In the GT300 class the muta Racing GR86 GT came from behind for the win
The opening round of the 2024 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, the OKAYAMA GT 300km RACE, took place on April 17th at the Okayama International Circuit (one lap 3,703m × 82 laps). In fine weather conditions that verged on unseasonal heat, the GT500 class saw a perfect win for the pole-starting No. 36 au TOM'S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi/Kenta Yamashita). In the GT300 class, the opening round victory went to the No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi/Hibiki Taira) thanks to a successful no-tire-change race strategy.
Shortly after the start of the race there were a succession of collisions and cars running off the track that brought out the Safety Car from the second lap. The GT500 class race saw the pole-starting Tsuboi in the No. 36 au TOM'S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi/Kenta Yamashita) maintain a fast pace from the early stages to pull away from the pack and build up a massive lead of some 12 seconds by the time 1/3rd of the race distance was completed.
Shortly after that Tsuboi returned for the team's first pit stop. Taking over the wheel after that, teammate Yamashita also kept the pursuers at bay with his outstanding driving to give car No. 36 a perfect win from pole position to goal. For car No. 36 and the TGR TEAM au TOM'S, it was the third straight victory since last season's Round 7.
Behind car No. 36, a close-fought battle continued between the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi/ Yuichi Nakayama) and the No. 100 STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Naoki
Yamamoto/Tadasuke Makino). After that, the head-to-head contest between these two cars continued down to the goal line, where No. 39 held off its rival to give the TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 a 1-2 finish. Car No. 100 took 3rd place to give Honda's new CIVIC TYPE R-GT introduced this season a podium finish in its debut race. Among the Nissan Z NISMO GT500 cars, the No. 23 MOTUL
AUTECH Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/Ronnie Quintarelli) was the top finisher in 5th place.
In the GT300 class race, the pole-starting No. 65 LEON
PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou/Takuro Shinohara) pulled away in the lead chased by Taira in the No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi/Hibiki Taira). The pursuing car No. 2 made its pit stop in the middle stages of the race. Opting for a no-tire-change race strategy, it shortened its pit time and managed to successfully return to the race in front of No. 65. From there on, teammate Tsutsumi carefully watched his lead over the pursuing rivals and took No. 2 on to victory unchallenged. Car No. 65 finished in 2nd place followed in 3rd place by the No. 7 Studie BMW M4 (Seiji Ara/Niklas Krütten) that had moved up steadily in the closing stages of the race.
(Spectators: April 14 (race day): 15,500 / 13th (qualifying day/clear): 8,500)
Winner Comments
No. 36 au TOM'S GR Supra [GT500]
Sho Tsuboi: "I was able to successfully pull off the start dash I had aimed for, but I never expected it to go as well as it did. I knew right away that we were capable of a strong pace, so I wanted to expand our lead as much as I could. (As Yamashita-san told me beforehand) I knew that a 20-sec. would surely be out of the question (wry smile) but working together with Yamashita-san and
the team, we put together a good race and succeeded in taking a straight-out pole-to-goal win. So, I am really happy."
Kenta Yamashita: "As we expected, (the second half) was going to be a long haul, so I ran with plenty of concern for the wear on the tires. From the final 10 laps of the race, I ran at the usual pace, but in the end, I found that the tires had plenty (of performance) left in them and was able to keep control. I thought that I might be able to increase the gap (over the competition) but it is just good that we won. I hope we can make it two straight wins at Fuji in the next round."
No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT [GT300]
Yuui Tsutsumi: "(Last year) we were just unable to win, to the point that I thought there might be something wrong with me and Taira-san as a team (laughs), but since we have gotten a good start now by winning the first race of the 2024 season, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season. Hearing that for the people who won in GT500 this time it was their third straight win in
a row (since last year), I want to do what I can to see us keep winning. But as they say, "You must keep up your guard even after a victory," so I want to concentrate on doing my best."
Hibiki Taira: "Haisai! (an Okinawan expression) I am so glad we have won our first race! Last year we had a succession of disappointing 2nd place finishes, and that made us work with the determination that this will be our year, so I am so glad that we have been able to win this opening round."
