Nissan Drivers Pinning Title Hopes on Fuji Turnaround

Photo: Nissan

Nissan SUPER GT drivers Bertrand Baguette and Katsumasa Chiyo are pinning their hopes on a stronger showing for the Z NISMO GT500 at Fuji, after a disappointing opening round of the season last weekend at Okayama.

Both of Nissan’s factory NISMO entries recovered from early mistakes in the treacherous weather conditions to score points, with Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi sixth in the No. 23 car and Daiki Sasaki and Atsushi Miyake finishing 10th, two laps down.

Kondo Racing’s No. 24 had been the best of the Nissans in qualifying in third, but the Yokohama-shod car was already sliding down the order before a lengthy trip to the garage to address a mechanical failure dropped it out of the points.

Team Impul meanwhile was eliminated in a multi-car collision on lap five, the first lap of green-flag racing, as Baguette could not avoid contact with Hiroaki Ishiura after the Cerumo Toyota driver spun at Turn 1, sustaining terminal damage.

Toyota crews went on to dominate the race, locking out the podium, with Honda’s top finisher in fourth place.

Speaking after qualifying ninth, Baguette said that Nissan needs to find more performance to challenge Toyota but is expecting to be more competitive in next month’s second round of the season at Fuji.

“We are behind Toyota for sure,” the Belgian told Sportscar365. “I don’t know the exact issue, but it looks like we lose a bit everywhere – we lost three tenths in sector one, which is quite high-speed, so maybe it’s more high-speed than low-speed.

“But we knew this would be the case from before. They are fast, so we need to work to improve the car. 

“Okayama has never been a good track for us; Fuji will be much better.”

Baguette admitted that Impul went into the season opener not feeling fully prepared owing to bad weather in the two official tests at Okayama and Fuji Speedway, with new rules for 2025 limiting the team’s participation in domestic private testing.

But he expressed optimism that Fuji will provide a chance to mount a fightback against Toyota based on the team’s performance during a two-hour shakedown in February at the same track with its new monocoque.

“We still need data,” Baguette said. “[New race engineer Takuji] Murata-san needs to learn Bridgestone tires, and about our driving style. We didn’t test enough, we were not ready coming into this weekend because of the lack of proper testing before.

“I think we have more potential than last year, including the car and the engineers. Last year I was a bit depressed, but this year it feels like we can do something.

“We can feel the grip in the car. We have a direction to follow, so we feel less lost than in other years. I am confident that we can fight in the next races. I made a mistake in Q2, but it was quite encouraging to see Kazuki [Hiramine] was only four tenths off in Q1.

“I expect Fuji to be much easier, especially because the Toyotas will be a bit heavier [with success ballast] there. We had a really good shakedown there [during private testing in February] in normal weather, and we were really fast, as fast as Toyota.

“We need to be there at Fuji. If not, we are in trouble.”

Chiyo appeared upset about his and Nissan’s performance at Okayama when speaking to reporters post-race, an unaided spin during his stint shortly after the second safety car restart having put the No. 23 Z last of the 12 GT500 cars still running.

But the two-time GT500 runner-up expressed determination to turn things around at Fuji, the scene of Nissan’s one and only win of the 2024 season.

“The Toyota is fast and consistent, in all conditions,” Chiyo said. “The Honda has also improved its performance, so we have no option but to improve.

“But Fuji is a track that’s comparatively well-suited to us, and we won’t have much success weight, so I want to make use of the Z’s strengths there.

“Okayama has always been a good circuit for Toyota, and I think we still have a lot of potential, so I want to aim to score the maximum possible points from Fuji onwards.”