#17 Astemo takes its first win of the season, the Honda HRC PRELUDE-GT's third in a row
Sportsland SUGOOn Sunday 20 September, the SUPER GT Round 6 race was held at Sportsland SUGO in Miyagi Prefecture.
Round 6 Race
The 84-lap Round 6 race saw the #17 Astemo (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Yuto Nomura) take victory after starting from second place and delivering a consistent performance. The #100 STANLEY (Naoki Yamamoto/Tadasuke Makino) also finished on the podium, holding on to third despite a battle at the front that continued into the closing stages.
The rain from the morning had stopped, with the air temperature at 24°C and the track temperature at 25°C. With standing water remaining in places, all cars opted for dry tyres. For safety reasons, the race started behind the Safety Car (SC) at 1:30 p.m.
When the SC came in after four laps, the #17 Astemo (Nomura), which had started from second, engaged in a close battle with the leading #64 Modulo (Riki Okusa), but was unable to make an overtake.
After lap 10, the #17 Astemo (Nomura) came under pressure from the third placed #19 Toyota and lost second on lap 17. The leading #64 Modulo (Okusa) also came under intense pressure from lap 25, with the cars running nose-to-tail. As the #64 Modulo (Okusa) held on to the lead, the #16 ARTA (Tomoki Nojiri) made contact with a GT300 car on lap 27 after the latter lost control at the final corner and crossed the track. A Full Course Yellow (FCY) was followed by the deployment of the SC.
The race restarted at the end of lap 32, and when the pit lane opened, the third-placed #17 Astemo pitted in an attempt to undercut. The leading #64 Modulo came in on the following lap, but the #17 Astemo’s strategy paid off and the two cars swapped positions. After returning to the track, the #64 Modulo struggled to pick up the pace and lost further positions to the cars behind.
Meanwhile, the #100 STANLEY (Yamamoto), which had been running fourth before the SC period, pitted on lap 35 and handed over to Makino. By lap 40, it was running directly behind the #17 Astemo (Tsukakoshi), effectively in second. Once all cars had completed their pit stops by lap 53, the #17 and #100 Honda HRC PRELUDE-GTs held the top two positions.
While the leading #17 Astemo (Tsukakoshi) continued to lap consistently, the second-placed #100 STANLEY (Makino) came under pressure from the #39 Toyota, which had gained significant ground following the pit stops. With a difference in tyre wear also coming into play, the #100 was overtaken on lap 66. Having dropped to third, it then came under further pressure from the fourth placed #36 Toyota, but held on to the position to the chequered flag and secured a third place finish.
For Tsukakoshi in the race-winning #17 Astemo, it was his first victory in approximately four years, while Nomura claimed his maiden win in his debut GT500 season. The result also gave the PRELUDE-GT its third consecutive victory. The #17 Astemo moved up to second in the standings, followed by the #100 STANLEY and #16 ARTA.
The next round, Round 7, is scheduled to take place at Autopolis in Oita Prefecture on 17–18 October.
Round 5 at Suzuka was a really disappointing result, so I’m very happy that we were able to win this time. I’m grateful to both the team and HRC.
Nomura did a very good job in the first half of the race and gave me plenty of information, so I was able to use that as a reference during my stint. He had already created good momentum for us from qualifying.
Tyre management was extremely important in the second stint, so I focused entirely on making the tyres last while checking the gap to the cars behind over the radio. I was able to reach the finish while still keeping something in reserve so that I could push if they closed in during the final stages.
I’m really pleased that we were able to put on a good race for all the Astemo supporters who came out in such large numbers.
Round 5 at Suzuka was a really disappointing result, so I’m very happy that we were able to win this time. I’m grateful to both the team and HRC.
Nomura did a very good job in the first half of the race and gave me plenty of information, so I was able to use that as a reference during my stint. He had already created good momentum for us from qualifying.
Tyre management was extremely important in the second stint, so I focused entirely on making the tyres last while checking the gap to the cars behind over the radio. I was able to reach the finish while still keeping something in reserve so that I could push if they closed in during the final stages.
I’m really pleased that we were able to put on a good race for all the Astemo supporters who came out in such large numbers.
Of course I was happy to take pole position in the previous round, but I’m even happier to have won the race. I was conscious of tyre management from the start. At SUGO, the final corner is a right-hander, so it can be quite demanding on the left-front tyre. I therefore made sure not to use the tyres too aggressively there.
I pitted when the Safety Car was deployed, and I was also aiming to make the most of the acceleration when the Safety Car came in because I felt I had more grip.
The next round at Autopolis is a three-hour race, so it looks like it could be an interesting one. The PRELUDE-GTs have been getting stronger, so I’d like us to aim for a fourth consecutive victory.
Of course I was happy to take pole position in the previous round, but I’m even happier to have won the race. I was conscious of tyre management from the start. At SUGO, the final corner is a right-hander, so it can be quite demanding on the left-front tyre. I therefore made sure not to use the tyres too aggressively there.
I pitted when the Safety Car was deployed, and I was also aiming to make the most of the acceleration when the Safety Car came in because I felt I had more grip.
The next round at Autopolis is a three-hour race, so it looks like it could be an interesting one. The PRELUDE-GTs have been getting stronger, so I’d like us to aim for a fourth consecutive victory.
The #17 car moved into the lead and was able to maintain the gap to take the victory. It was carrying 50kg of success weight, so this result was down to the excellent work of both the team staff, who prepared the car, and the two drivers, who managed the tyres very well. The #100 car also finished P3, putting two PRELUDE-GTs on the podium, which was a very pleasing result for us.
Although this was our third consecutive victory, it has only strengthened our determination to keep taking on every challenge with everything we have. HRC and all of the teams will continue to work together through the remaining three races and fight all the way in the championship battle. We appreciate your continued support.
The #17 car moved into the lead and was able to maintain the gap to take the victory. It was carrying 50kg of success weight, so this result was down to the excellent work of both the team staff, who prepared the car, and the two drivers, who managed the tyres very well. The #100 car also finished P3, putting two PRELUDE-GTs on the podium, which was a very pleasing result for us.
Although this was our third consecutive victory, it has only strengthened our determination to keep taking on every challenge with everything we have. HRC and all of the teams will continue to work together through the remaining three races and fight all the way in the championship battle. We appreciate your continued support.
GT500 Race Result
Pos. | No. | Team | Driver | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Astemo REAL RACING | Koudai Tsukakoshi / Yuto Nomura | 1:59'13.559 |
2 | 39 | TGR TEAM SARD | Yuhi Sekiguchi / Sacha Fenestraz | +4.729 |
3 | 100 | STANLEY TEAM KUNIMITSU | Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino | +5.236 |
4 | 36 | TGR TEAM au TOM’S | Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita | +6.101 |
5 | 37 | TGR TEAM Deloitte TOM’S | Ukyo Sasahara / Giuliano Alesi | +6.856 |
6 | 19 | TGR TEAM WedsSport BANDOH | Yuji Kunimoto / Sena Sakaguchi | +8.810 |
9 | 8 | Team HRC ARTA MUGEN | Kakunoshin Ohta / Hiroki Otsu | +50.787 |
12 | 64 | Modulo Nakajima Racing | Riki Okusa / Igor Omura Fraga | +1 Lap |
- | 16 | ARTA MUGEN | Tomoki Nojiri / Ren Sato | +59 Laps |
