2013 Autopolis GT 300km
# 2013 Autopolis GT 300km

The 2013 Autopolis GT 300 km was the seventh round of the 2013 Super GT season and the 8th points scoring race for GT300 cars. It took place on October 6, 2013, at Autopolis near Kamitsue, Oita, Japan.

## Background

Dome Racing drivers Frédéric Makowiecki and Naoki Yamamoto were tied on 46 points for the championship lead with Impul's João Paulo de Oliveira and Tsugio Matsuda. Following their win in at the 3 Hours of Fuji Team Mugen extended their championship lead in GT300 to 16 points over the Gainer Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Björn Wirdheim. With Autopolis being the 2nd last round of the season, instead of having weight ballast equal to twice the number of points scored in the season, teams that competed in all previous 6 races had their weight ballast reduced to the number of points they scored.

After running a 2013-spec Porsche 997 GT3, Team Taisan reverted to running a 2012-spec Porsche for balance of performance reasons. The GTA adjusted the balance of performance for both JAF-GT and FIA GT3 cars. For the JAF-GT cars the air restrictor sizes were reduced in an effort to reduce power, however The Toyota Prius was not given any adjustments. The Nissan GT-R GT3 was given a slight increase in boost pressure.

39 cars were entered for the race, the only change from the previous round was that the Dijon Racing Callaway Corvette Z06.R GT3 did not enter Autopolis.

## Report

### Practice

The practice session began in wet conditions. The #36 Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S Lexus SC430 was the fastest car in GT500 and the #10 Gainer Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 was the fastest GT300 car. The session was red flagged 13 minutes in after Naoki Yamamoto spun off-road and crashed. The session resumed 9 minutes later but due to worsening conditions few teams completed laps on the circuit. The session was later red flagged 48 minutes in and not restarted due to poor visibility.

### Qualifying

Qualifying was scheduled to be held on October 5, 2013, but due to the heavy rain and fog that cancelled the practice session, qualifying was cancelled and rescheduled to October 6. Instead of the standard 15 and 8 minute knockout sessions for both GT500 and GT300 cars, there would only be a single 25 minute session for both classes.

## Results

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Team | Driver | Qualifying | Tyre |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| GT500 ||||||
| 1 | 38 | Lexus Team Zent Cerumo | Yuji Tachikawa | 1:38.174 | B |
| 2 | 23 | Motul Autech NISMO | Ronnie Quintarelli | 1:38.209 | M |
| 3 | 18 | Weider Dome Racing | Frédéric Makowiecki | 1:38.220 | M |
| 4 | 1 | S-Road REITO MOLA | Satoshi Motoyama | 1:38.346 | M |
| 5 | 12 | Calsonic Team Impul | João Paulo de Oliveira | 1:38.385 | B |
| 6 | 100 | Raybrig Team Kunimitsu | Takashi Kogure | 1:38.566 | B |
| 7 | 37 | Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S | Daisuke Ito | 1:38.573 | B |
| 8 | 17 | Keihin Real Racing | Koudai Tsukakoshi | 1:38.661 | B |
| 9 | 8 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | Ralph Firman | 1:38.725 | B |
| 10 | 36 | Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S | Kazuki Nakajima | 1:38.856 | B |
| 11 | 24 | D'Station ADVAN Kondo Racing | Hironobu Yasuda | 1:39.012 | Y |
| 12 | 6 | Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS | Kazuya Oshima | 1:39.227 | B |
| 13 | 39 | Lexus Team DENSO SARD | Hiroaki Ishiura | 1:39.569 | B |
| 14 | 19 | Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh | Andre Couto | 1:39.893 | Y |
| 15 | 32 | Epson Nakajima Racing | Daisuke Nakajima | 1:40.606 | D |
| GT300 ||||||
| 1 | 3 | NDDP Racing | Kazuki Hoshino | 1:47.222 | Y |
| 2 | 48 | Dijon Racing | Katsumasa Chiyo | 1:47.236 | Y |
| 3 | 50 | Arnage Racing | Hideto Yasuoka | 1:48.036 | Y |
| 4 | 61 | R&D Sport | Kota Sasaki | 1:48.408 | Y |
| 5 | 30 | apr | Yuki Iwasaki | 1:48.416 | Y |
| 6 | 11 | Gainer | Katsuyuki Hiranaka | 1:48.564 | D |
| 7 | 21 | Hitotsuyama Racing | Richard Lyons | 1:48.571 | H |
| 8 | 4 | GSR Hatsune Miku | Tatsuya Kataoka | 1:48.906 | Y |
| 9 | 10 | Gainer | Tetsuya Tanaka | 1:49.229 | D |
| 10 | 52 | OKINAWA-IMP RACING with SHIFT | Takeshi Tsuchiya | 1:49.243 | Y |
| 11 | 33 | Hankook KTR | Masami Kageyama | 1:49.363 | H |
| 12 | 87 | JLOC | Hiroki Yoshimoto | 1:49.423 | Y |
| 13 | 22 | R'Qs MotorSports | Hisashi Wada | 1:49.473 | Y |
| 14 | 62 | Leon Racing | Haruki Kurosawa | 1:49.547 | Y |
| 15 | 2 | Cars Tokai Dream28 | Hiroki Katoh | 1:49.557 | Y |
| 16 | 16 | Team Mugen | Hideki Mutoh | 1:49.620 | B |
| 17 | 360 | Tomei Sports | Takuya Shirasaka | 1:49.727 | Y |
| 18 | 5 | Team Mach | Tetsuji Tamanaka | 1:49.754 | Y |
| 19 | 86 | JLOC | Koji Yamanishi | 1:50.032 | Y |
| 20 | 88 | JLOC | Manabu Orido | 1:50.125 | Y |
| 21 | 31 | apr | Morio Nitta | 1:50.406 | Y |
| 22 | 9 | Pacific Direction Racing | Shogo Mitsuyama | 1:51.310 | Y |
| 23 | 0 | Team Taisan Ken Endless | Naoki Yokomizo | 1:51.352 | Y |
| 24 | 55 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | Takashi Kobayashi | 1:51.402 | B |

