SUPER GT final round at Motegi: Passionate farewell drive in the Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT
On November 1–2, the final round of the 2025 SUPER GT Series, “MOTEGI GT 300km RACE GRAND FINAL,” was held at Mobility Resort Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture. For Astemo REAL RACING, this marked not only the season finale but also the final race with the CIVIC. The team entered the race with Car No. 17, the Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT, and gave it their all—pushing hard to the very end.
November 1 (Sat): Official qualifying Weather: Sunny Track: Dry
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Due to rain the previous day, the track remained damp in places during the morning practice session, which began at 9:10 AM. The team cautiously began the session after a 20-minute delay, checking track conditions and working on race-day setup. However, they struggled to find the right balance and couldn’t gain a solid feel for the car.
During the GT500 exclusive session, teams made final adjustments for qualifying. Despite a strong effort, the Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT placed 13th.
In Q1, Koudai Tsukakoshi took the wheel. Despite consistent driving, he couldn’t close the gap with the front runners and ended up 15th. The team remained determined to fight hard in the final race, even from the back of the grid.
November 2 (Sun): Race Day Weather: Sunny Track: Dry
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Race day brought perfect weather. As the announcer Pierre Kitagawa shouted “Are you ready!!”, 1,200 fans in the Astemo grandstand waved flags in unison. At 1:00 PM, the parade lap began, followed by the formation lap, and then the 63-lap final race was underway.
Shun Koide started the race and made an aggressive charge from the back, overtaking two cars on the opening lap to move into 13th. By lap 7, GT300 traffic began mixing in, and on lap 8, a Full Course Yellow (FCY) was declared. With GT300 cars ahead and rivals close behind, tension was high. At the restart on lap 9, Koide calmly held his position.
Though losing a spot to Car No. 24 on lap 12, he regained 13th by passing Car No. 19 on lap 15. The car showed stable pace, and hopes were high for the latter half of the race. Pit stops began around lap 23, and Astemo REAL RACING pitted on lap 25, executing a smooth tire change and refueling before handing over to Tsukakoshi.
After all pit stops were completed, the Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT emerged in 11th. Just 0.7 seconds behind Car No. 16, a fierce six-car battle ensued. Over the radio, Team Director Katsutomo Kaneishi urged, “Let’s bring home some points!” Responding to the call, Tsukakoshi overtook Car No. 16 on lap 41 to move into 10th, then thrilled the crowd by passing Cars No. 8 and No. 14 on lap 43 to jump to 8th.
From mid-race onward, Tsukakoshi drove with fuel efficiency in mind, defending his position with tenacity. On lap 52, he was pushed wide by Car No. 14 and dropped to 10th. Still, he didn’t give up—despite being passed again on lap 54, he capitalized on a collision ahead on the next lap to reclaim 10th.
As the race neared its end, the fuel gauge was nearing empty. Tsukakoshi continued to push, aiming for a higher position. But just before the checkered flag on the final lap, the car ran out of fuel and slowed. The crowd applauded as the Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT crawled toward the finish line.
The car crossed the line in 15th, but after post-race penalties and disqualifications, the official result was 13th. Though the result fell short of expectations, the team’s unity and never-give-up spirit shone through.
■Comments from Team Directors and Drivers
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- Team Director Katsutomo Kaneishi
From the free practice sessions, we struggled to find a good feeling with the car and couldn’t fully resolve the lack of grip on both the front and rear tires. Tsukakoshi handled Q1, but due to the unbalanced setup, even though he put together a solid lap, we ended up in 15th.
For the final race, we made some setup changes, and during the warm-up session, we started to see signs of improvement, which gave us hope going into the race. In the final, both drivers showed a strong and determined drive to move up through the field. However, due to contact and fuel issues, it became a tough situation where we barely managed to take the checkered flag. Although this season did not deliver the results we had hoped for, we were able to finish with an aggressive and challenging race — something we’d like to carry forward into next year. With our race car changing to the Honda Prelude next season, we plan to start fresh and rebuild from the ground up.
Thank you very much for your continued support throughout the year. We truly appreciate it, and look forward to your support again next season. -
- Driver Koudai Tsukakoshi
From the very start of the weekend, the overall balance of the car setup wasn’t bad, but to improve lap times, there were several areas that needed further adjustment. Going into qualifying, despite our efforts we couldn’t achieve the desired performance and ended up in 15th—it was a tough qualifying session for us. In the race, our pace wasn’t bad, but it was difficult to gain positions. Thanks to the team’s excellent pit work, we were able to rejoin the race in a much better position. Our pace afterwards was strong, allowing us to catch up with the pack and push forward. However, we couldn’t fully overtake the group, and after getting involved in several incidents, we were unable to move up further. Toward the end, we also ran short on fuel—we managed to finish the race, but unfortunately lost some positions.
I truly feel there was more I could have done personally, and it was a race that left us with many lessons. Throughout this season, we tried many different setups and approaches, but we couldn’t quite turn them into solid results. It has been a very frustrating year for me.
Next season, with the new car coming in, I believe that unless we apply what we’ve learned this year, we won’t be able to achieve the results we’re aiming for. As a team, we need to come together and take the time to thoroughly understand the new car.
Thank you very much for all the support throughout the season. I sincerely appreciate it and look forward to your continued support next year. -
- Driver Shun Koide
I wanted to make the most of everything I’ve built up over the past year, but there were still some areas where I couldn’t give my absolute best. Starting from the back of the grid, I was hoping to make up ground during my stint, but I wasn’t able to overtake as many cars as I had hoped. I also experienced tire pickup, which made it difficult to push with full confidence. It was a race that left me with a few personal challenges to work on.
Although the season has now come to an end, I gained many valuable experiences that I can apply to next year. Joining REAL RACING and having the opportunity to race alongside Tsukakoshi has been an incredible experience and a great asset for my career. I’ll continue to work hard during the off-season and make steady improvements to deliver strong results next year.
Thank you very much for your support throughout the season.
