No. 16 ARTA MUGEN NSX-GT runs a perfect race from pole position to win!

The SUZUKA GT 450km RACE, Round 5 of the 2023 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series took place on August 27 (Sun.) at Suzuka circuit (1 lap 5,807m) in Mie Prefecture. With the air temperature at a hot 33 degrees Celsius for this 450km race, it was the No. 16 ARTA MUGEN NSX-GT (Nirei Fukuzumi/Hiroki Otsu) starting from pole position that kept the lead effectively throughout the race to win in the GT500 class. In the GT300 class, the No. 18 UPGARAGE NSX GT3 (Takashi Kobayashi/Syun Koide) won its second race of the season.

This Round 5 race run at Suzuka in August mid-summer heat climbing to 33 degrees Celsius became a tough competition where a Full Course Yellow (FCY) call had to be made at three different points in the race.

In the GT500 class, Otsu in the No. 16 ARTA MUGEN NSX-GT (Nirei Fukuzumi/Hiroki Otsu) started from pole position and maintained a strong and steady pace in the lead. And thanks to a good judgement, Ostu had made his first required pit stop for refueling just before the first FCY call was made, which enabled him to pull away to a commanding lead over the pack from 2nd downward.

In the latter half of the race, teammate Fukuzumi built a lead of 10.045 sec. over 2nd place to win the race to give both the ARTA team and the Honda NSX-GT cars their first win of the season. Also, with the Honda teams readying to switch their GT500 machine to one based on the CIVIC TYPE-R GT, this would be the last race for the NSX-GT at Honda’s home course of Suzuka. This was the first win for the NSX-GT since Round 3 at Suzuka in the 2018 season, and with the added feat of a perfect win from pole position, this was certainly a thrill to watch for the Honda fans that came to Suzuka this time.

Among the TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 teams this time, the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi/Yuichi Nakayama) that started from 12th position on the grid was able to advance to run among the lead group in the middle stages thanks to the aggressive driving of the drivers and the success of the team strategy of making early pit stop for refueling. As a result of the post-race car inspections that affected the 2nd place finisher, the No. 14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra was moved up to a 3rd-place finish.

Among the Nissan Z GT500 teams, the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli) that had started from 2nd position on the grid ran on strongly to finish the race in 2nd place. However, due to a violation found in the post-race car inspections, it was disqualified. As a result, the top finisher among the Nissan Z teams was the No. 1 MARELLI IMPUL Z (Kazuki Hiramine/Bertrand Baguette) finishing in 5th place.

In the early stages of the GT300 class race, the pole-starting No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi/Hideki Yamauchi) went on to hold the early lead. However,

emerging in the lead in the middle stages of the race was the No. 18 UPGARAGE NSX GT3 (Takashi Kobayashi/Syun Koide) that had to start from 16th position on the grid after suffering machine trouble in the Q2 qualifying session. Making the timely decision to take its second required pit stop after an accident occurred in the middle stages that eventually led to another FCY call also helped. After that, No. 18’s GT rookie driver Koide held off the pursuing No. 87 Bamboo Airways Lamborghini GT3 (Kosuke Matsuura/Natsu Sakaguchi) and went on to give the team its second win of the series, following the one in the season opener. Finishing the race in 2nd place was car No. 87, while third place went to car No. 61.

*Spectators: 20,500 on race day (Aug. 27), 12,500 on qualifying day (Aug. 26)

■ Winner Comments

No. 16 ARTA MUGEN NSX-GT [GT500]

Nirei Fukuzumi: “I think today’s race was a perfect one for us. Driving first, Otsu-san gave us a big lead, and in terms of the race strategy we were able to make a perfectly timed pit stop before the FCY call. Since we have had a number of troubles that I would rather not remember thwarting us in the races up until the last one, I am really glad to feel that we have been redeemed by this win today. And so, I would really like to say thank you to the fans who have cheered us on.”

Hiroki Otsu: “This was my first win since I began competing in SUPER GT from 2018 (first in the GT300 class). I never thought that my first win would come in the GT500 class. I am glad that I was able to win, thanks to having the best teammate, the best team and staff all working together. Both Fukuzumi-san and I became fathers this year, and I believe that the power of our babies has given us a boost. There are quite a number of people that I want to thank for this first victory.”

No. 18 UPGARAGE NSX GT3 [GT300]

Takashi Kobayashi: “We had machine trouble in the Q2 session of yesterday’s qualifying, but if we had been able to run normally, I think we would probably have qualified in the top four. We ended up having to start from 16th position on the grid, but once we were running, we were able to pass cars quickly. It was the problem of the tire wear that determined the timing of our pit stops, but manager Ishida made good judgements that enabled us to win, I think. I am really grateful to the team for this. This was my first time being in the pit when we won, and watching the final battle I could no longer feel if I was alive or not (wry smile).”

Shun Koide: “It was really, really tough running in the final stages (grimace). (As the tires wore down and driving got tough) I thought that I had to focus of reducing the wear on them, but I managed to hold on without giving up. If I had lost my concentration for just one moment, I was sure that car No. 87 would have passed me. (Having won two races in this first year) is certainly not just because of me, it is because of the team, so I am grateful to them all.”