This weekend sees two Kiwi drivers competing at the opening round of the 2017 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, the Okayama 300km race at the Okayama International Circuit. Nick Cassidy will compete in the GT500 while Jono Lester will compete in the GT300 class for Gulf Racing.
All cars in GT500 class have changed to a new model while the GT300 class will also see some new model cars debuting in the series.
Prior to the season opener on April 8 – 9, SUPER GT’s first official test of the year was held at Okayama International Circuit on March 18 and 19. Overall fastest lap time of the two-day Okayama test was marked by No.37 KeePer TOM’S LC500 (Ryo Hirakawa /Nick Cassidy) and are considered favourites for the first round.
The GT500 class this season have 25% of downforce due to the new regulations that significantly limits the performance in speed, but the best time of recent Okayama test was very close to the track record, 1 min 18.149 sec (No.37 car) against 1 min 18.129 sec, respectively. The Okayama International Circuit underwent a full resurfacing of the track during the off-season. In addition, wider two-step curves have been applied on some corners which offers more flexibility to the drivers in choosing the line to go through the turn, and this will allow more aggressive driving thus create more close-battles in both GT500 and GT300.
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