07
August
2018
|
16:34
Europe/Amsterdam

SUPER GT Round 5 FUJI GT 500 mile RACE One-Two Finish for LEXUS LC500 at “Home” Track

GT500 class

  • au TOM's LC500 No.36 with drivers Kazuki NAKAJIMA / Yuhi SEKIGUCHI achieved victory for the first time this season at the 2018 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series at Fuji International Speedway.
  • KeePer TOM'S LC500 No.1 co-piloted by Ryo HIRAKAWA / Nick CASSIDY recorded second place.
  • LEXUS LC500 achieved two consecutive victories.

GT300 class

  • K-tunes RC F GT3 No.96 finished 10th place.

Kazuki NAKAJIMA (au TOM'S LC500 No.36)

"This race was a race we must win, and it meant the season will end for us if we didn't. So we are relieved for this victory. Our team didn't have luck this season, especially Yuhi didn't have it, so I am happy for the win, which is the first time after we became the same team. The performance was good as well as the rivals, and partially we were better than them. The race was a grueling contest, and we took some risk, but able to race without damage in the long distance, so I feel this result is a reward for us. I am also greatful that it is the first time to achieve one-two finish for team TOM's."

Yuhi SEKIGUCHI (au TOM'S LC500 No.36)

"The previous race at Thailand was regretful, so I am happy with the victory. When I started the last stint, we were not in position one yet, but we decided to go with the soft tire, so we didn't give up for it. This is the first podium and first victory for me, after transfering to this team, so I am relieved for the result. The breaking was difficult in the end, and our teammate No.1 (KeePer TOM' LC500) came right behind, so I had to give a lot of attention while racing. I heard it was the first one-two finish for team TOM's, so it's a great day for the team."

Ryo HIRAKAWA (KeePer TOM'S LC500 No.1)

"Yesterday we were able to pass the Q1 and start from the seventh grid, in the condition of restrictor and severe weight handicap, so our target was to achieve fourth place. The car's condition was good in this morning‘s warm up, and the pace improved after the race started, so we were able to catch up. We suffered several times with the back marker and had time loss. It's the first one-two finish for team TOM's, so thanks to the team who worked hard in the pit. We are at the top of the ranking now, but we will race in the next SUGO, considering about the Round 7 at Autopolis where the weight handicap will become half. There is not much difference with the points in the ranking, and there are cases such as No.36 being in a higher rank at a stroke by one race, so we need to be careful."

Nick CASSIDY (KeePer TOM'S LC500 No.1)

"We had a restrictor and had massive weight so it's a good success we didn't get a lap behind. Our highest speed was inferior compared to the rivals, but we were able to race the long 800km, with finishing by a narrow margin to No.36, so I think we did a good job. Rivals were strong, unbelievable on the straight, as they are in a different category, but we were also strong enough for the podium. We are happy with the one-two finish for team TOM's, but we feel regret at the same time because we also had a chance to win."

Po

No.

Machine

Driver

Laps

Time/Diff

Q

WH

1

36

au TOM'S LC500

Kazuki Nakajima /Yuhi Sekiguchi

177

4:40'08.601

3

30

2

1

KeePer TOM'S LC500

Ryo Hirakawa /Nick Cassidy

177

1.564

7

58

3

17

KEIHIN NSX-GT

Koudai Tsukakoshi /Takashi Kogure

177

21.184

 

50

4

8

ARTA NSX-GT

Tomoki Nojiri /Takuya Izawa

177

26.906

8

48

5

100

RAYBRIG NSX-GT

Naoki Yamamoto /Jenson Button

177

32.197

9

64

6

24

Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R

Joao Paulo de Oliveira /Mitsunori Takaboshi

177

52.449

2

14

7

6

WAKO'S 4CR LC500

Kazuya Oshima /Felix Rosenqvist

177

56.084

13

58

8

38

ZENT CERUMO LC500

Yuji Tachikawa /Hiroaki Ishiura

177

1'22.587

 

52

9

23

MOTUL AUTECH GT-R

Tsugio Matsuda /Ronnie Quintarelli

177

1'23.911

1

62

10

19

WedsSport ADVAN LC500

Yuji Kunimoto /Kenta Yamashita

176

1 Lap

6

26

11

39

DENSO KOBELCO SARD LC500

Heikki Kovalainen /Kamui Kobayashi

176

1 Lap

11

70

GT300 Class Result

Po

No.

Machine

Driver

Laps

Time/Diff

Q

WH

1

55

ARTA BMW M6 GT3

Shinichi Takagi /Sean Walkinshaw

164

4:41'14.166

2

52

2

0

GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG

Nobuteru Taniguchi /Tatsuya Kataoka

163

1 Lap

4

32

3

31

TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT

Koki Saga /Kohei Hirate

163

1 Lap

11

64

4

65

LEON CVSTOS AMG

Haruki Kurosawa /Naoya Gamou

163

1 Lap

9

58

5

25

HOPPY 86 MC

Takamitsu Matsui /Sho TsuboiTsubasa Kondo

163

1 Lap

1

52

6

88

MANEPA LAMBORGHINI GT3

Kazuki Hiramine /Marco Mapelli

162

2 Laps

28

40

7

7

D'station Porsche

Tomonobu Fujii /Sven Muller

162

2 Laps

8

46

8

10

GAINER TANAX triple a GT-R

Kazuki Hoshino /Hiroki Yoshida

162

2 Laps

3

2

9

18

UPGARAGE 86 MC

Yuhki Nakayama /Takashi Kobayashi

162

2 Laps

7

50

10

96

K-tunes RC F GT3

Morio Nitta /Yuichi Nakayama

162

2 Laps

17

44

16

35

arto RC F GT3

N.Charoensukhawatana /N.Hortongkum /Koji Yamanishi

160

4 Laps

25

 
 

60

SYNTIUM LMcorsa RC F GT3

Hiroki Yoshimoto /Ritomo Miyata

17

147 Laps

23

42

 

30

TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT

Hiroaki Nagai /Kota Sasaki /Manabu Orido

13

151 Laps

22

 

Drivers Standings (GT500)

Po

No

Driver

Total

1

1

Ryo Hirakawa / Nick Cassidy

47

2

36

Yuhi Sekiguchi

40

3

100

Naoki Yamamoto / Jenson Button

40

5

39

Heikki Kovalainen

35

8

6

Kazuya Oshima / Felix Rosenqvist

34

9

36

Kazuki Nakajima

32

10

38

Yuji Tachikawa / Hiroaki Ishiura

30

11

39

Kamui Kobayashi

20

13

39

Sho Tsuboi

15

14

19

Yuji Kunimoto / Kenta Yamashita

15

17

36

James Rossiter

8

Team Standings (GT500)

Po

No

Team

Total

1

1

LEXUS TEAM KeePer TOM'S

62

2

36

LEXUS TEAM au TOM'S

54

3

100

TEAM KUNIMITSU

54

5

6

LEXUS TEAM LEMANS WAKO'S

49

7

39

LEXUS TEAM SARD

46

9

38

LEXUS TEAM ZENT CERUMO

44

11

19

LEXUS TEAM WedsSport BANDOH

27