Honda concludes Suzuka SUPER GT testing on top

After the #8 ARTA NSX-GT Type S topped the timesheets on Thursday, it was the turn of the #100 Team Kunimitsu car of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino to set the pace on the second day of running.

The team’s best time of 1m44.632s came in the morning session and stood as the fastest of the day, albeit a little over three tenths slower than the #100 car had managed on the first day of running.

Second in the morning and overall was the #37 TOM’S Toyota GR Supra of Sacha Fenestraz and Ritomo Miyata, which was one of a small handful of cars to better its Thursday time.

However, the 1m44.825s was slightly slower than the best Toyota time on Thursday recorded by the sister TOM’S car of Sho Tsuboi and Giuliano Alesi.

The Mugen Honda was third-fastest in the hands of Ukyo Sasahara and Toshiki Oyu, narrowly ahead of the ARTA NSX-GT of Tomoki Nojiri and Nirei Fukuzumi and the Real Racing machine of Koudai Tsukakoshi and Nobuharu Matsushita.

Leading the charge for Nissan was the Yokohama-shod car of Kondo Racing of Kohei Hirate and Daiki Sasaki in sixth place.

Setting the pace in the afternoon session was the Racing Project Bandoh Toyota, also running on Yokohamas, but the best time set by Yuji Kunimoto and Sena Sakaguchi was only enough for seventh overall.

Nissan squad Impul was in action with its usual #12 car after its drivers Bertrand Baguette and Kazuki Hiramine used the #230 NISMO test car on Thursday. The team was the only one to set its fastest time of the day in the afternoon session, going ninth overall behind the SARD Toyota.

The #230 Nissan Z functioned as an additional Yokohama test mule, while Honda’s #99 test car, which ran on Thursday, did not set a laptime on Friday.

All 14 cars that ran on Friday will take part in a special ‘dummy’ race on Sunday as part of Suzuka’s Fan Thanks Day event, before official testing kicks off at Okayama on March 12-13.

Suzuka testing times: