The Fuji GT 500KM RACE, Round 2 of the 2012 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, took place on the afternoon of May 4th at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Pref. The GT500 class winner was the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 driven by Juichi Wakisaka and Hiroaki Ishiura.
After a confused early going, DENSO SC430 takes the lead mid-race, but a light rain began to fall on the starting grid as the time for the formation lap approached at 2:00 in the afternoon. This brought out the safety car to lead the start of the 110-lap race. It this point, all of the cars were still fitted with slick tires.
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Shortly after the start, the rain grew heavier and after the opening lap behind the safety car the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 driven by Kazuki Nakajima became the first to return to the pit to change to rain tires. At the end of the second lap, all the cars in the GT500 class with the exception of the No. 8 ARTA HSV-010 (Ralph Firman) and the already re-fitted No. 36 returned to the pit. With the lead order now changed and the SC finally off the track, the race began in earnest from the end of the third lap. At this point the order of the top six machines was the No. 8 ARTA HSV-010 in the lead followed by the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430, No. 6 ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 (Kazuya Oshima), No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama), No. 38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 (Yuji Tachikawa) and the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 (Hiroaki Ishiura). But, being the only machine still on slick tires, the No. 8 ARTA HSV-010 couldn’t hold the pace, and by the 4th lap it had dropped to the back of the pack. On the next lap No. 8 collided with a GT300 class car, sustaining serious damage to the front end that forced it out of the race.
Now it was the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 that held the lead, followed by the No. 6 ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 and No. 32 EPSON HSV-010 (Yuhki Nakayama). By the seventh lap the rain began to lift and the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R caught and passed the No. 32 EPSON HSV-010 to move into 3rd position.
Moving up in the rear, the No. 24 D’station ADVAN GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda) and No. 32 EPSON HSV-010, as well as the No. 1 S Road REITO MOLA GT-R (Ronnie Quintarelli), No. 35 KeePer Kraft SC430 (Andrea Caldarelli) and No. 19 WedsSport ADVAN SC430 (Seiji Ara) had all changed to slick tires but were as yet unable to catch the lead group.
Seeing the improved track condition, the leading No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430returned to the pit on the 15th lap. At the same time the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R running in 3rd position also returned to change tires and moved ahead of the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 with a faster pit stop.
The No. 6 ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 that had been running in the lead in the meantime returned to the pit on the 17th lap to change to slick tires, but just after getting back on the track it overran the first turn. It hit a GT300 and was given a drive-through penalty that dropped it out of competition for the lead.
This put the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira) in the lead until it returned to the pit on lap 21, leaving the No. 38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 in the lead until it also made a pit stop on the 26th lap.
Amid the rapidly changing conditions, all the teams had to change their race strategies. This was evident when the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 that had taken over the lead on lap 27 stretched its initial stint on to the 45th lap before returning to the pit and changing drivers from Ishiura to Juichi Wakisaka. At the same time, the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 in 2nd position made a pit stop and changed drivers from Nakajima to Richard Lyons, leaving the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda) to take the lead again, with the No. 100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 (Naoki Yamamoto) moving into 2nd position.
By the middle stages of the race, the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R had built up a lead of over 20 seconds, but then a GT300 machine suffered a big crash at the end of the straight on the 62nd lap. This brought out the Safety Car , and when the entrance to the pit area was finally opened again on lap 65, the two leading machines, the No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R and the No. 100 RAYBRIG HSV-010, both rushed into the pits at the same time.
This move put Wakisaka in the lead in the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 fighting a three-way battle with the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R and the No. 17 KEIHIN HSV-010 (Koudai Tsukakoshi). Wakisaka skillfully prevailed and was able to turn the wheel over to teammate Ishiura again with the lead intact on lap 82.
The CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R’s final gamble
Looking to run a long stint from lap 65, No. 12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Oliveira) managed well in maintaining a roughly 10-second gap with the No. 100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 (Takuya Izawa) in 2nd and was able to pass the 90th lap in the lead, but then it began to rain again! Oliveira struggled to hold the lead until the 103rd lap before rushing back to the pit and changing to intermediate tires. Unlike him, No. 100 RAYBRIG HSV-010, No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 and the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R chose to stay out on the track running as they were.
That turned out to be the right choice, as the rain stopped quicker than expected. Racing on the tricky tack conditions, the fleeing No. 100 RAYBRIG HSV-010 was caught on the 106th lap and passed by the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SC430 in an exciting reverse of fortunes that gave No. 39’s team their long-awaited first victory in eight years, since the Sepang round of 2004.
Finishing 2nd for the second race in a row was the No. 100 RAYBRIG HSV-010. In 3rd came the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R, while the No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R that had been so close to victory was passed finally by the No. 36 PETRONAS TOM’S SC430 to end the race in 5th place.
