Looking Towards Round 4

"hsv" (hsv) 08/07/2015 at 15:52 • Filed to: Super GT

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This weekend sees the Fuji 300km take place, Round 4 of the 2015 AUTOBACS Super GT Championship.

The summer Fuji race is always traditionally extremely hot and humid, but much like 2014, thunderstorms are always a threat. Qualifying will be a tight affair as always, but now the ballast and restrictions have become more pronounced, there are some cars that stand a slightly better chance of succeeding than others.

GT500 sees the battle between Nissan, Lexus and Honda rage on as always. The high temperatures always give an edge to Bridgestone shod cars, but the recent SUGO test suggests that Dunlops may be able to pose a challenge. The Nissans have been working solely on race pace, so it’s entirely possible that they may slip back in qualifying - Honda still have a clear deficit in extremes of temperature, so expect only one or two (likely the 15 and 64) to make it through to Part 2. The GT-R and RCF are still going to shine, but expect a few shake-ups in the order because of the ballast and restrictor effects.

In GT300, GAINER and B-MAX have both been adapting to their 70kg of ballast, so two very strong Nissan contenders will be at a serious disadvantage in the high temperatures. apr are also carrying 60kg in the Prius, but their natural pace advantage, especially around Fuji, means they should be able to put themselves in the mix. MC cars are carrying momentum, with both Cars Tokai and VivaC showing great promise. Another strong run is definitely on the cards. The final thing to look out for is GAINER, GSR and GREENTEC, who all have SLS entries that can pose a serious threat, and the possibility of some results surprises. GSR’s consistency has earned them solid points whilst only penalising them with 24kg, and GAINER are still sitting within striking distance bearing 38kg. KSF Direction have struggled all season, which is somewhat of a surprise, so a burst of speed would be a nice sight.

Qualifying takes place tomorrow morning, and I will duly post a race preview late on Saturday evening. For now though, we can look forward to another weekend of the world’s fastest GT cars.

GT Revolution!