Further Details Emerge of Fuji Sprint Race Plan

Photo: SUPER GT

Further details have emerged regarding SUPER GT’s plans to hold a pair of sprint races for its fourth round of the season at Fuji Speedway.

As previously reported by Sportscar365, series organizers have been working on plans to spice up its second visit of the year to the Toyota-venue owned venue in August followed a suggestion from GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh.

Now, with the start of the season less than a fortnight away, it’s understood that the format for the two single-driver races, one of which will take place on Saturday Aug. 3 and the other on Sunday Aug. 4, has been communicated to competitors.

The Saturday race will run over 35 laps for a race distance of just under 160 km (99.2 miles), and feature both classes, while Sunday’s running will be made up of a pair of 50-minute races, one for GT500 cars and the other for GT300s.

In both Sunday races, an ‘Indy-style’ start will be used featuring a much more tightly-packed grid of cars than the regular start procedure, with the system having been tested in the run-up to the 2021 season but ultimately not used.

Teams must decide in advance which of their drivers will run on Saturday and which will run on Sunday, with no mandatory pit stops or driver changes in any of the races.

Both the Saturday and Sunday races will award half of the points of a regular 300km race towards the drivers’ and teams’ rankings, while pole position points will still be available.

Practice and qualifying sessions will be held on both Saturday and Sunday, with one hour of practice (including 10 minutes of exclusive running per class) to be followed by a single 20-minute qualifying session for GT300 and a 10-minute session for GT500.

Additionally, success weight will not be applied for the Fuji sprint weekend.