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’.”
Racing fans of yesteryear have high hopes for the Civic!?
Honda teams will switch from the NSX, which they have used until 2023, to the Civic Type R for 2024. The Civic is a classic car that has fought many battles in Honda’s racing history, including Group A, N1 Endurance, and JTCC in the past. But for a GT car with four doors (the rear doesn’t open), it was a bit “Huh?” I’m sure we’ll get used to seeing them around May.
While the content is likely to be the same as the 2023 season as it will be Class 1 regulation, I’m curious to see how the aerodynamics will be as the body shape has changed from the NSX to the Civic. We look forward to the results of the first round in Okayama to see how they will battle against the aerodynamically mature Toyota and Nissan.
Nissan’s ace team is expected to be active with their new duo
This year Nissan underwent a driver shuffle and the Ronnie Quintarelli/Tsugio Matsuda pairing that worked together for 10 seasons in the works No. 23 car has disappeared, with Katsumasa Chiyo, who drove the No. 3 car until 2023, replacing Matsuda in the team with Ronnie.
Nismo switched from Michelin to Bridgestone tires until 2023. When the footwear changes, so does the car, both for production cars and racing cars. Therefore, we think that Impul, which has been a BS user for a long time, has the edge, but it will be interesting to see how the BS users within Nissan will compete against each other.
Watch out for a showdown between a genuine Toyota-raised driver vs. a transferred Honda-trained driver
In 2023, Ritomo Miyata will concentrate on the WEC competition. This season, Toyota will have two drivers who transferred to the team in a blitz. They are Nirei Fukuzumi and Toshiki Oyu. Of course, they are professionals, so they are free to move to wherever they want to ride as long as they meet the terms of their contract, but doesn’t Toyota have a lot of property drivers from the development quota? So I was a little surprised to see the transfer of the Honda development drivers.
On the other hand, I think that the addition of a Honda-bred driver might be a good stimulus for the Toyota-bred drivers, and for the two Honda-bred drivers, there will be a culture shock, both good and bad, caused by the change of manufacturer, so as an old man watching from the outside, I am very much looking forward to this situation. As for the view of the race within the Toyota camp, it will be really interesting to see the showdown between Toyota Proper and the Honda-trained driver to see who is the fastest.
translated by DeepL