After a chaotic Okayama opener, this week's Fuji SuperGT race promises to be full of strategic intrigue. Here's what to expect as Nissan, Toyota and Honda prepare for battle:
After a one-two in Okayama, the two NISMO-run Nissan Zs are the heaviest in the GT500 field in terms of success ballast on 42kg and 30kg. That means the marque’s victory hopes are likely to rest on the #1 Impul machine of Bertrand Baguette and Kazuki Hiramine, which comes to Fuji carrying only 10kg of ballast after finishing sixth at Okayama.
“We saw some teams last year pitting early and double-stinting the tyre at the beginning, and I’m sure some will try it again,” said Baguette. “That’s the beauty of these longer races with the strategy, it will be wide open, although I think people might play it a bit safer this time.”TOM’S Toyota driver Ukyo Sasahara thinks that double-stinting tyres won’t prove popular. “Maybe one or two teams will try it, but I think most people will change tyres at each pitstop,” he told Motorsport.com.
Baguette added: “Usually the third stint is shorter, so you have a shorter refuel time, and it can be quite stressful to try and complete a driver change in that time. Also, it’s better to keep the same driver in the car if he is feeling good. It raises the possibility that some teams could clear their first stops as early as around lap nine or 10, splitting the remainder of the race between two longer stints, although this would almost certainly necessitate double-stinting the tyres to be worthwhile.While Sasahara is confident of a strong showing as both TOM’S cars are carrying no success weight following their woes at Okayama, he admits that Honda’s fuel economy - which he has first-hand experience of - could be a worry.
Real Racing man Nobuharu Matsushita however doesn’t feel that Honda has any particular advantage in terms of fuel economy, pointing to Toyota as the marque to beat considering that the two NISMO Nissans will be disadvantaged by their success ballast.
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