Honda Sweeps Autopolis Front Row as Nakajima Top Again

Nakajima Racing made it back-to-back SUPER GT pole positions by topping qualifying for this weekend’s Autopolis round, giving the new Honda HRC Prelude-GT its fourth pole in a row and another sweep of the front row.

After Igor Fraga set the pace in Q1, Riki Okusa delivered a lap of 1:32.414 aboard the Dunlop-shod No. 64 Honda in the Q2 shootout, outpacing the No. 17 Real Racing Prelude, which won last time out at Sugo, of Yuto Nomura by 0.385 seconds.

Yuji Kunimoto was third-quickest in the Yokohama-equipped Racing Project Bandoh Toyota GR Supra, ensuring that both non-Bridgestone cars in the GT500 field start inside the top three for Sunday’s three-hour race.

Kunimoto’s co-driver Sena Sakaguchi is back to full fitness this weekend after an eye injury ruled him out of the previous weekend’s Super Formula round at Fuji.

Completing the top five were Tadasuke Makino’s Team Kunimitsu Honda and the best of the Nissan Z NISMOs, the Team Impul entry of Kazuki Hiramine.

The championship-leading No. 36 TOM’S Toyota, carrying the maximum nominal handicap of 100 kg, was eighth-fastest in the hands of Sho Tsuboi, second best of the Bridgestone-shod GR Supras behind Toshiki Oyu’s Cerumo example in sixth.

Those two cars were split by Ren Sato in the No. 16 ARTA Honda, which caused a red flag late on in free practice with an off.

Katsumasa Chiyo, back at the wheel of the works No. 23 Nissan after a toe injury forced him out at Sugo, was ninth ahead of the No. 37 TOM’S Toyota of Giuliano Alesi.

The only Honda to fail to make Q2 was the No. 8 ARTA car in which Hiroki Otsu was at the wheel for Q1, which will start 12th behind the Kondo Racing Nissan.

Subaru Takes Comfortable GT300 Pole as GTA-GT300s Dominate

In the GT300 class, the No. 61 Subaru BRZ took a straightforward second pole of the year with Hideki Yamauchi going 0.384 seconds clear of the opposition.

Takuto Iguchi set the ball rolling with the fastest time in his Q1 group before Yamauchi took over for Q2, recording a 1:42.677 and leading a top-five made up of entirely of GTA-GT300 rules cars around a track where they typically excel.

Yuui Tsutsumi was Yamauchi’s nearest rival in the Inging Toyota GR86 GT, followed by the Saitama Green Brave Toyota GR Supra GT of Seita Nonaka and the Tsuchiya Engineering GR Supra, which enjoyed its best qualifying to date in fourth with Takamitsu Matsui.

Shunsuke Kohno was fastest in Q1 in the Sugo-winning LM Corsa Lexus LC500, but co-driver Hiroki Yoshimoto could do no better than fifth when he took over for Q2.

Best of the FIA GT3 runners was Zak O’Sullivan in the CarGuy MKS Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo in sixth, a boost to the British driver’s title bid as the points-leading Kondo Racing Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 qualified 11th with Iori Kimura at the wheel.

The D’station Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo that lies second in the points was eliminated in Q1, in which Tomonobu Fujii drove, and will start 19th.

SUPER GT’s Autopolis 3 Hours begins on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. local time (Saturday 11:10 p.m. EST).

UPDATE: The Inging Toyota that had qualified on the front row was given a two-place grid penalty for Kazuhisa Urabe impeding, dropping it to fourth.

It promotes the Saitama Green Brave car of Nonaka and Hiroki Yoshida to the front row, and the Tsuchiya machine of Matsui and Ryota Horachi to third.

RESULTS: GT500/GT300