Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi finished third after starting ninth in Round 7 of SUPER GT, with the #12 Z fifth.
Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi finished third in the #23 Nissan Z after starting ninth, in Round 7 of SUPER GT at Autopolis on 18 October. Nissan says it is its first GT500 podium since Round 2 at Fuji Speedway. The #12 Z finished fifth, and two Z NISMO GT500 cars made the top five.
Nissan's #23 Z finished third in the three-hour race at Autopolis in Oita Prefecture, after starting ninth. Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi shared the drive, and Nissan says it is the first GT500 podium since the Fuji round. The #12 Z, driven by Bertrand Baguette and Kazuki Hiramine, finished fifth after leading at some point in the race, putting two Z NISMO GT500 cars in the top five.
How the race unfolded
Two Safety Car periods shaped the strategy. Baguette got a strong start in the #12 and moved up to fourth at the first corner, and that car went ahead on lap 23, just before the first Safety Car. Takaboshi kept the #23 out until the end of lap 36 and then gave it to Chiyo. By the end of the first pit cycle, the #23 had dropped to ninth.
A second Safety Car on lap 50 reshuffled the order again. Racing restarted on lap 56, and the #12 went back to the front as rivals pitted for their second stops. Hiramine took over the #12 on lap 62, and Chiyo's second stop came at the close of lap 64. By lap 72 every GT500 had completed its two mandatory stops, and the #23 was third.
Chiyo got to within a second of the car ahead, then held off late challenges to keep the podium. The #24 Z ended 11th, just beyond the points, while the #12 dropped to fifth on lap 92.
Comeback and the GT300 picture
Chiyo was back in the #23 after a fracture ruled him out of the previous round. He said the result was a reward for everyone who had supported him and for a team that had dealt with a difficult spell. Takaboshi said the car had been hard to set up from the first session, and that the decision to extend the opening stint was the key call.
Nissan ran six entries in GT300: four GT-R NISMO GT3 cars and a pair of Fairlady Zs that follow the GTA GT300 regulations. The #360 RUNUP x SOL GT-R came from 28th on the grid to second. The #62 finished eighth, the #26 ninth and the #56 14th. That 14th place kept the #56 Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R at the top of the GT300 championship.
The last two rounds take place at Motegi: the rescheduled Round 3 falls on 7 November and Round 8 on 8 November. Chiyo said the team still has weaknesses to fix, and that lower success weight in those races will shift the contest towards outright pace.
