Threebond Nissan Technical College GT-R nets 2nd in Race 1

September 21-22, Suzuka Circuit (Mie prefecture) - Round 6 of the Super Taikyu Series was held at Suzuka Circuit, with the #24 Threebond Nissan Technical College GT-R in the GT3 class taking second place in the first of the three sprint races held over the two-day event.

This round consisted of three 40-minute sprint races, with no driver changes. The grid for the second race was determined by the results of the A drivers in qualifying, while the grid for the first race was determined by the qualifying results of the B drivers, and the grid for the third race was determined by the combined results of the A and B drivers.

The weather was clear and refreshing for the first race, held in the afternoon of September 21. The #24 GT-R NISMO GT3 started with Tomonobu Fujii in pole position. At the chicane in the third lap, he was held up by a gaggle of slower ST-5 class machines, and was overtaken by the driver behind - taking advantage of the opportunity, while Fujii fell to second place. There were cars that had run off track and leaked oil on the course, so the safety car was called out. After the restart, it was an extremely short race of just four laps, and Fujii was unable to retake the top spot, finishing second. Third place went to Takayuki Aoki in the #81 GTNET ADVAN NISSAN GT-R.

Suzuka was favored with fine weather from the morning onward on the 22nd as well. In the second race, held in the morning, GAMISAN in the #24 GT-R was running in fifth place when he noticed an unusual vibration. He returned to the pit for repairs, but was unable to complete the race. However, pole-sitting starter Aoki in the #81 GT-R finished second.

In the third race, held in the afternoon of the 22nd, third place starter Daiki Sasaki in the #24 GT-R battled to catch up with the two leading machines heading into the middle stage of the race, thrilling the nearly 1,000 Nissan Technical College supporters in the stands. However, he collided with a car that had gone into a spin at the Spoon curve on lap 14. Then, as Sasaki slowed down due to the congestion at Spoon, the car behind rear-ended him. The #24 GT-R sustained major damage to its right rear was forced to return to the pits where their race ended.

Naofumi Omoto in the #81 GT-R fell to fourth place on the 17th tour, but at the chicane on the final lap, the retook third place and crossed the finish line in that position.

In the ST-3 class, Tetsuya Tanaka in the #15 Okabe Jidosha DIXCEL Team Tetsuya Z34 started the second race from third place, and came from behind to win. In the third race, Yoshinobu Masuda in the #14 Okabe Jidosha KYOSHIN Keisoku Z33 finished third.

Tomonobu Fujii (#24 Threebond Nissan Technical College GT-R/ Race 1 - Second in GT3 class)
"Since I started from pole position, I was obviously aiming to win. I built a lead in the opening stages, but while I was passing some lapped traffic, the car in front of me went into a half spin, and [Nobuteru] Taniguchi was able to pull even with me and pass. I managed my tires, aiming to turn the tables on him, but while the safety car was on track, they cooled off and I didn't have a chance to overtake him. It's really disappointing."

• Super Taikyu Series Round 6 Race 1 - GT3 class
• Super Taikyu Series Round 6 Race 1 - ST-3 class
• Super Taikyu Series Round 6 Race 2 - GT3 class
• Super Taikyu Series Round 6 Race 2 - ST-3 class
• Super Taikyu Series Round 6 Race 3 - GT3 class
• Super Taikyu Series Round 6 Race 3 - ST-3 class

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