STANLEY NSX-GT Wins from Pole at Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort MotegiRound 4 of the 2021 SUPER GT Series was held at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi, over the July 17 - 18 weekend. Five NSX-GTs and three NSX GT3s ran in the GT500 and GT300 classes respectively.
Round 3, which was planned to be held in late May at the Suzuka Circuit, was delayed until August due to the coronavirus, making Twin Ring Motegi the de facto third round.
Qualifying sessions began on 2：15 pm on Saturday under clear skies. STANLEY NSX-GT #1 (Tadasuke Makino), Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT #16 (Toshiki Oyu) and Modulo NSX-GT #64 (Hiroki Otsu) proceeded to Round 2, in which STANLEY NSX-GT #1 (Naoki Yamamoto) took pole position, Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT #16 (Ukyo Sasahara) was third fastest, and Modulo NSX-GT #64 (Takuya Izawa) finished sixth.
The sunny weather continued through to Sunday, and under under blistering sunshine on a blistering track, the 63-lap race started at 1：16 pm. STANLEY NSX-GT #1 (Makino) held on to the lead for the first seven laps, until the #19 car moved ahead. STANLEY NSX-GT #1 (Makino) gradually lost ground but held on to second place until Lap 24, when they pitted for a driver change.
With Yamamoto behind the wheel, STANLEY NSX-GT #1 regained the lead on Lap 28 when the #19 car had issues in the pits, giving the #1 car a 4-second advantage. The #19 car was no slouch however, and by Lap 37 was 0.1 s behind Yamamoto. After that, two FCYs (Full Course Yellows) due to GT300 accidents ensured that there were no overtakes, well into the late stages.
With ten laps to go, #19 was once again on Yamamoto’s tail, but concentrating on his racing lines, the #1 car managed to increase the gap, and take the checkered flag. Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT #16 (Sasahara / Oyu) was fourth, and ARTA NSX-GT #8 (Tomoki Nojiri / Nirei Fukuzumi) was fifth from 9th grid, scoring championship points.
GT500 Race Results
|
Pos. |
Num. |
Machine |
Drivers |
Laps |
Time/Gap |
|
1 |
1 |
STANLEY NSX-GT |
Naoki Yamamoto/Tadasuke Makino |
63 |
1:54'03.865 |
|
2 |
19 |
WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra |
Yuji Kunimoto/Ritomo Miyata |
63 |
+3.221 |
|
3 |
36 |
au TOM'S GR Supra |
Yuhi Sekiguchi/Sho Tsuboi |
63 |
+11.88 |
|
4 |
16 |
Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT |
Ukyo Sasahara/Toshiki Oyu |
63 |
+29.226 |
|
5 |
8 |
ARTA NSX-GT |
Tomoki Nojiri/Nirei Fukuzumi |
63 |
+30.521 |
|
6 |
3 |
CRAFTSPORTS MOTUL GT-R |
Kohei Hirate/Katsumasa Chiyo |
63 |
+54.164 |
|
14 |
17 |
Astemo NSX-GT |
Koudai Tsukakoshi/Bertrand Baguette |
49 |
+14 Laps |
|
RT |
64 |
Modulo NSX-GT |
Takuya Izawa/Hiroki Otsu |
43 |
+20 Laps |
GT300 Race Results
|
Pos. |
Num. |
Machine |
Drivers |
Laps |
Time/Gap |
|
1 |
2 |
muta Racing Lotus MC |
Hiroki Katoh/Ryohei Sakaguchi |
58 |
1:54'05.407 |
|
2 |
11 |
GAINER TANAX GT-R |
Katsuyuki Hiranaka/Hironobu Yasuda |
58 |
+1.576 |
|
3 |
52 |
SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT |
Hiroki Yoshida/Kohta Kawaai |
58 |
+1.819 |
|
4 |
244 |
Takanoko-no-yu GR Supra GT |
Atsushi Miyake/Yuui Tsutsumi |
58 |
+10.821 |
|
5 |
4 |
GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG |
Nobuteru Taniguchi/Tatsuya Kataoka |
58 |
+15.287 |
|
6 |
25 |
HOPPY Porsche |
Takamitsu Matsui/Kimiya Sato |
58 |
+35.614 |
|
10 |
18 |
UPGARAGE NSX GT3 |
Takashi Kobayashi/Teppei Natori |
58 |
+1'14.820 |
|
17 |
34 |
Yogibo NSX GT3 |
Ryo Michigami/Shogo Mitsuyama |
58 |
+3'09.975 |
|
23 |
55 |
ARTA NSX GT3 |
Shinichi Takagi/Ren Sato |
56 |
+2 Laps |
GT500 Standing
|
Pos. |
Num. |
Drivers |
Machine |
Pts |
|
1 |
14 |
Kazuya Oshima/Kenta Yamashita |
ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra |
35 |
|
2 |
1 |
Naoki Yamamoto |
STANLEY NSX-GT |
32 |
|
3 |
1 |
Tadasuke Makino |
STANLEY NSX-GT |
29 |
|
4 |
37 |
Ryo Hirakawa/Sena Sakaguchi |
KeePer TOM'S GR Supra |
27 |
|
5 |
17 |
Koudai Tsukakoshi/Bertrand Baguette |
Astemo NSX-GT |
26 |
|
6 |
36 |
