Super GT Preview: Suzuka GT 300KM

Credit: GTA

After only a week away, Super GT returns, this time at Suzuka.

Track Overview

The Suzuka Circuit is a balanced and highly technical circuit. The sweeping opening two turns are amongst the main overtaking spots, and we’ve seen some brave drivers go for bold moves in the esses that follow in years gone by. The Turn 11 hairpin and the final chicane are the prime overtaking spots to look out for.

The balanced nature of the circuit reduces the impact of the Balance of Performance (BoP), but it should still be a major factor in deciding the pecking order.

GT500

A Resurgent Honda

After a disappointing start to the season for Honda’s new GT500 entry, the Prelude, a mixture of both strong mid-season upgrades and their competitors having to carry more Success Weight (SW), saw them back at the top, finishing 1-2 at Fuji last race weekend.

The trusty lineup of Tadasuke Makino and Naoki Yamamoto driving the Stanley Kunimitsu machine qualified second and won last time out, and the ARTA Mugen No.8, with Hiroki Otsu and the returning Kakunoshin Ohta behind the wheel, qualified on pole and finished second.

The other ARTA, the No.16, is also going to be one to look out for along with the Astemo REAL RACING crew, the latter having the lightest SW of the Bridgestone Honda runners.

Advantage Nissan?

The No.23 NISMO Nissan won this race last year | Credit: GTA

The last race at Fuji ended up a disastrous weekend for the three Nissans with the Impul and NISMO Nissans caught up in a lap one incident, effectively ending both their races, and the Kondo Nissan finishing only 11th.

The two Nissans were fast enough for the podium in the opening two rounds, and their poor results last race mean that their SW has not increased, and this could put either the Impul or the factory-backed NISMO back in contention for a podium finish, or even a win.

Toyota

The Toyotas have had, arguably, the strongest opening to the season so far, with a 1-2 finish in the opening two rounds and finishing third and fourth last race at Fuji.

The reigning champions, the au Team TOM’S pairing of Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita have two wins to their name already and a fourth place finish last race, despite carrying an 80 KG Success Weight.

The duo are on the verge of a record breaking year if they win the title and have a 20 point lead to the ENEOS ROOKIE Racing pairing of Kazuya Oshima and Nirei Fukuzumi in second.

The Team TOM’S sister car, the Deloitte machine, finally seems to have its affairs in order, scoring their maiden podium of the season last race after being riddled with reliability issues in the opening two rounds.

The KeePer Cerumo car, driven by Toshiki Oyu and Rikuto Kobayashi, could also be in contention for a solid points finish after solid starts to the season for the team.

GT300

Credit: GTA

The pecking order is much more unpredictable in GT300, with only the apr Lexus, currently sixth in the standings, having multiple podium finishes so far.

Amongst the GT300 cars, the two Lexuses and the Mother Chassis are the only ones which will have their BoP eased, with the latter shedding 30 KGs for this round.

Amongst the GT3 runners, the Ferraris, Mercedes AMGs and Nissan GTRs are the only ones seeing a weight and airflow restriction increase for this round, with the rest having theirs remain the same or be eased. This could harm the Ferraris the most, who seemed to thrive with a more favourable BoP last round at Fuji.

The championship battle remains tight with only 10 points separating the top seven. The Green Brave Supra and the Hyper Water Inging lead the standings with 40 points each ahead of the Kondo Nissan at 38 points.

The championship top two heading into the last race, the D’Station Aston Martin and the apr Lexus dropped down to fifth and sixth respectively by the time things had wrapped up at Fuji. The championship order could very well see a similar shuffling this time out as well.

Weather

The weather for the weekend at Suzuka is expected to be cloudy with moderately high temperatures, especially on Sunday. No rain is to be expected, but rain has made itself an unwelcome guest in multiple race weekends in Japan so far this year.

Weekend Schedule

Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 15:30 JST with the race taking place on Sunday at 13:30. These timings are only tentative at the moment and are subject to change, so keep an eye out on the official social media channels for any changes to the schedule.