NEWS
GT WORLD CHALLENGE ASIA - SUZUKA RACE REPORT:
POINTS FINISHES FOR ALL CARS AT SUZUKA
Jul 07, 2024
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Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia by AWS, Round 4 –Suzuka, Japan
Points finishes for all cars at Suzuka
Suzuka hosted round four of the GT World Challenge Asia Championship this weekend and it was all change for the crew of the VSR number 63 car with the Japanese crew of Douglas Bolger and Yudai Uchida racing in Silver-Am.
Thursday afternoon’s test was marred by mixed weather but all the practice sessions on Friday were conducted in hot, dry conditions. Qualifying for race one saw the Am drivers set the grid. Bian lined up on row seven, sixth in class with Uchida alongside him, fourth in Silver-Am. Mizutani was eighth quickest in Silver-Am.
Saturday’s race got underway smoothly and ran without incident until lap five when Inthraphuvasak skated into the gravel and the Safety Car came out. When racing resumed an error from Uchida bought out the Safety Car again and the VSR driver lost a lap as he was pulled from the gravel. Everyone took the opportunity to pit for their driver changes and when the track went green Liberati was running eighteenth and Nemoto twenty-sixth. Despite a third Safety Car both made up places in the final laps with Liberati finishing sixth in Pro-Am and Nemoto seventh in Silver-Am. Bolger took the chequered flag in his first GT3 race but remained a lap down after Uchida’s spin.
For Sunday’s race Liberati qualified on row six after the second qualifying session was marred by a late red flag and, after much deliberation from Race Control, did not resume. Bolger qualified tenth in class despite losing his two best laps to track limit infringements and Nemoto was sixth in Silver-Am. At the start both Liberati and Nemoto gained a place and on lap two Liberati forced his way past Winklehock to break into the top ten. A lap later the Safety Car was out for a pair of Audi’s in the gravel at turn fourteen. Racing resumed just before the pit window. Bolger, running tenth in Silver-Am was the first to pit, followed by Nemoto. Liberati stayed out, battling hard to keep Winklehock behind him, and pitted just as the window closed and the Safety Car was called back on track. The track went green with fifteen minutes left but was almost immediately put under Full Course yellow for an upside -down Porsche. The race finished under Safety Car with Bian seventh in Pro-Am, Mizutani seventh in Silver-Am and Uchida tenth in Silver-Am.
The GT World Challenge Asia Championship continues next month with a double-header at Okayama.
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