### Race

Race result is as follows.

| Pos | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Tyre | Time/Difference | Laps |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| GT500 ||||||||
| 1 | 36 | Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S | Kazuki Nakajima James Rossiter | Lexus SC430 | B | 1:55:03.613 | 65 |
| 2 | 38 | Lexus Team Zent Cerumo | Kohei Hirate Yuji Tachikawa | Lexus SC430 | B | +2.622 | 65 |
| 3 | 17 | Keihin Real Racing | Toshihiro Kaneishi Koudai Tsukakoshi | Honda HSV-010 GT | B | +2.811 | 65 |
| 4 | 1 | S-Road REITO MOLA | Satoshi Motoyama Yuhi Sekiguchi | Nissan GT-R | M | +11.227 | 65 |
| 5 | 18 | Weider Dome Racing | Frédéric Makowiecki Naoki Yamamoto | Honda HSV-010 GT | M | +11.841 | 65 |
| 6 | 24 | D'Station ADVAN Kondo Racing | Michael Krumm Hironobu Yasuda | Nissan GT-R | Y | +12.326 | 65 |
| 7 | 39 | Lexus Team DENSO SARD | Hiroaki Ishiura Juichi Wakisaka | Lexus SC430 | B | +12.735 | 65 |
| 8 | 23 | Motul Autech NISMO | Ronnie Quintarelli Masataka Yanagida | Nissan GT-R | M | +24.134 | 65 |
| 9 | 37 | Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S | Andrea Caldarelli Daisuke Ito | Lexus SC430 | B | +24.474 | 65 |
| 10 | 32 | Epson Nakajima Racing | Ryo Michigami Daisuke Nakajima | Honda HSV-010 GT | D | +46.935 | 65 |
| 11 | 6 | Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS | Yuji Kunimoto Kazuya Oshima | Lexus SC430 | B | +52.084 | 65 |
| 12 | 100 | Raybrig Team Kunimitsu | Takuya Izawa Takashi Kogure | Honda HSV-010 GT | B | +1:18.304 | 65 |
| 13 | 19 | Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh | Seiji Ara Andre Couto | Lexus SC430 | Y | +1 Lap | 64 |
| 14 | 8 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | Ralph Firman Kosuke Matsuura | Honda HSV-010 GT | B | +4 Laps | 61 |
| Ret | 12 | Calsonic Team Impul | João Paulo de Oliveira Tsugio Matsuda | Nissan GT-R | B | +32 Laps | 33 |
| GT300 ||||||||
| 1 | 4 | GSR Hatsune Miku | Tatsuya Kataoka Nobuteru Taniguchi | BMW Z4 GT3 | Y | 1:56:59.345 | 62 |
| 2 | 50 | Arnage Racing | Masaki Kano Hideto Yasuoka | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 | Y | +1 Lap | 61 |
| 3 | 52 | OKINAWA-IMP RACING with SHIFT | Hironori Takeuchi Takeshi Tsuchiya | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 | Y | +1 Lap | 61 |
| 4 | 11 | Gainer | Katsuyuki Hiranaka Björn Wirdheim | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 | D | +1 Lap | 61 |
| 5 | 33 | Hankook KTR | Tomonobu Fujii Masami Kageyama | Porsche 911 GT3-R | H | +1 Lap | 61 |
| 6 | 30 | apr | Yuki Iwasaki Igor Sushko | Nissan GT-R GT3 | Y | +1 Lap | 61 |
| 7 | 61 | R&D Sport | Kota Sasaki Tetsuya Yamano | Subaru BRZ | M | +1 Lap | 61 |
| 8 | 0 | Team Taisan Ken Endless | Kyosuke Mineo Naoki Yokomizo | Porsche 997 GT3 | Y | +1 Lap | 61 |
