TOM’S Toyota Earns Title in Thrilling Motegi Decider

Photo: SUPER GT

TOM’S Toyota drivers Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita secured the team’s third consecutive SUPER GT title triumph after scoring a narrow victory ahead of the Team Impul Nissan in a thrilling conclusion to the season at Motegi.

Starting from second on the grid, Tsuboi wasted no time in seizing the lead from the pole-winning Cerumo Toyota of Hiroaki Ishiura, taking advantage of his superior tire warm-up to take the lead as early as the exit of Turn 4 on the first lap.

Tsuboi then led for the remainder of the opening stint as Bertrand Baguette also passed Ishiura for second, with the TOM’S Toyota maintaining the advantage when Tsuboi pitted to hand over to Yamashita on lap 23 of 63.

While it initially looked as if it would be a straightforward run for Yamashita and Tsuboi, Honda threw the strategic dice in a last-gasp bid to wrest the title from Toyota by not changing tires when the Team Kunimitsu car pitted the following lap.

Tadasuke Makino emerged with a lead of around 11 seconds over Yamashita in the No. 100 Honda Civic Type R-GT, but with old tires he was soon caught by the Toyota driver, who breezed around the outside of Makino at Turn 3 on lap 29.

One lap later, Makino lost a further place to the Impul Nissan, now with Kazuki Hiramine at the wheel, with a fierce battle between Yamashita and Hiramine that would last all the way to the checkered flag beginning soon after.

That allowed Katsumasa Chiyo in the No. 23 NISMO Nissan, who passed Makino for third on lap 33, to close in, leading to a nail-biting three way fight for the closing laps.

However, despite Hiramine making a couple of efforts to pass Yamashita at the downhill Turn 11 right-hander, the leading three cars would finish in that order, with just 0.264 seconds splitting Yamashita and Hiramine at the finish.

It meant TOM’S became the first GT500 team to score three consecutive titles, with Tsuboi bagging his fourth crown and Yamashita his third.

Chiyo was just 1.015 seconds behind at the finish in the No. 23 Nissan started by Mitsunori Takaboshi, with Makino clinging on to fourth place on his old tires despite coming under late pressure from the recovering SARD Toyota of Sacha Fenestraz.

After taking over the Cerumo Toyota from Ishiura, Toshiki Oyu suffered an off-track moment at Turn 11 on his out lap, and his subsequent lack of pace meant a large train of cars formed behind him in the second half of the race.

Oyu was passed late on by the No. 37 TOM’S Toyota of Giuliano Alesi, which left he and Ishiura third in the final GT500 standings behind Yamamoto and Makino.

In GT300, victory went to the Team Mach Toyota 86 Mother Chassis of Iori Kimura and Yusuke Shiotsu, who scored the team’s first win in 22 years of trying.

But the championship went the way of the LEON Racing Mercedes-AMG drivers Naoya Gamou and Togo Suganami, who finished sixth to seal the title by just a single point from Kondo Racing Nissan driver Kohei Hirate.

More to follow

Source: Sports Car 365