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The issue with occasions just like the GP1 4 Hours of Fuji, is that it makes me need to get my very own automotive out on observe for an excellent thrashing.
OK, so it’s not precisely an issue, however extra of a prod of motivation to get Project GC8 track-ready. My WRX is maybe not all that well-suited to the sweeping bends of Fuji Speedway, however Tsukuba is certainly within the crosshairs.
Fuji Speedway is extra of a GT circuit, and it’s the place I attended the ultimate bout of the 4 Hours of Fuji pro-am endurance race a few weekends again.
I used to be invited by Hiro-san, proprietor of ACR Aston Martin, who makes a speciality of making carbon fiber physique kits. He was out testing some new bits and doing a little PR photoshoots together with his Vantage N24.
After qualifying Hiro-san was first at school, which was the NA Tremendous class for over 2.5L, over 300PS, and slick or radial tyre-equipped automobiles. The noise this Aston makes at full throttle by way of the valleys and alongside the straights of Fuji Speedway is totally superb.
The grid for this 4-hour race was eclectic combine, principally GT automobiles however with a number of Hondas, Mitsubishis and Subarus thrown in for good measure. It simply goes to indicate, you possibly can engineer something to go round any circuit if you happen to put your thoughts to it.
I attempted to not look instantly on the M3, however it did have a surprisingly commanding presence…
This canary yellow Levin was a spotlight.
With drivers tucked away of their oven-like cabins and crew posing accomplished, the grid was cleared in time for a late begin. I’m unsure I may bear 4 hours in a race swimsuit and helmet, however the drivers didn’t appear too fazed. The groups had been fairly pumped too.
This was my cue to seek out some good trackside vantage factors. I’d by no means really shot a race at Fuji Speedway earlier than this, however your complete observe is fairly open so discovering a spot was comparatively simple.
As I crossed from one facet of the circuit to the opposite, I walked by way of the pits to see the groups make changes to their automobiles earlier than they hit the tarmac once more. I used to be anticipating extra pit motion, à la F1, however this actually wasn’t any form of severe competitors.
The GP1 4 Hours of Fuji is a race hosted by Japan Racing Service, and is meant for privateers {and professional} racers alike to return and take a look at their machines and hone their driving expertise. It’s additionally an ideal place to get some PR photographs or movies for sponsors and different promotions.
Amongst the amateurs and semi-pros, there have been a few huge weapons stretching their legs on at the present time. Audi Japan had a number of of its privateer groups working exams on their GT300 and Tremendous Taikyu automobiles.
Right here’s an RS3 LMS TCR, offered by Audi as a whole competition-ready automotive designed for customer-based racing. This one is owned by a neighborhood dealership, and I can solely guess that it was being utilized by a buyer for a non-public race day.
It’s an ideal resolution for many who need a racing expertise, however don’t need to preserve and retailer a automotive. I’m positive all of it comes with a premium price ticket, although.
Within the subsequent storage had been a few machines on one other stage.
That is considered one of two Audi R8 LMS automobiles that make up Crew Hitotsuyama – an Audi Japan-sponsored crew since 2014. However really, crew founder Mikio Hitotsuyama has been racing in Japan since 1990.
He started in an M3 within the All Japan Touring Automobile Championship, earlier than progressing to a GT300 machine after which on to the GT500 class in a McLaren F1 GTR. Hitotsuyama-san has additionally been behind the wheel of a Ferrari 550 Maranello, an Aston Martin DBR9, 997 Porsche GT3 RSR and the extremely cool Zytek 05S, a modified Le Mans automotive initially constructed by Reynard Motorsport.
The R8 LMS solely ran a number of laps, spending most of its time sitting up on air jacks present process some laptop computer prognosis. All of it regarded very severe.
Shintaro Kawabata, in the meantime, was on the observe for the total 4 hours of racing. Lap after lap, this Tremendous GT automotive completely dominated. In reality, I’m fairly positive it was lapping most automobiles, which isn’t shocking given the NA V10 pushes out 585bhp by way of its air pressure-controlled 6-speed transmission.
I get the sensation that Kawabata-san is a little bit of a celebrity for the crew, most likely as a result of he introduced them a long-awaited victory in 2020 throughout Spherical 6 of that yr’s Tremendous GT300 championship.
That’s the glory that groups like Hitotsuyama are striving to realize, and days like this are good for getting some endurance follow in.
Despite the fact that it was unbearably scorching and humid, I’m glad I made the journey right down to Fuji Speedway. Not simply because it was implausible to see such a various bunch of drivers and automobiles doing what they love, but in addition as a result of it was an extended overdue reminder to get my very own automotive on the circuit. In spite of everything, that’s what it was designed to do.
As with every motorsport occasion, the automobiles that individuals drive to the occasions are all the time value a glance, so I’ve included a fast stroll round of the carpark to your enjoyment beneath, plus some extra pictures from the occasion itself.
Toby Thyer
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