Round 7 Race

Round 7 was a three-hour race, with each team required to make two pit stops, including refuelling, during the race.

The race got under way at 1:10 pm under clear skies and bright sunshine. Starting from pole position, #64 Modulo (Igor Omura Fraga) led the field ahead of #17 Astemo (Yuto Nomura). However, when the leader caught the GT300 cars on Lap 7, Nomura took advantage of the traffic to move into the lead. On Lap 8, #16 ARTA MUGEN (Tomoki Nojiri), which had started in seventh, made an early pit stop for a tyre change without changing drivers, completing its first mandatory stop. Race leader #17 Astemo (Nomura) also opted for an early pit stop strategy, coming in on Lap 14 for tyres and fuel. Nomura remained behind the wheel for the second stint. This handed the lead back to #64 Modulo, but the car struggled for pace and was overtaken by #12 Z (Nissan) on Lap 23.

An incident involving a GT300 car brought out the Safety Car (SC) on Lap 24, closing the pit lane. After racing resumed, #64 Modulo pitted on Lap 33, exactly one hour into the race, handing the lead to #100 STANLEY (Naoki Yamamoto). While many teams made their first pit stops as planned, Yamamoto continued to lap at a consistent pace while carefully managing fuel consumption. On Lap 45, #100 STANLEY became the last GT500 car to make its first pit stop, taking on fresh tyres and fuel before Yamamoto handed over to Tadasuke Makino. With #100 STANLEY in the pits, #17 Astemo (Nomura), which had already completed its pit stop, regained the lead.

Shortly afterwards, another GT300 incident on Lap 50 triggered a second SC period, bunching up the field. When racing resumed on Lap 55, race leader #17 Astemo (Nomura) made its second pit stop, with Koudai Tsukakoshi taking over. As #16 ARTA MUGEN (Nojiri) and the leading Toyota and Nissan cars followed suit, #100 STANLEY, having made its first stop only on Lap 45, also came in on Lap 58. The team minimised its stationary time and sent Makino back onto the track. The strategy paid off, allowing #100 STANLEY to overcut the cars that had already completed their second stops and take the effective lead. In contrast, #17 Astemo (Tsukakoshi) and #16 ARTA MUGEN (Ren Sato), which lost time during its driver change, dropped into the midfield.

After completing its second pit stop, #100 STANLEY (Makino) held off sustained pressure from championship leader #36 Tsuboi (Toyota), #38 Oyu (Toyota) and #12 Hiramine (Nissan), maintaining the lead to the chequered flag and securing its second victory of the season. The result marked Honda HRC PRELUDE-GT's fourth consecutive victory, a winning streak stretching back to the Fuji round.

Meanwhile, #8 ARTA MUGEN (Kakunoshin Ohta / Hiroki Otsu), which had started 12th, finished sixth after a strong charge through the field by Ohta in the latter half of the race. #16 ARTA MUGEN (Tomoki Nojiri / Ren Sato) also finished in the points in ninth.

Pole-sitter #64 Modulo struggled for pace from the middle stages and finished 12th. #17 Astemo stopped at the side of the track shortly before the finish after an engine-related warning appeared, ending its race two laps down.

With this victory, #100 STANLEY increased its championship points tally to 58, closing the gap to championship leader #36 (Toyota) to just three points heading into the final round, comprising Rounds 3 and 8. The season finale is scheduled to take place at Mobility Resort Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture from 6 to 8 November.

GT500 Race Result