Amidst clear skies providing a perfect view of Mount Fuji, the second round of the SUPER GT series was held at Fuji Speedway on May 4–5. Traditionally held during Golden Week, ”FUJI GT 3-Hour Race" boasts the highest attendance in the series, this time attracting 82,500 fans, including about 300 Astemo employees and their families who came out to cheer our team.

Following the opening round, the second round used a knockout format for the qualifying sessions, with the top 10 cars from Q1 advancing to Q2.

Compared to the official practice session where our No. 17 Astemo CIVIC TYPE-R GT struggled and finished the session in 14th, the qualifiers in first day saw more success. Koide took charge of the Q1 session, and despite this being his first Q1 run in the GT500 class, he managed to secure 10th, advancing to Q2. Tsukakoshi completed his qualifying attack without any mistakes but finished in 9th

On the qualifying day, Tsukakoshi and Koide participated in an HRC talk show at the Honda booth, where they discussed when they first met and their impressions of each other. Additionally, when asked about the differences between the GT500 and GT300 classes, Koide responded from the perspective of speed and vehicle stability, saying, "It feels like I've moved from a modified production car to a real racing car." Regarding his enthusiasm for Q1, he commented, "The team has prepared a good car, and it's the driver's mission to bring out 100% of its potential in any situation, so I will fight with all my might!“

The following day on May 4, Astemo REAL RACING aimed to improve its position in the 3-hour final race, which required two mandatory refueling pit stops, by adjusting the machine setup based on the previous day's qualifying results. Tsukakoshi started the first stint, and as fans waved our flags in the Astemo cheering section the announcer Pierre Kitagawa exclaimed "Are you ready!" for the starting call. With one parade lap and one formation lap, the 3-hour race began.

Despite bravely navigating the chaotic start, Tsukakoshi dropped to 11th place on the opening lap and was passed by car No. 12 (TRS IMPUL with SDG Z) on the 5th lap, falling to 12th place. With car No. 100 (STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT) close behind, Tsukakoshi skillfully defended his position using the mixed race with the 300 class also competing. On the 9th lap, he overtook car No. 64 (Modulo CIVIC TYPE R-GT) to move up to 11th place. As the laps continued, teams began their first pit stops from the 27th lap, but the Astemo CIVIC TYPE-R GT made its first pit stop on the 39th lap, over an hour into the race.

Switching to a different type of medium tire from the first stint, Koide took over. However, he couldn't maintain his position during the out lap and was overtaken by car No. 100 (STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT), dropping to 12th. Even after the tires warmed up, he couldn’t improve the pace, and was passed by car No. 23 (MOTUL AUTECH Z), falling to 13th place. Despite the widening gap with each lap, Koide continued to drive persistently, and after about two hours from the start, the team made their second pit stop on the 79th lap, entrusting the final push to Tsukakoshi. Tsukakoshi ran hard to close the gap as much as possible, and by the 86th lap, after all cars had completed their pit stops, he was running in 12th place. Although he set his best time on the 93rd lap, he finished the race in 12th place.

The third round will be held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on June 27 - 28, marking the first overseas official race since the Thailand event in 2019.