How mid-race recce allowed NDDP Nissan to dominate at Fuji
The #3 Nissan Z shared by Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi was the class of the field in a wet-dry race on Sunday that was interrupted by a red flag, taking the chequered flag some 44 seconds clear of the field. Once again, the superiority of the Michelin tyres in the wet was clear, and when […]
Tsuchiya Supra GT300 car destroyed in fire at Fuji
The #25 Hoppy-sponsored car driven by Seita Nonaka and Togo Suganami was consumed in a blaze that began on lap 66 of 100, and caused the race to be red-flagged two laps later as marshals struggled to contain the fire. Earlier in the race, the Tsuchiya-run #244 Max Racing Supra of Atsushi Miyake and Kimiya […]
IMSA Road America: Penske Porsche takes victory
The drama began even before the 160-minute race got underway, with the pole-sitting No. 31 Action Express Cadillac forced to start from the back after an incident in morning warmup. On the pace lap, another GTP found trouble when the No. 25 Team RLL BMW of Connor De Phillippi spun off track. The resulting cleanup […]
Honda GT500 teams hit by Fuji post-race penalties
Both the #16 ARTA Honda of Nirei Fukuzumi and Hiroki Otsu and #100 Team Kunimitsu car of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino had 40 seconds added to their race times for illegally refuelling and changing tyres at the same time. Fukuzumi and Otsu drop from second to third as a result, while Yamamoto and Makino […]
NDDP Nissan dominates in mixed conditions
Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi took full advantage of the mixed conditions in Sunday’s 100-lap race in their Michelin-shod #3 Nissan Z, taking their first victory of the season by a commanding 43.9 seconds. Two Honda NSX-GTs completed the podium, as ARTA duo Hiroki Otsu and Nirei Fukuzumi were best of the Bridgestone runners in […]
Derani puts Cadillac on pole
Derani lapped the newly repaved Road America course in 1:47.730s, earning pole position for the first time since Sebring. It looked like it could be a front row lockout for Cadillac with Sebastien Bourdais trailing Derani for some time, but Matt Campbell would make a late push for pole that very nearly succeeded. The No. […]
Bertrand Baguette fuming after Fuji qualifying
Baguette ended up second-to-last in Q1 on Saturday afternoon at the wheel of the #1 Nissan Z, only managing to outpace the TOM’S Toyota that is carrying the highest success handicap in the GT500 field. The Impul machine Baguette shares with Kazuki Hiramine was carrying 36kg of ballast, half of the nominal handicap of the […]
Kondo Nissan beats the Hondas to pole
The #24 Kondo Nissan Z of Sasaki and Kohei Hirate entered qualifying firmly among the favourites for pole, carrying only 6kg of success ballast and having taken the top spot last time out at Suzuka, only to be stripped of pole due to a fuel tank infraction. Hirate was second-fastest in Q1 behind the #16 […]
NISMO Nissan gets penalty for chassis change
The #23 car shared by Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli will have to serve the penalty during the early stages of the 100-lap race on Sunday, with the exact timing of the announcement at the discretion of race control. It follows Matsuda’s crash at 130R in the previous race at Suzuka in June, which left […]