Rivals Express Concern at “Scary” TOM’S Sepang Speed

The speed shown by the No. 1 TOM’S Toyota in last weekend’s Sepang SUPER GT round has been branded “scary” by ARTA technical director Tomo Koike, after the Honda team fell short of the sister No. 37 GR Supra in the fight for victory.

TOM’S secured Toyota a seventh GT500 win in a row on Saturday as Ukyo Sasahara and Giuliano Alesi beat the No. 8 ARTA Honda Civic Type R-GT of Tomoki Nojiri and Nobuharu Matsushita that had led during the opening stint with an overcut strategy.

At the same time, the sister No. 1 TOM’S machine of Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita went from eighth on the grid to last on the opening lap after Tsuboi was spun around by the SARD Toyota of Yuhi Sekiguchi, before recovering to seventh.

That’s despite the fact that Tsuboi and Yamashita came to Sepang carrying a nominal 70 kg success ballast, which meant the championship-leading No. 1 Toyota was the only car in the GT500 field carrying a fuel flow restrictor.

Koike said that ARTA couldn’t be too upset at losing out to the No. 37 TOM’S car, but admitted that the speed of the No. 1 car at Sepang with such a large handicap does not bode well for this year’s championship fight.

“We knew that the No. 37 would do a long first stint because Ukyo was the first driver, but we had to do a minimum pit stop to avoid being undercut by the No. 19 [Racing Project Bandoh Toyota],” Koike told Sportscar365. 

“The No. 37 was faster than we expected towards the end of the stint. Ukyo pushed a lot towards the end of the stint and opened a gap, and that was the key. P2 was the best we could do considering the strength of the overall package.

“But the No. 1 car was quite fast considering they had the incident on lap one and also the stage two fuel restrictor. It’s quite scary.”

Team Impul Nissan driver Bertrand Baguette also expressed surprise that Tsuboi and Yamashita were able to salvage seventh from running last on the first lap.

“They are just fast,” Baguette told Sportscar365. “They are the guys to beat for the championship; I don’t know who can beat them. They are the best team at the moment. 

“We are getting better, but if we want to beat TOM’S I think we need at least three or four tenths a lap. They have no weak points, but we’ll keep fighting for sure.”

Baguette and his co-driver in the Impul Nissan Z NISMO, Kazuki Hiramine, ended up completing the podium after the Team Kunimitsu Honda that had finished third on the road was demoted to sixth due to a 10-second penalty for Tadasuke Makino.

Looking back on the race, Baguette admitted to regret at being unable to pass Sasahara, who started two places ahead, in the early part of the race, but praised the No. 37 crew for pursuing an alternative strategy of going long in the first stint.

None of the other Z NISMO crews scored at Sepang — both factory cars finished outside of the points and the Kondo Racing car didn’t start due to a driveshaft problem.

“I am a bit sad I couldn’t overtake No. 37 at the start,” reflected Baguette. “I thought I had him, but then he pushed me wide, it seemed quite aggressive. 

“I could keep up, and the pace was good. The TOM’S strategy of going long was a bit better, but it was a risk. If there was a safety car, they would have looked stupid.

“I have no regrets. Looking at where the other Nissans are, we can be happy.”

TOM’S Believes Contact Cost No. 1 Crew At Least P4

TOM’S team boss Jun Yamada believes that the contact between Tsuboi and Sekiguchi on the opening lap prevented the No. 1 car from finishing at least fourth at Sepang.

After the incident Tsuboi circulated at the rear of the pack, but a fast pit stop – helped by intense fuel-saving – allowed the championship-leading car to jump up the order, with Yamashita then passing fellow Toyota driver Toshiki Oyu for seventh.

Sekiguchi was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident.

“When the contact happened, I thought the race was basically over for them,” said Yamada. “You could say it was just a bit unlucky, but it’s also hard to accept. 

“Tsuboi was very stressed during his stint because, even after the contact, he was stuck behind slower cars from the same manufacturer stable.

“I think without the spin, they probably would have finished at least fourth. And then, considering the No. 100 car’s penalty, maybe they could have fought for third.”

Yamada expressed his delight with the No. 37 crew’s win, which he considered to be the most impressive of the three that Sasahara and Alesi have picked up as a duo.

“Considering the low success weight we had, we knew we had a chance to win,” he said.

“At both Suzuka and Sugo [last year] there was some luck involved, but this time it was a race that they won through their own power, so that was very satisfying to see.”