| 9 | 16 | Team Mugen | Hideki Mutoh Yuhki Nakayama | Honda CR-Z | B | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 10 | 87 | JLOC | Hideki Yamauchi Hiroki Yoshimoto | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | Y | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 11 | 2 | Cars Tokai Dream28 | Hiroki Katoh Kazuho Takahashi | McLaren MP4-12C GT3 | Y | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 12 | 88 | JLOC | Takayuki Aoki Manabu Orido | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | Y | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 13 | 86 | JLOC | Shinya Hosokawa Koji Yamanishi | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | Y | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 14 | 22 | R'Qs MotorSports | Masaki Jyonai Hisashi Wada | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 | Y | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 15 | 31 | apr | Morio Nitta Koki Saga | Toyota Prius | Y | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 16 | 55 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | Takashi Kobayashi Shinichi Takagi | Honda CR-Z | B | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 17 | 48 | Dijon Racing | Katsumasa Chiyo Hiroshi Takamori | Nissan GT-R GT3 | Y | +2 Laps | 60 |
| 18 | 62 | Leon Racing | Haruki Kurosawa Tsubasa Kurosawa | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 | Y | +3 Laps | 59 |
| 19 | 9 | Pacific Direction Racing | Shogo Mitsuyama You Yokomaku | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | +4 Laps | 58 |
| 20 | 10 | Gainer | Tetsuya Tanaka Masayuki Ueda | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 | D | +5 Laps | 57 |
| 21 | 21 | Hitotsuyama Racing | Richard Lyons Akihiro Tsuzuki | Audi R8 LMS ultra | H | +5 Laps | 57 |
| 22 | 5 | Team Mach | Tetsuji Tamanaka Junichiro Yamashita | Nissan GT-R GT3 | Y | +8 Laps | 54 |
| 23 | 360 | Tomei Sports | Takuya Shirasaka Atsushi Tanaka | Nissan GT-R GT3 | Y | +15 Laps | 47 |
| Ret | 3 | NDDP Racing | Kazuki Hoshino Daiki Sasaki | Nissan GT-R GT3 | Y | +26 Laps | 36 |

* GT500 Fastest Lap – Kohei Hirate, #38 Lexus Team Zent Cerumo Lexus SC430 – 1:40.434
* GT300 Fastest Lap – Tetsuya Yamano, #61 R&D Sport Subaru BRZ – 1:48.799

## Point rankings after the event

| Rank | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Kohei Hirate Yuji Tachikawa | 58 |
| 2 | Kazuki Nakajima James Rossiter | 54 |
| 3 | Frédéric Makowiecki Naoki Yamamoto | 52 |
| 4 | Toshihiro Kaneishi Koudai Tsukakoshi | 52 |
| 5 | Ronnie Quintarelli Masataka Yanagida | 47 |
| Rank | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Hideki Mutoh Yuhki Nakayama | 70 |
| 2 | Tatsuya Kataoka Nobuteru Taniguchi | 62 |
| 3 | Katsuyuki Hiranaka Björn Wirdheim | 60 |
| 4 | Hironori Takeuchi Takeshi Tsuchiya | 56 |
| 5 | Kota Sasaki Tetsuya Yamano | 55 |

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both GT500 and GT300 classes.
