The SUPER GT, Japan’s premier GT race, is finally underway
The race photographers who have been photographing and watching Japanese motorsport for many years are now in full swing for the forthcoming 2024 SUPER GT season, covering the two-day test held just before the start of the season at Okayama International Circuit from 16 to 17 March. Photographer Masakatsu Sato reports on what he saw, heard, and felt.
The two prestigious ‘apr’ cars were entered by promising young 18-year-olds
At the first test of the 2024 season, I was a little surprised to see the driver entry list of the prestigious team “apr”. Every year there are fewer and fewer surprises, but this one will have to be a surprise.
The two cars being driven by ‘apr’ are the Toyota GR86 (No. 30) and the Lexus LC500h (No. 31), but in the GR86, as in 2023, Hiroaki Nagai will drive as an A driver, and Rikuto Kobayashi, the 2023 F4 champion in 2023, as a B driver in the GR86. Also on the LC500h’s B driver is Jin Nakamura, 2nd in the F4 series in 2023.
They are both 18 years old and until recently high school students, so from an old man’s point of view, is it safe to drive a kid who is like a son, no matter how old he is in GT300? Naturally, they would be surprised and skeptical at first.
However, these two set some decent times. It made me realize that the generation raised on two-pedals, paddle shifters, simulators, and video games is quick to take in all sorts of things, and it also shows the seriousness of Toyota’s training project.
How much skill will they absorb from the older drivers in the 2024 season? It will be interesting to see what kind of chemical changes the older drivers will make as a result of the stimulation they receive from the younger drivers.
After suffering a vehicle fire, ‘Hopiko’ is finally back!
HOPPY team TSUCHIYA had to abandon the rest of their participation due to a fire at the 4th round at Fuji last year, and although there had been rumors of financial difficulties, the ‘Shin Hopiko’ made a resurrection shakedown at the official test at Fuji.
From an old man’s point of view, if he had seen that state of affairs in 2023, he would have had a complicated heart fracture and could have done nothing, but it seems that Takeshi Tsuchiya who grew up watching his father Haruo’s back in the previous generation had no option but to turn his back on reality.
It is because he is such Takeshi that many fans, officials, and long-supporting sponsors did not give up on him. What a joy to see.
Because of my environment, helping my father with his work would have inevitably given me knowledge of engineering, and since I started kart racing in 1989 I’ve moved up to FJ and F3, and in 2000 I entered Formula Nippon at my own expense. Of course, his experience in the All-Japan GT Championship, the progression of SUPER GT, has led him to where he is today as an engineer, driver, and manager.
Takeshi Tsuchiya said,
“This revival is thanks to everyone who helped us. That’s why it’s not just our team’s car, but a car that carries everyone’s feelings, and I’m going to do my best as the captain who runs ‘Shin Hopiko’.”