Yuhi Sekiguchi/Sho Tsuboi |
au TOM'S GR Supra |
26 |
|
10 |
8 |
Tomoki Nojiri/Nirei Fukuzumi |
ARTA NSX-GT |
13 |
|
11 |
16 |
Ukyo Sasahara/Toshiki Oyu |
Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT |
8 |
|
13 |
1 |
Hideki Mutoh |
STANLEY NSX-GT |
3 |
|
16 |
64 |
Takuya Izawa/Hiroki Otsu |
Modulo NSX-GT |
1 |
GT300 Standing
|
Pos. |
Num. |
Drivers |
Machine |
Pts |
| 1 | 65 | Naoya Gamou/Togo Suganami | LEON PYRAMID AMG | 25 |
| 2 | 11 | Katsuyuki Hiranaka/Hironobu Yasuda | GAINER TANAX GT-R | 25 |
| 3 | 56 | Kiyoto Fujinami/Joao Paulo de Oliveira | Realize Nissan Automobile Technical College GT-R | 24 |
| 4 | 60 | Hiroki Yoshimoto/Shunsuke Kohno | SYNTIUM LMcorsa RC F GT3 | 23 |
| 5 | 52 | Hiroki Yoshida/Kohta Kawaai | SAITAMATOYOPET GB GR Supra GT | 22 |
| 6 | 2 | Hiroki Katoh/Ryohei Sakaguchi | muta Racing Lotus MC | 21 |
| 9 | 55 | Shinichi Takagi/Ren Sato | ARTA NSX GT3 | 11 |
| 17 | 18 | Takashi Kobayashi/Teppei Natori | UPGARAGE NSX GT3 | 3 |
In the intense heat, we new tires would be key. We managed to win because Yamamoto and Makino took pole position. It’s also in part due to the fact that we worked hard on the car, taking advantage of the long interval from Round 2, and went over details that we otherwise wouldn’t have the time for. There were cars with problems, however, so we’ll be double-checking everything in time for Suzuka. We haven’t won there since 2018, so we’ll be giving it everything we have.
In the intense heat, we new tires would be key. We managed to win because Yamamoto and Makino took pole position. It’s also in part due to the fact that we worked hard on the car, taking advantage of the long interval from Round 2, and went over details that we otherwise wouldn’t have the time for. There were cars with problems, however, so we’ll be double-checking everything in time for Suzuka. We haven’t won there since 2018, so we’ll be giving it everything we have.
It was an enthralling win. It went according to plan perfectly, and we got the perfect results. I honestly didn’t think we would get in front of the #19 car. They caught up to us soon enough, but instead of trying too hard, I kept them close to reduce their downforce and raise their tire temperature. There were some close calls, but I think I did a good job. This win gives us the overall lead! Under the current regulations, Makino missed Round 1 so we can’t win the drivers’ championship, but we can still defend the team championship. We did well at the track tests at Suzuka, so I’m looking forward to it.
It was an enthralling win. It went according to plan perfectly, and we got the perfect results. I honestly didn’t think we would get in front of the #19 car. They caught up to us soon enough, but instead of trying too hard, I kept them close to reduce their downforce and raise their tire temperature. There were some close calls, but I think I did a good job. This win gives us the overall lead! Under the current regulations, Makino missed Round 1 so we can’t win the drivers’ championship, but we can still defend the team championship. We did well at the track tests at Suzuka, so I’m looking forward to it.
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I’m really glad we could take the win from pole position, as we planned. I drove the first half, and despite a few mistakes, I managed to keep my cool and set up the second half of the race. We managed to win thanks to Yamamoto. I’m grateful to the team for their top class pit work as well. I think the real challenge in the season starts when the cars have weight handicaps, so I’ll do all I can to help us defend the championship title.
I’m really glad we could take the win from pole position, as we planned. I drove the first half, and despite a few mistakes, I managed to keep my cool and set up the second half of the race. We managed to win thanks to Yamamoto. I’m grateful to the team for their top class pit work as well. I think the real challenge in the season starts when the cars have weight handicaps, so I’ll do all I can to help us defend the championship title.
