SUPER GT Round 7: Strong comeback in the final, finishing 8th
On October 18–19,the SUPER GT Round 7 “AUTOPOLIS GT 3Hours RACE” was held at Autopolis in Oita Prefecture. Due to the circuit’s mountainous location, the weather changed drastically throughout the race weekend, making it a challenging race.
Saturday morning’s practice session on the 18th began under dry conditions, and the drivers commented that the car felt “pretty good.” However, rain started to fall during the GT500 exclusive session, and as it intensified, the team was unable to conduct the planned qualifying simulation runs before the session ended.
In the official qualifying session, Tsukakoshi took charge of Q1. As the rain gradually intensified and the track conditions deteriorated lap by lap, he delivered consistent laps without mistakes, but ultimately fell just short of the frontrunners, finishing 14th in qualifying.
On Sunday, the 19th, the weather continued to change dramatically, but under cloudy skies, the three-hour final race started as scheduled at 1:10 p.m. Tsukakoshi took the start, completing the opening lap in 14th position. By lap 12, a car went off the track, allowing him to move up to 13th. On lap 16, another competitor received a penalty, promoting the team to 12th. Then, on lap 23, Tsukakoshi overtook car No. 39 (DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra) at Turn 3, steadily climbing through the field.
After about 55 minutes of racing, on lap 30, the team made its first pit stop for refueling and tire changes. Tsukakoshi continued for a second stint, and once all cars had completed their first pit stops, he was running in 6th place. Maintaining a competitive pace with the leading group, he closed the gap to approximately two seconds by lap 44.
On lap 59, the team made its second pit stop for refueling and tire changes, with Koide taking over the wheel. With less than an hour remaining, Koide was running 11th on lap 69, but as two cars ahead pitted, he moved up to ninth. By lap 79, he passed car No. 14 (ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra), advancing to eighth position. In the closing stages, Koide pushed hard to catch car No. 3 (Niterra MOTUL Z) ahead, but ultimately the team completed 102 laps of the three-hour race and took the checkered flag in 8th place.
