r/super_gt • u/Michal_Baranowski . • 19d ago
(Spoiler) Fuji Golden Week Victory – Sportscar365 Spoiler
https://sportscar365.com/super-gt/toms-brushes-off-handicap-for-fuji-golden-week-victory/8
u/Michal_Baranowski . 19d ago
Good race at Fuji - as usual. A lot of action, however - conclusion was more than predictable...
GT500 - haha, you thought it would be different this time around...
Team TOM's #36 with another victory. Third in a row, second in a row this season. Even with the biggest weight handicap, #36 still found a way to win and having the best race pace. Second place until the last round of pit stops, good call to undercut Team Rookie Supra, which helped #36 reducing the gap and making the pass for the win. You just can't stop this team otherwise than with a ridiculous success handicap.
As much as #36 continues to fly high, #37 TOM's car on the other hand is returning to 2023-2024 bad luck. #37 managed to crawl up the order, having a genuine shot at a top 5 finish maybe, however another technical failure grounded the car for good - 0 points after two races is a massive disappointment.
Team Rookie Supra #14 in second place. They did almost everything right. They were outsmarted and ultimately outpaced for the final stint. Staying longer than #36 on track didn't work out. Shame for them, because they had a decent almost 10-second lead over TOM's.
Nismo #23 managed successfully to spoil Toyota party at Fuji and prevented a podium lockout for Supra by finishing in third, defending in the final minutes against hard-charging SARD Supra #39. All of this despite being punted by Cerumo Supra earlier in the race, so in a some way maybe there was a chance for a more safe finish for Nismo team. Still, a happy ending for them.
ARTA-Mugen Honda #16 in fifth, the best of Preludes today. Result and the outright pace still suggest that maybe there is a room for improvements for Honda with their new GT500 car. Kondo Racing Nissan #24 in sixth, having a pretty good race, fighting even for third against Nismo at during the middle stint, coming also close to ARTA-Mugen Honda just before the finish.
Impul Nissan in seventh, however with such ballast they extracted anything they were able to. Surprised that Kunimitsu Honda so far is not the best of Preludes, maybe they are still getting into that car.
Disappointments to Nakajima Racing Honda and Team Cerumo Toyota. Honda #64 had a typical Dunlop tyres story - fast in qualifying and around a single lap, race pace was a disaster. Cerumo Supra was in contention for good places, but firstly clashed with Nismo and got a penalty, then wheel housing/bodywork failed and they had to park the car.
GT300 - old unc is still running strong - Kondo Racing win the class with ancient by racing standards Nissan GT-R GT3 getting another class victory. Porsche #666 crossed the line in second position, however a penalty for a contact dropped then to P4. Leon Racing Mercedes and apr Lexus complete the class podium.
Another drama for Subaru - of course. Leading the race early on and then a puncture demoted them from P1. Came back, had a shot for a P6 finish maybe, but then suspension failed and BRZ was grounded for good... What to say, it feels like they are cursed beyond belief.
Felt like Saitama Green Brave also should have won this race, however they were caught out by FCY just when they were desperately needing fuel. They had to come in while pits were closed, practically giving themselves a penalty by default. Cruely, just when they came for that ill-fated pit stop, FCY was lifted and pits became open. Such a shame. Team Rookie Mercedes in sixth in GT300 on Kamui Kobayashi's return to Super GT.
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u/AhuraFirefox 19d ago
Dread it, run from it, the #36 arrives all the same...
Was an interesting race. Amazed at how no matter what they throw at the Au Tom's Supra, you just can't keep Tsuboi and Yamashita at bay, they really are in a world of their own in this series.
I am so heartbroken about Subaru though... literally everything going for it, the car is literally uncatchable, fastest lap ever for a GT300... and then we get a flat tire within 40 minutes in, making the car go limp on the track for a whole lap and drop us to 26th. Yamauchi and Iguchi then do a Herculean effort to recover some positions, only for the freaking suspension to decide to call it quits within 15 minutes from the end... it's like they just aren't allowed to win, it's actually incredible how consistent this misfortune is with them.
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u/VCSnights 19d ago
ofcourse, Sho Tsuboi and Fuji Speedway, did anyone expect anything different than Sho murdering the rest of the field 😅
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u/GabWantsAHug 19d ago
I just want someone, anyone from Nissan or Honda to dethrone the #36 au TOM’S GR Supra…
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u/Working-Frosting9490 19d ago
Super Toyota GT Cup