Round 5 of the 2023 SUPER GT, held at Suzuka Circuit on August 26th and 27th, saw an intense battle for a podium finish that increased our overall standing.
In the qualifying round, Tsukakoshi took on Q1, managing his tires well to cross the checkered flag at 6th. Advancing to Q2, Matsushita did well in each section and finished the qualifying in 3rd, the team's first top-3 finish of the season.
The final race was a lengthy 450 km (77 laps) . Matsushita maintained his pace and gradually pulled away from the rest of the group, despite the tough conditions with track surface temperatures exceeding 50℃. While other teams were making early pit stops, Astemo REAL RACING made a pit stop on lap 27 to change tires and refuel for the first time, and the driver was switched to Tsukakoshi.
Tsukakoshi also kept good pace and with solid lap performances, but got stuck with a group in front of him and was unable to improve his position. The team completed the second pit stop on lap 42 and spent less time refueling than the first, and the team was able to return to the course in fourth place. While the four machines, including Astemo REAL RACING, were battling it out for 3rd place, our car hit a machine in the GT300 class and lost a position. After that, we struggled to improve our pace and took the checkered flag at 5th place. * No. 23 (MOTUL AUTECH Z), which finished 2nd, was disqualified after the race, so Astemo REAL RACING were moved up to 4th place.