Drivers Voice Skepticism About Fuji Sprint Race Plans

Photo: Honda

A number of SUPER GT drivers have voiced skepticism regarding the Japanese championship’s plans to host a pair of sprint races at Fuji Speedway in August.

Ahead of last week’s final pre-season test at Fuji, Sportscar365 revealed that plans to mix up the format for the fourth round of the championship are proceeding, with organizers having settled on a 35-lap Saturday race featuring both GT500s and GT300s and a pair of 50-minute races, split by class, on Sunday.

Teams will have to nominate a single driver to take part in each day of action, with no pit stops and driver changes taking place in any of the races.

Asked for his reaction to the plan, Impul Nissan driver Bertrand Baguette said he applauded SUPER GT for wanting to try something different but expressed the view that the spectacle could suffer without pit stops and no traffic to negotiate on Sunday.

“In my opinion, it goes a bit against the spirit of SUPER GT, which for me is pit stops, traffic and two drivers per car,” Baguette told Sportscar365.

“I am happy to try new things, because I am the first to complain that we always do the same thing. Whether this is the right thing, I don’t know.

“I like the traffic, I like sharing the car with a teammate. I’m afraid it could be a boring race. But I want to see how it works in reality.”

TOM’S Toyota driver Ukyo Sasahara offered a similar viewpoint, pointing to the relatively small size of the GT500 grid as an issue.

“If we do a sprint race, we need more cars,” Sasahara told Sportscar365. “Only 15 cars is kind of sad, I would say. No pit stop is also shame. It will be difficult to overtake.

“So I don’t know how it’s going to go. Maybe it will be a bit boring. I understand they want to try something different, and I want to see the fans’ opinion.”

Sacha Fenestraz, another member of the Toyota stable, was generally more positive towards the sprint race plan but dislikes the idea of splitting the GT500 cars from the GT300s for the second leg of the double-header.

“I think it’s a shame that we don’t drive with the GT300s [on Sunday],” said the SARD driver. “I think that race could be boring. It’s the traffic that makes the action.

“I like the idea of doing a short race with a single driver, I think it’s quite cool, the drivers will have to manage the tyres, but you need the traffic.”

Roberto Merhi, who drives for the Velorex Ferrari team in GT300, said he feels sprint races should become regular fixtures of SUPER GT weekends — but dislikes the idea of a sprint race replacing a full-distance event.

“I would maybe do a sprint race on Saturday afternoon, and have qualifying in the morning, to make the day a bit more packed, like they do in F1 or MotoGP, and then do the normal race on Sunday,” the ex-Formula 1 driver told Sportscar365.

“I would not remove the normal race. Otherwise, what am I supposed to do [on the day that I don’t drive]? I will of course be there to support the team, but as a driver I don’t like to go to a circuit just to sit around with my arms crossed.”

Baguette Bemoans Reduced Number of Longer Races

While SUPER GT has yet to announce the race distances for the full calendar, it’s understood that the regular 300km format will be in use for five of the eight rounds, with only the two Fuji rounds and Round 7 at Autopolis using different formats.

The Golden Week Fuji round will remain a three-hour timed event, as will the annual visit to Autopolis, but the 350km distance will not be used this year.

Baguette voiced his displeasure at this development, while adding he thinks the rules should be amended so that the starting driver is decided by lottery together with the starting tire, in the interests of variety.

“I’m disappointed that we have so many 300km races this year,” said the Belgian driver. “For me, this is not a good format. It’s better to do longer races.

“Most of the time, I take the start, I drive for 40 minutes and then for the rest of the race I am in the pits watching my teammate on TV.

“I have suggested linking the start driver to the tire we use in qualifying, which would decide the starting driver – just to mix things up a bit.

“The team wants me to take the start, because they know I am good at it. But it’s always the same drivers who take the start and I would like them to mix things up.”