Kiwi driver Nick Cassidy along with co-driver Ryo Hirakawa finished on the podium in the opening Autobacs Super GT Series race at the Okayama International Circuit on Sunday. The current Super GT titleholders’ in their KeePer TOM’S LC500 LEXUS LC500 came from a qualifying position of ninth on the grid to claim third overall behind a Real Racing led Honda 1-2. Ex-Formula 1 champion Jenson Button finished second.
An excellent start by Cassidy saw him jump to sixth in the opening lap.
The #23 NISMO GT-R of Ronnie Quintarelli and the #24 NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 of Joao Paulo de Oliveirawere were eventually handed drive-through penalties for jump starts, which dropped them outside the top 10. This brought Cassidy into contention who eventually moved into the lead until the pit stop cycle, which changed the race order once again.
By stopping early, early leader Takashi Kogure (Honda NSX-GT ) handed team mate Koudai Tsukakoshi the race lead, while Cassidy’s TOM’S teammate Ryo Hirakawa emerged out of the pits in fourth position. Hirakawa managed to pass the #6 Team LeMans car of Felix Rosenqvist and Kazuya Oshima in the latter stages of the race, putting the TOM’S Lexus on the final spot on the rostrum.
The next Autobacs Super GT Series takes place at the Fuji Speedway, Friday May 3-4 during the Japanese Golden Week.
Race results (Top 5)
1 Koudai Tsukakoshi/ Takashi Kogure Honda 1:55’14.381
2 Naoki Yamamoto/Jenson Button Honda 1.610
3 Ryo Hirakawa/Nick Cassidy Lexus 5.582
4 Kazuya Oshima/Felix Rosenqvist Lexus 5.759
5 Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli Nissan 36.990
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