De Oliveira Predicts Eventual GT300 Class Split

Joao Paulo de Oliveira believes that SUPER GT’s GT300 class is not tenable as a competition between FIA GT3 machinery and the series’ own GTA-GT300 cars.

The Brazilian driver made the remarks following he and Kondo Racing teammate Daiki Sasaki finishing third in last weekend’s fourth round of the season at Fuji Speedway, which marked the first time in 2024 that FIA GT3 cars have monopolised the podium.

While FIA GT3 cars have won three of the four races so far this year, the performance of the Bridgestone-shod GTA-GT300 (sometimes called ‘JAF’) cars have raised fresh questions about the fairness of the competition between the two subclasses.

The GT300 class is governed by Balance of Performance, but while the BoP of the FIA GT3 cars is managed by SRO, the GTA is responsible for setting the performance parameters of the GTA-GT300 machines, including the Toyota GR86 GT, Toyota Supra GT, Lexus LC500h, Subaru BRZ and the new-for-2024 Gainer-built Nissan Z.

De Oliveira believes that the hot weather, combined with the one-stop 350km race format favored the FIA GT3 cars at Fuji, but feels that ultimately that keeping things completely fair between the two sub-classes in the long term isn’t possible.

“Fuji is very particular,” de Oliveira told Sportscar365. “Some days the strategy can favour the FIA GT3s, other times the ‘JAF’ cars.

“This time it was just too hot for them to double stint the tires. It’s one stop, but one very long stint, so that makes it hard for them. It doesn’t change the overall picture.

“Ultimately, I feel we will end up racing separately. We have to be faster on the straights, because they are way faster in the corners. So it’s hard to fight, especially at a track like this. I think it’s a matter of time until that happens.”

Best of the GTA-GT300 cars at Fuji was the championship-leading No. 2 Inging Toyota GR86 GT of Hibiki Taira and Yuui Tsutsumi, who recovered from 18th on the grid to finish eighth and maintain a perfect record of scoring points in 2024.

“The No. 2 still finished eighth,” added de Oliveira. “And the success weight is capped now [at 50 kg] so they will keep scoring points.

“My only question is whether they will be champions in Round 6 or Round 7…”

De Oliveira and Sasaki sit sixth in the standings, 19 points behind Taira and Tsutsumi, after their second podium finish of the season.

Their first top-three result came in the second round at Fuji, but the Kondo pair finished far outside of the points in both the opening race at Okayama and the third round at Suzuka amid a changing BoP for the Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3.

“We were eliminated [from contention] in two rounds this year,” reflected de Oliveira. “We were two-three seconds slower.

“We started the first race of this year with 1400 kg, and it felt like driving a tractor loaded with tree branches. Then the BoP improved slightly for Fuji, and we got a second place. We were not the fastest car in that race, and we were hammered for Suzuka.

“I’m just tired of it. You can be Max Verstappen, but you can’t jump in there and put the car even inside the top 20 if they don’t want you to.

“I hope things can get back to normal now. I don’t mind talking about it, because it has become so obvious, it’s ridiculous.”