Amidst summer-like warmer temperatures, the opening round of the 2024 SUPER GT, held at Okayama International Circuit on April 13th and 14th, saw an abrupt end for our team.
This season, Honda has newly introduced the Civic Type R-GT to compete in the GT500 class. And under the new qualifying regulations introduced this season, the starting grid positions for the race were determined by the combined times of Q1 and Q2 qualifying (same tires need to be be used in Q1 and Q2). Ota, a newcomer to the team who took on the Q1, had difficulty with tire management in the high tarmac temperatures, but finished his first qualifying in 10th. Tsukakoshi in Q2 struggled with the tires from Q1, but managed to finish 6th overall, resulting in a combined 10th place qualifying position.
In the race, Ota took on the first stint, succeeding gaining one position at the first corner on the opening lap—but his machine was caught in a crash involving the No. 14 (ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra) and No. 12 (MARELLI IMPUL Z) cars in front of him, causing him to come to a stop on the course. Astemo REAL RACING was unable to return to the race and had to finish the season opener with a disappointing retirement.