Along with co-driver Ryo Hirakawa, Nick Cassidy not only secured pole position but went on to win adn retake the lead in the 2017 Autobacs Super GT Series at Thailand’s Chang International Circuit over the weekend.
The #37 KeePer TOM’S LC500 driven by Hirakawa and Cassidy ran from pole position to win the race and the GT500 class. In the GT300 class, the No. 51 JMS P.MU LMcorsa RC F GT3 driven by Yuichi Nakayama and Sho Tsuboi was the winner.
“This was really an amazing day,” commented Cassidy. “I want to thank Lexus for the great car they made us, and the team for the fast set-up they gave us, and Bridgestone for the fantastic performance of the tires they supplied us with. Today, we knew that the pit work would be very important, and the team did a really wonderful job. This was the best race I have ever experienced in SUPER GT.”
Leading the race in the early going was the pole-starting No. 37 KeePer TOM’S LC500 (Nick Cassidy). It was followed by the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Jann Mardenborough) and the No. 17 KEIHIN NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi). The GT500 class ranking leader, the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Ronnie Quintarelli) and two other cars had chosen to start on slick tires. After the 10th lap the track began to dry, and after the 13th lap one car after another returned to the pit to change to dry-use slick tires.
In the middle stages of the race the leaders were making their second pit stop, and when they finished their driver change and refueling, the No. 37 KeePer TOM’S LC500 (Ryo Hirakawa) had managed to keep the lead.
Behind it, came the No. 6 WAKO’S 4CR LC500 (Kazuya Oshima) that had waged a fierce battle with the No. 17 KEIHIN NSX-GT (now driven by Takashi Kogure in the second half) from the early stages of the race. The No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda) that had been in 2nd position in the early going ended up taking more time than it should have in the pit work, dropping it back to 3rd position.
Hirakawa maintained his lead and ran on un-threatened to bring the No. 37 KeePer TOM’S LC500 home to victory with a lead of 12.121 seconds over 2nd place and thus won its second race of the season, following the victory at the opening round at Okayama.
“I am very happy that we were able to get the win running from pole position in this way,” commented Hirakawa. “The rain just before the start had made us nervous about the tyre choice, but when we started on wet-use tires, Nick [Cassidy] was able to run at a fast pace and build us a good margin of lead.
“The timing with which we changed to dry-use tires was also good, so I felt that luck was on our side. During the routine pit stop the team also did a great job working fast, and after getting back on the track I didn’t have to look at my rearview mirror at all. I could just look straight ahead and drive. It was truly a great weekend.”
This win also raised their driver championship point total to 69, which means they will go into the final round of the season as ranking leader.
Finishing the race in 2nd place was the No. 6 WAKO’S 4CR LC500 (Kazuya Oshima/Andrea Caldarelli), which made them also 2nd in the ranking. Although it had run most of the final stages of the race in 3rd place, the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda) suffered engine trouble with just two laps remaining. This allowed the No. 17 KEIHIN NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Takashi Kogure) to finish 3rd to the cheers of the cheering section from the local Keihin organization. The No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli) that had led the ranking through the previous race, only managed to get two points this time for finishing 9th, dropping it to 3rd place in the ranking.
In the GT300 class race, most of the teams also started the race on wet-use tires, most of the leading teams were ones that kept running on their rain tire after the track had dried waiting until the earliest possible timing for a driver change before returning to the pit for the full pit work, thus avoiding the need for a second pit stop. Among these, the first to make its pit stop was the No. 51 JMS P.MU LMcorsa RC F GT3 (Yuichi Nakayama/Sho Tsuboi), and it went on to take the class win. Finishing 2nd with the same strategy and thus moving up to the driver ranking lead was the No. 4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Tatsuya Kataoka). In the final round they will be looking to take their third championship title.
Comments