-target. As a result, it was a tough race for us. For the next season, we need to work on the improvement in that particular area by further developing both constructions and compounds.”

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2022 SUPER GT Round 8