> Takei and Sasahara go back to back on opening weekend
> TGR Indonesia’s Manoppo and Nonaka win GT4 class
> Provisional Result: Race 2
Bingo Racing’s Shinji Takei and Ukyo Sasahara have made it two wins from as many Japan Cup races at Sugo where their Corvette beat K-tunes’ Ferrari shared by Daisuke Yamawaki and Shinichi Takagi.
Further back, Haridarma Manoppo and Seita Nonaka scored a comprehensive GT4 victory for Toyota Gazoo Racing Indonesia after starting from pole. That initial advantage and no pitstop success penalty helped the Supra beat WAKAYAMA TOYOTA with HOJUST RACING’s Toshiyuki Ochiai and Takeshi Suehiro by 11.4 seconds.
The first half of the race featured a fantastic scrap between Yuki Nemoto and Sasahara after both muscled their way past pole man Takagi at the start. The Ferrari initially dropped back a little as the Lamborghini and Corvette ran nose-to-tail until Sasahara used a good run out of the final corner to slingshot down the inside into Turn 1 just before the pit window opened.
The Super GT star waited until the end of the window before handing over to Takei who emerged in the lead despite serving the maximum 15-second success penalty.
Behind, Nemoto’s ANR with VSR co-driver Akira Mizutani lost second to Yamawaki soon after the pitstops. The Ferrari was, at that point, 15 seconds adrift. But despite its driver’s best efforts, there was no catching Takei who took the chequered flag 7.4 seconds clear.
Mizutani pitted with a gearbox issue in the closing laps, allowing Tadao Uematsu to clinch the final podium place in his Team MACCHINA McLaren.
More to follow.