On August 7th, Fuji Speedway hosted a SUPER GT official test, and No.18 Weider Modulo HSV-010 marked the fastest time of Day 2 during the afternoon session with a time that is unbeatable to the rivals in GT500. In the GT300, No.3 S Road NDDP GT-R marked the top time.
Session 1: 9:00 – 11:00, Weather: Sunny, Track: Dry,
Temp: Air 27℃ – 30℃, Track surface 35℃ – 44℃ (at start: 27℃ / 32℃)
Session 2: 13:00 – 15:05, Weather: Sunny then cloudy, Track: Dry,
Temp: Air 29℃ – 30℃, Track surface 38℃ – 44℃ (at start: 30℃ / 44℃)
Lexus showed off in the morning session with fast lap times
In contrast to the previous day with rain shower, the official test Day 2 at Fuji Speedway was blessed with clear sky from the morning. Air and track surface temperatures had already reached 27℃ and 35℃, respectively, by the start of morning session and continued to get higher later. By the end of 2-hour session, the temperatures were 30℃ and 44℃, respectively.
Cars entered the track as the session began, and on the second timed lap No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Hiroaki Ishiura) put their lap time in 1 min 35 sec mark. Right after that, No.36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 (Kazuki Nakajima/James Rossitier) put it in the 34 second mark, but No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 cut its time again down to 1 min 34.569 sec to retake the top position. Other than SC430, No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 (Takuya Izawa/Takashi Kogure) and No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Masataka Yanagida/Ronnie Quintarelli) were also marking good lap times, so there was already atmosphere created that stormy exchange of lap times was going to happen.
Battle in the 1 min 34 sec mark continued for a while, but, when the session entered the mid-stage, No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 put their lap time in the 1 min 33 sec mark and took the lead away from SC430 fleet. But then No.6 ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 (Kazuya Oshima/Yuji Kunimoto) got over to the top with a mere difference with 33.822 sec. The field was very tight with the time difference between the top and 14th being only 0.8 second apart.
It was No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 (Yuji Tachikawa/Kohei Hirate) that beat the time of No.6 ENEOS SUSTINA SC430. It marked 1 min 33.789 sec after one hour into the session. No.18 Weider Modulo HSV-010 (Naoki Yamamoto/ Frederic Makowiecki) also put its lap time in the 33 second mark but was short and remained at fourth.
In the second half of session, many teams ran under a race simulation. Two Lexus’, No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 and No.6 ENEOS SUSTINA SC430, dominated 1-2, and No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 and No.18 Weider Modulo HSV-010, two HSVs which were perceived as unfavorable to Fuji, followed behind. Another two SC430s, No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 and No.37 KeePer TOM’S SC430 (Daisuke Ito/ Andrea Caldarelli), lined up behind Honda.
In GT300 class, No.62 LEON SLS (Haruki Kurosawa/Tsubasa Kurosawa) that marked the top time of Day 1 marked 1 min 40.860 sec and that became a target time. Soon after, No.3 S Road NDDP GT-R (Kazuki Hoshino/Daiki Sasaki/Alex Buncombe) went over No.62 LEON SLS. No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Tetsuya Yamano/Kota Sasaki/Takuto Iguchi) placed third with a small gap.
At 1-hour mark, No.30 IWASAKI OGT Racing GT-R (Yuki Iwasaki/Igor Sushko/Kenji Kobayashi) improved lap time and followed behind No.3 S Road NDDP GT-R to complete 1-2 by GT-R NISMO GT3s.
At the end, No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT followed behind the GT-R duo, No.3 S Road NDDP GT-R and No.30 IWASAKI OGT Racing GT-R, and the “domestic cars” composed the top 3 of the class.
Fuji is no longer unfavorable? HSV-010 GT marks the fastest time
Weather forecast said “Rain” in the afternoon, but the track continued to be dry, and the 2-hour session started at 1:00PM. Air and track surface temperatures at the point were 30℃ and 44℃, respectively. Temperatures gradually decreased as the session progressed, and the temperatures were 29℃ and 38℃, respectively, when the checkered flag came out five minutes later than the schedule.
