GOODSMILE RACING & TeamUKYO RACE REPORT 7

2020 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Round7　FUJIMAKI GROUP MOTEGI GT 300km RACE

Dates: November 7-8, 2020
Location: Twin Ring Motegi (Tochigi Prefecture)
Weather Conditions: clear
Spectators: 24900 spectators (over 2 days)
Qualifying: 10th place
Final: 2nd place
Driver Points: 15P
Driver Points Ranking: 8th (36P)

＜Sat.＞
■ Free Practice QF1-2
The 2020 season, which did not open until July due to delays caused by the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, has just two more races left, with Round 7 held at Twin Ring Motegi on November 7-8. Typically, Motegi would be hosting the final round at this time of year, but on this occasion it was the site of the penultimate round. Due to regulations, it had to be a 300 km race with half the weight handicap (WH) instead of the 250 km Motegi no-weight race customary in the final race of the season.
In this race, Car 4 (Good Smile Hatsune Miku AMG) was equipped with 32 kg of WH. While Car 4 had been struggling this season, it had continued to rack up points in single finishes since Round 3. The goal was to somehow connect these to make the possibility of becoming a series champion a reality. A win would have of course been ideal, but at the very least race week built enthusiastically toward hopes of a podium finish. The Balance of Performance (BoP), which had disadvantaged the team throughout the season, had not changed, and so engine power was significantly reduced, making the car slower on straights than its rivals. Nevertheless, Nobuteru Taniguchi and Tatsuya Kataoka were expected to enter into some tenacious battles again on this occasion.
Official practice commenced at 9:05 am on Saturday with Kataoka (sometimes known as “Moteoka” for his prowess at Motegi) behind the wheel. Machine setup work in collaboration with AMG in Germany then proceeded online. Soon after entering the course, Kataoka recorded a time of 1’48.673 on the 4th timed lap. Setup proceeded while repeating the short run. However, as rivals timed up one after another, no further times could be recorded. 50 minutes after starting, the session was interrupted due to troubles with the GT500 vehicle. Following this, setup work continued, but times did not improve. Kataoka managed to squeeze in 22 laps before the GT300 class took over the track from 10:30, and passed the baton to Taniguchi. After Taniguchi took over at the wheel, he recorded 1 minute 49 seconds for the 4th consecutive week as he checked the condition of the machine. However, he couldn’t record a time that would raise the ranking and thus ended the session. Motegi seems to suit the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and should really be a good course for the team. However, the best time in this session was 25th in class. At this rate, trying to break through Q1 in the afternoon was hopeless, so after the session the team focused on reviewing the settings.
Q1 Qualifying began at 13:30, adopting a grouping system based on ranking by results. Car 4 (Good Smile Hatsune Miku AMG) entered qualifying in the Q1B group for 4 consecutive races. There were concerns about the settings again, but the team put their trust in Kataoka. Air temperature stood at 19 degrees and road surface temperature at 24 degrees. The Group B session started at 13:48, by which time the temperature had risen significantly from earlier that morning. The team chose tires that clearly spoke to their intent to break through Q1 and Kataoka cautiously put some heat onto those tires, with his attack on the 4th timed lap recording 1:47.416, exceeding the best time from the official practice by more than 1 full second and thus jumping to 3rd place on the time board. Car 30 (TOYOTA GR SPORT PRIUS PHV apr GT), Car 244 (Takanokonoyu RC F GT3), Car 25 (HOPPY Porsche), Car 31 (TOYOTA GR SPORT PRIUS PHV apr GT), and Car 18 (UPGARAGE NSX GT3) followed in sequence with times that surpassed Car 4, but Car 4 nonetheless managed to hold onto 8th place and advance to Q2. Q2 qualifying began at 15:23, where Taniguchi recorded a time of 1’47.437, shortening time attained in official practice during the 4th timed lap by more than 2 full seconds. He continued to attack on the following lap, cutting his time to 1’47.363 and securing the 10th grid for a spot within the top 10 for the first time in quite a while.
＜Sun.＞
■Race
This season, the much-loved Pit Walk of Super GT could not be held, but it was replaced by a new attraction called the Drive-Through Pit Walk. 50 people selected from 16,500 fans by lottery got to pass through the pit lane in private cars to visit the team pits. This new adjustment to current spectator conditions was not only a great experience for the lucky 50 fans in the cars, but also the team members who got the chance to welcome them into their pits.
With the track basking in the afterglow of a dazzling flight display from the F-2B fighter jets from the Air Self-Defense Force Matsushima Base, the team began warm-up runs at 11:40 with Kataoka at the wheel for the start. He racked up eight laps in a 20-minute warm-up session. Final checks on machine balance for the final race were carried out, with pace for race laps expected to be in the 1’50-1’51 range. “We’ve finally found a good balance,” was the word around the team and the anxiety of the previous day began to ease and expectations to grow for the big race.
The 63-lap 300 km final race began at 13:00. Moments before the race, Car 5 (Mach 5G GTNET MC86 Mach Vehicle Inspection) had to withdraw due to mechanical problems, opening up space in the 8th grid. In the opening lap, Kataoka pounced right away, using the space opened up in the 8th grid, passing cars 18 and 31 to pass the control line in 7th place. Additionally, Car 244, which had started in the front row in the 2nd grid, headed down pit road to sit out a penalty stop of 15 seconds (penalty for body replacement caused by a crash in the previous race), allowing Car 4 to move up into 6th place in the second lap. Weather conditions were as expected with the temperature of the road surface at 29 degrees, similar to the previous day’s afternoon. Kataoka fended off Car 55 (ARTA NSX GT3) as it tried to overtake, setting a personal best of 1’50.466 on the 5th lap as he leapt into hot pursuit of Car 25.
Because the team has been plagued by safety car (SC) in the past, pit stops are taken this season as soon as the specified number of laps has been reached, with the driver replaced by a “minimum strategy.” As a result, even in Round 6, the SC dispatch timing had a positive effect on race results. To avoid being left in the dust by Bridgestone, which was expected to have no tire replacement, it was planned to keep pit stops to a bare “minimum,” replacing only the two left wheels in order to cut down pit maintenance times as much as possible. Bearing that in mind, Kataoka used a approach of “racing without effort” and made sure to be careful with his tires on left turns. Even so, he was able to overtake Car 25 on the 1st corner of the 8th lap, moving up to 5th place. Classic “Moteoka” style—climbing the leaderboard all while in “energy-saving mode.” He maintained 5th place with stable lap times, then made a pit stop early on the 19th lap of GT300 class where the team changed the tires on the two left wheels as planned and sent Taniguchi out onto the course in 26th place.
Soon afterward, Car 5, which had been struggling before the start, ground to a halt at the right side of the V-shaped corner. The introduction of SC was declared on lap 21 as it was adjudged that the vehicle needed to be removed. This was where the gap between teams that had already finished the tire change and driver substitution and teams that had not really began to make a difference. Car 4 (Good Smile Hatsune Miku AMG)’s “Operation Minimum” allowed the car to make the most of the SC, ready to seize the lead and get some distance on those that had not yet entered the pit. Following the restart on the 27th lap, vehicles in front of Car 4 made for the pits one after another and on the 29th lap, Taniguchi seized his first top spot in a very long time. Those who had entered the pits late had already fallen back more than half a lap, turning the actual battle for first place into single combat between Taniguchi and Car 56 (Realize Nissan Motor College GT-R), which had also adopted the “minimum” strategy. Car 56, a NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3, boasts amazing speed on straights due to benefits from this season’s performance adjustments. Taniguchi later laughed when he shared his thoughts from that time. “The right to fight for the championship was down to two cars. Why two? It should just be me.” With half the race remaining, he decided to increase the pace and suppress the GT-R as it had no hope of winning using speed on straights. After recording a best time of 1’50.270 on lap 29, he was blocked out while attempting to lap a slower car and Car 56 overtook him. On the 31st lap, the two cars ended up side by side on the downhill straight and entered the 90-degree corner as is, running out parallel on the outer side from the second underpass toward the final Victory corner, where Taniguchi took the lead back from Car 56. It was a fierce battle where the bodies clanged together, sending spectators and TV viewers to the edges of their seats. But the GT-R, with its superior speed, could not be denied, and it finally took the lead at the end of the second corner. Even after dropping to 2nd place, Taniguchi kept up the chase, with remaining long stints timed in the 1’50-1’51 range. He got within 1 second Car 56, which had at one point pulled away, on the 56th lap of the final stage, but then got tangled up with some of the GT500 class cars and could not ultimately overtake Car 56 and passed the finish line in 2nd place.
Still, 2nd place was the highest finish this season for Taniguchi and Kataoka, racking up 15 driver’s points. This meant a rise to 8th place in the series ranking, 20 points off the top. There are thus 7 cars with the potential to win the championship: Car 56 (56 points), Car 65 (51 points), Car 11 (43 points), Car 52 (41 points), Car 61 (41 points), Car 55 (41 points, missed Takagi Round 7 through injury) 38 points), and Car 4 (36 points). In order for Car 4 to win the championship, it must start in pole position for the final race (1 point) and win (20 points) with the above rivals scoring no points. This is the same situation as last year, an “ultra-thin skin of less than 1 mm” (directed by Ukyo Katayama). Still, even a 2nd or 3rd place finish would show that the team is on the rise, putting the podium front and center for the final race. In order to make a huge turnaround and become the champion, Car 4 will need to hit the ground flying in the final race at Fuji Speedway.

