Fuji Confirms Format for Sprint Race Weekend

Fuji Speedway has confirmed details of the much-anticipated sprint race format that will be used in SUPER GT’s fourth round of the season next month, with the GT300 and GT500 classes to hold standalone races as part of the event.

The weekend schedule announced by the Toyota-owned venue on Friday for the August 2-3 race remains broadly in line with the plans that were communicated to teams pre-season, which were reported by Sportscar365.

It means that the three races across the weekend — one normal ‘mixed’ race with both classes on Saturday and two races on Sunday featuring each class individually — will feature no pit stops, and therefore no driver changes, and no success weight.

The qualifying format has also been altered, with sessions taking place on both Saturday and Sunday featuring only the nominated driver for each car.

An hour of official practice will take place on Saturday morning, starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, with 10-minute segments at the end for GT300 and GT500 cars only.

That will be followed by a 20-minute GT300 qualifying at 11:40 a.m. and a 10-minute GT500 qualifying at 12:10 p.m.

Saturday’s race, featuring both classes, will last for 35 laps and begins at 3:10 p.m.

Sunday’s practice schedule is identical to the previous day, but qualifying takes place earlier, with the GT300s going out at 11 a.m. and the GT500s at 11:30 a.m.

The first single-class race will be the GT300 event at 2:20 p.m., with the GT500 race not taking place until 5:10 p.m. Both races will be timed at 50 minutes.

Which driver from each car takes part in the Saturday race and which will compete on Sunday will be announced closer to the event.

It is anticipated that each race will award half of the regular points compared to a standard race weekend, but this has not yet been confirmed by the GTA.

Also yet to be officially determined is whether an ‘Indy-style’ start will be used for the two Sunday races, as previously suggested by GTA boss Masaaki Bandoh.