Lap times were already in the 1 min 35 sec mark from the first timed lap and the pace quickly picked up to the 34 second mark. No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R was first to put the lap time in the 34 second mark, but No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 quickly got a faster time and No.37 KeePer TOM’S SC430 as well as No.36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 rolled into the 34 second mark also. In addition, No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 emerged in between the two TOM’S. SC430 lead the field as in the morning, but No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 was holding tight to the SC430s out of the HSV-010 GT squad and put its lap time in the 34 second mark. No.32 Epson HSV-010 (Ryo Michigami/Daisuke Nakajima) also paced up the lap time and, at one point, beat No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 and topped the HSV-010 GT fleet.
After little over 40-minute mark of the session, No.62 LEON SLS came to a stop at a place after Turn 2, which brought a red-flag out to suspend the session. That was the first red-flag out of two days. When the session resumed after about 10 minutes, No.18 Weider Modulo HSV-010 increased its pace. It broke the 34 second wall suddenly and marked 1 min 33.672 sec, putting them to the top position with a huge gap of more than 8 seconds from the second position. After all, HSV-010 GTs showed good performance with No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 placing second with 34.124 sec and No.17 KEIHIN HSV-010 (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Toshihiro Kaneishi) at fifth with 34.559 second.
From there on, teams concentrated on setting up their cars for a long run. Second red-flag of the day came out at 14:47 to collect No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 that stopped at just after Turn 2. Session resumed at 14:53 and the checkered flag came out 5 minutes behind the schedule. HSV held 1-2 with No.18 Weider Modulo HSV-010 getting the top time of session and No.100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 following at second position. Lap time of No.18 Weider Modulo HSV-010 was faster than that of No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 marked in the morning session, thus, making it the fastest time of the day.
In the GT300 class, No.48 DIJON Racing IS GT-R (Hiroshi Takamori/Katsumasa Chiyo/Masaki Tanaka) and No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT put their lap times in the 41 second mark one after another and formed top 2, but at the end No.48 DIJON Racing IS GT-R stood on top. No.3 S Road NDDP GT-R and No.31 Panasonic apr PRIUS GT (Morio Nitta/Koki Saga/Yuichi Nakayama) followed the No.48 car. No.30 IWASAKI OGT Racing GT-R was also lapping at a fast pace, indicating how well GT-Rs were performing.
In the last stage of session, the first and second remained to be the same with No.48 DIJON Racing IS GT-R and No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT. No.30 IWASAKI OGT Racing GT-R followed the two, and No.3 S Road NDDP GT-R that became the fastest of the day with the time marked in the morning was two places behind them with No.11 GAINER DIXCEL SLS (Katsuyuki Hiranaka/Bjorn Wirdheim), which improved its best time at the very last moment.
GT500 class fastest time
Naoki Yamamoto / No.18 Weider Modulo HSV-010 : We did a long run in the morning and had a different menu in the afternoon. I got it (top lap time) when I went out on a new set of standard tires to do the final checkup of the setup, and I had a clear lap, so I think I was able to get the car’s current potential out. But I still had some more room to push if I were going for a fast time. It feels great to get the top time (of Day 2) at Fuji where it had been said to be unfavorable to HSV-010 GT. Consistent fast laps would be required at a real race, so it will be important to see how far we can go (in terms of consistent laps). Of course, there is Suzuka coming up next weekend, and if we miss out on top positions there, then the championship would end for us, so we will go for a win instead of just picking up few points. And then, it would be great if we can finish in an upper position by utilizing the data we got today when we come back to Fuji.
GT300 class fastest time
Daiki Sasaki / No.3 S Road NDDP GT-R : I couldn’t drive yesterday because there was a rookie test, but I was able to pick up a good mileage today from the morning. Balance of our car began to get better from around last SUGO (Round 4), and we were able to confirm that today too in a long run. Tire testing for the Round 6 Fuji was the main part of our testing menu this time, but we also got good data for next weekend (Round 5 Suzuka). I was impressed with the two guys from the GT Academy that ran today. It was first time for them to drive at this circuit, but they were able to run in a lap time that is only about a second slower than ours right away. That was a great stimulation to me. With regards to the performance adjustment on the JAF-GT300, I don’t think it’s advantageous (to FIA-GT cars) yet. If there were a very heavy handicap weight, like 100kg, I would think that would have more impact, but they can run in lap times that match up with us. Anyways, I want to win next at Suzuka and we need to win, I think.
Source : SUPER GT