Thrills at Fuji: Uncovering the Intensity of Super GT’s First-Ever 3-Hour Race

What a surprise, the ARTA No. 8 car, which was in third place, was…

One-third of the race had passed, with all cars completing their first pit stops on lap 40 when the leading car, No. 3 Niterra, and No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra made their pit stops. The top position remained unchanged for No. 3, with No. 17 Astemo taking second place from No. 23 NISMO. Following them were No. 8 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT, No. 12 MARELLI IMPUL Z and No. 36 AU TOM’S.

After one and a half hours had passed at the turn of the race, the leading car, No. 3 Niterra, driven by Takaboshi, was in a completely solo position, with a gap of nearly 20 seconds over the following cars. In the battle for third place, No. 8 ARTA overtook No. 23 NISMO to finish on the podium.

After more than 70 laps and with just over an hour remaining in the race, each car made its second and final pit stop. The top order was now Niterra No. 3 (Miyake), NISMO No. 23 (Chiyo), ARTA No. 8 (Nobuharu Matsushita), and Astemo No. 17 (Kakunoshin Ota), with No. 3 continuing to lead by over 30 seconds, and the three cars in 2nd to 4th position in a close battle.

Then No. 23 NISMO pulled away and the battle for third became heated, with Ota in No. 17 Astemo again attacking Matsushita in No. 8 ARTA, and the two went side-by-side on the home straight several times, but Matsushita was able to hold him off each time and defend his position on the podium.

But then tragedy struck the No. 8 ARTA. With No. 16 ARTA also retiring with trouble, it was a day of disappointment for the team.

The No. 3 Niterra maintained a solid lead and took the chequered flag at the top. In second place was No. 23 NISMO, and it was a one-two finish for the NISMO cars, with No. 17 Astemo in third place and No. 36 AU TOM’S the highest-placed Supra team, firmly maintaining its position as the points leader with a solid drive.

Also, just after the chequered flag, the rear cowl of No. 64 Modulo CIVIC TYPE R-GT fell off on the home straight, but as it was after the chequered flag, it did not lead to any accidents for the following cars.

translated by DeepL