 

■Comments from the Team

Team Owner: Aki Takanori
The thing was qualifying. It was really close this time, but Taniguchi and Kataoka looked like they might give up on passing through to Q1. When it opened up, I was so glad to see us pass Q1 and get the 10th grid. The problem of engine power is a big one, but there can still be room for improvement in how the car is used in the race. For the final, I really wanted to go with the non-replacement strategy, but instead of choosing no tire replacement, we decided to go with the minimum of changing just two tires. The car is too slow on straights to overtake, so the point was really how good our position would be after leaving the pit. As long as we could put him out in a good position, Taniguchi told me, “I’ll protect it with my life.” Due to a bit of bad luck, we couldn’t quite rein in Car 56. However, we’ve now got on the podium consecutively in 3rd place and 2nd place. What’s left—1st place, right?

Team Manager, Ukyo Katayama
My aim was to achieve a single grid in qualifying, but we managed to get through Q1. The tires and temperature matched up well and so I thought the pace of the race would be as good as the previous occasion and we could aim for at least 3rd place. Running at a good pace, we caught up to where we could see the 4th and 5th place cars, but after we went into the pit early as planned, we were a bit lucky with the safety car again. I wonder if Car 56 could have been caught if there was no loss in the lap delay, but the straight speed was so different that it would have been tough. Our two drivers are just amazing. Kataoka managed to climb the leaderboard while saving the tires in the first half of the race and Taniguchi chased down Car 56 in the latter stages—they were really wonderful.