SUPER GT Rd.4 Fuji: Fighting through fluid conditions to earn points
SUPER GT Round 4 at Fuji Speedway took place on August 1-2 following an unusually long three-month break caused by the cancellation of Round 3 at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit. A total of 56,400 spectators attended over the two-day event, filling Fuji Speedway with excitement despite the summer heat.
The No.17 Astemo HRC PRELUDE-GT had a strong pace from the outset, recording the fastest time in Saturday morning's free practice session. In Q1 qualifying, Yuto Nomura set the fastest lap overall, while Koudai Tsukakoshi secured third on the grid in Q2.
The race itself was held under challenging conditions, with sunshine and rain alternating throughout the afternoon and track conditions constantly evolving. Despite the difficult circumstances, the team fought hard until the checkered flag and finished fifth, earning six championship points.
August 1 (Sat) : Qualifying / Weather: Sunny / Track: Dry
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Qualifying was held under clear skies and dry conditions. Although the team still had room for improvement in Sector 2 during free practice, Nomura set the fastest overall time, giving the team strong momentum heading into qualifying.
Nomura took charge of Q1. After entering the circuit three minutes into the session and carefully warming up the tires, he launched his qualifying run with just 20 seconds remaining and posted the fastest overall time of 1:27.420, advancing comfortably to Q2.
In Q2, Tsukakoshi focused on delivering his quickest lap on his final attempt and recorded a time of 1:27.325. The result secured third place on the grid. Honda-powered entries occupied the top three positions, putting the team in an excellent position for Sunday's race.
August 2 (Sun): Race/ Weather: Sunny / Track: Wet, Dry
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During the morning warm-up session, the team still had concerns with the rear grip under unstable weather conditions. However, overall confidence in the car was higher than the previous day, and the team headed to the grid encouraged by the car's improved balance.
Just before the start, heavy rain suddenly began to fall on the grid, quickly turning the track wet. Although the Astemo HRC PRELUDE-GT was temporarily fitted with wet-weather tires, the team opted to switch back to slicks when the rain eased seven minutes before the start.
The race began at 1:30 p.m. behind the Safety Car. Overtaking was permitted from Lap 5, but moments later contact between the No.12, No.23, and No.64 cars resulted in a major accident, with No.64 launching into the air on the main straight. The race was immediately red-flagged.
Competition resumed at 2:15 p.m. behind the Safety Car, with racing properly getting underway following the restart on Lap 10.
Starting driver Nomura carefully managed tire temperatures during the early stages. Although he started from third, heavy traffic involving GT300-class cars made race management difficult. He was passed by the No.38 car on Lap 21 and the No.37 car shortly afterward before pitting on Lap 24. The team fitted soft tires and handed the car over to Tsukakoshi.
Rejoining in eighth, Tsukakoshi steadily worked his way forward with a consistent pace. By Lap 33, after all competitors had completed their pit stops, he had climbed to fourth place. As the leading rivals battled each other, he looked to increase his pace, but lap times began to lag after Lap 40, while Toyota competitors closed in from behind.
By lap 52, the gap to the chasing cars had shrunk to just half a second, and with six laps remaining, the No.36 car moved ahead. Despite continuing to push until the finish, Tsukakoshi was unable to regain the position.
The Astemo HRC PRELUDE-GT ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth place, earning six championship points after overcoming a highly challenging and unpredictable race.
■Comments from Team Director and Drivers
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- Team Director: Katsutomo Kaneishi
The car showed strong pace from free practice onward. Tsukakoshi set the fastest time early in the session, which allowed us to proceed with our planned setup program smoothly. Nomura also set the fastest time during the dedicated session, so we entered qualifying with high expectations.
Nomura drove in Q1 and delivered the fastest lap there as well. Tsukakoshi handled Q2, but managing tire temperatures proved difficult, which limited him to third place. Even so, it was a good position from which to start the race, and we were satisfied with the qualifying result.
In Sunday's warm-up, the car balance felt good, and we entered the race with confidence. Nomura drove the first stint. His pace was strong at the beginning, but front-end understeer gradually became more severe, preventing him from maintaining that speed.
After the driver change, Tsukakoshi's pace was very competitive early on and he was able to close in on the No.8 car. However, tire pickup became increasingly severe during the latter stages, making it difficult to improve lap times.
Given how well the weekend had started, this is a very frustrating result. For the next round at Suzuka, we will retain the strengths we've found in the car while focusing our preparations on improving race performance.
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- Driver: Koudai Tsukakoshi
With the Sepang round cancelled, we had almost three months between races. During that time, the team worked hard through meetings and simulator sessions to address areas where we had been lacking performance.
As a result, Nomura topped Q1 in qualifying, and while I personally wanted to secure pole position, third place still represented progress compared with our previous race at Fuji.
Nomura started the race under unstable weather conditions and completed his stint smoothly before handing the car over to me. During the middle portion of my stint, our pace was very strong, and we were rapidly catching the cars ahead. However, during the latter stages our performance began to decline, and we ultimately lost one position and finished fifth.
We are starting to identify the areas where the No.17 car can truly show its potential, but there are still issues to solve regarding race pace. Personally, this weekend was very frustrating, and although there is not much time before Suzuka, I want to work closely with the team to make substantial improvements and bounce back in the next round.
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- Driver: Yuto Nomura
From the very first laps, the car felt strong. We were able to set the fastest time in free practice, and I entered qualifying with a lot of confidence in our outright pace.
I managed to take the fastest time in Q1, and although we ultimately qualified third after Q2, it was still a position from which we could realistically fight for victory.
In the race, our pace wasn't too bad at the beginning, but it became increasingly difficult around the middle stages. It reminded us that there is still work to do in terms of long-run performance.
There isn't much time before Suzuka, but we will carefully analyze everything from this weekend and do our best to put ourselves in a position to fight for the win in the next race.
