Fenestraz Recalls “Horrible” Last-Lap Sugo Defeat

Sacha Fenestraz has described his “horrible” last-lap defeat in Sunday’s Sugo SUPER GT round, as the SARD Toyota was passed for victory by the Kondo Racing Nissan of Teppei Natori on the very last lap of a thrilling red-flagged race.

The battle for the win came down to Fenestraz’s No. 39 Toyota GR Supra, which had led the majority of a race that was suspended for an hour following a multi-car accident, and Natori’s Yokohama-shod Nissan Z NISMO that took the final restart third.

Natori was able to pass Koudai Tsukakoshi’s Real Racing Honda Civic Type R-GT for second before closing down on Fenestraz, who appeared to struggle for grip on his Bridgestone tires as what had become a timed race entered its closing stages.

After rebuffing multiple attempts from Natori to pass at Turn 1, Fenestraz came under pressure along the back straight heading towards the Horseback right-hander on lap 70, which turned out to be the final lap as the three-hour time limit was reached.

Fenestraz stuck to the inside but left space for Natori to pass around the outside, which gave the Nissan driver the inside for the next corner and ultimately the win.

“I was struggling for the last five or ten laps,” Fenestraz told Sportscar365. “We struggled a lot with the tires but all the Bridgestone cars were the same. We had a lot of graining with the new [track] surface, which nobody expected.

“We were just trying to survive and when they told me five laps to go, Natori was already right behind me, so I knew it would be tough. We had a good fight, but in the end, to lose on the last lap… it’s a horrible thing. I think I never experienced it before.”

Asked if he anticipated that Natori would attempt to pass at Horseback corner, Fenestraz replied: “I knew there was a chance, and they were so quick on the straight. I knew it was the only place besides Turn 1 he could attack me.

“It’s not an excuse, but the left mirror kind of dropped, so I couldn’t see him at all. The mirror was facing completely down, so I could only see the ground.

“When he went to the outside, I didn’t know how far alongside he was. I thought he might be half a car length behind, but actually he was fully alongside. That didn’t help.

“I don’t think I could have done much differently. It’s always easy to say after. I tried to brake late, but I also didn’t want to risk the podium finish on the last lap.”

However, Fenestraz was keen to emphasize that second was still a good result for the SARD team in the circumstances, considering the team’s 58 kg success handicap, with he and co-driver Yuhi Sekiguchi moving up to third in the standings.

“I think I maximized what we had when you consider the weight difference between our cars,” he said. “[The Kondo Nissan was] the lightest car on the grid. The Yokohamas were also working much better than the Bridgestones. They were faster. 

“Before the race, the team was quite strict, saying we shouldn’t take too many risks to win, because for us P2 is still a very good result, even for the championship.

“We should be happy, as it has been quite a tough season. Yuhi did an amazing job in his stint, so hopefully we can keep up the momentum at Autopolis.”

Natori pass secured a landmark win for Kondo, which had been winless in GT500 since the 2016 Motegi round, and his co-driver Tsugio Matsuda, who secured a record-extending 25th top-class victory having battled Sekiguchi for the lead earlier in the race.

First-time GT500 race winner Natori said he was happy to take a risk in his battle with Fenestraz, having run wide on lap 65 at Turn 1 but without losing position.

“I wasn’t thinking about it too much,” he recalled. “With about six or seven laps left, I thought it would be better if I just went for it. I was confident that I could catch up again even if I dropped back a bit, as long as I wasn’t overtaken.

“I wanted to apply pressure and force Sacha to use up his tires, but he did a great job, not making any mistakes. I knew that passing on the outside would mean getting pick-up on the tires, so the aim was always to pass on the outside on the final lap.

“From the next race the success weight is halved, so this win comes at a good time. I scored pole at Autopolis last year, so it’s a circuit that should be well suited for us. I want to aim for pole again and put on another good show that the fans can enjoy.”