Fuji Preview as GTPRO Series heads to Japan

This time out, Australasia’s best GT3 drivers leave the iconic banks of Daytona behind and head to the sweeping peaks and troughs of Fuji International Speedway.

This electrifying, high-altitude mix of long straights, flowing corners, and slow technical sections makes this venue a must-watch for drivers and fans alike.

Before the lights go out on Friday night, here’s a quick recap of the story so far and a few things to keep an eye on!

Who showed up in Daytona?

It was Evolution Racing Team who took the chocolates in Daytona, with Lachlan Caple and Hayden Veld claiming a dominant victory in their Corvette Z06 GT3.R. They were hotly tailed for the better part of the race by the Vermillion Esports #17, piloted by Zach Rattray-White and Jamie Christison, who finished second.

Things weren’t so bright for other sides of the ERT garage, with the #7 Corvette of Jobe Stewart and Matthew Bowler experiencing race-ending issues in the dying stages. A devastating fall from grace after starting on pole position.

To make matters worse, the #456 Corvette of Jon Piesnik and Reece Gucul was also involved in a late incident that left them with a 40-second stop and hold penalty after the fact.

Eclipse Simsports were also out in force in Daytona, but slipped down the order while on the attack. That allowed two ERT Corvettes to dart up the road with relative ease, enabling their eventual race victory. Kody Deith and Dylan Birse managed to wheel their #1 Acura NSX GT3 Evo onto the podium regardless, with teammates Byron Phillips and Lachlan Cowie finishing just behind in the #69.

One Performance Racing joined Eclipse with two cars inside the top 10, with the Arete eSports #79 and Orbit Drop Bear #862 also sneaking into the front running order.

What’s on the menu for Fuji?

Round 2 of any championship always delivers an exciting dynamic. While you can absolutely get a general indicator of pace from one round, it is hard to tell who is a genuine threat until things play out in a series-length timeline.

What we can be sure of, though, is the race format! As will be the case for every round of The Gamesmen GT Pro Invitational Series, drivers will be tasked with a three-hour endurance race, with the grid set by a 20-minute open qualifying session.

With 16 corners sprawled throughout 4.5km of Japan’s finest asphalt, Fuji delivers an exciting challenge for engineers and drivers. At Daytona, setting up a car is generally about how much wing you can strip off the car without it becoming undriveable - mainly at the bus-stop chicane.

Here in Fuji, engineers have a little more to consider with a number of high-load corners making low downforce setups notably difficult to drive. Drivers must have a degree of tolerance though; nearly 40% of a lap around this place is pedal to the metal. Teams cannot afford to lose even half a km/h of straight-line speed on their competitors.

Crunch time for car selection!

On the note of top speed, it will be interesting to see which teams opt for a different car choice to their Daytona entries. Teams have two cars to choose from in their arsenal to maximise performance at different circuits. For this one, I’d expect a number of Acura’s you may have seen in Daytona to be taking a rest day.

There are a significant number of teams with McLaren 720S EVO’s, Ford Mustang’s, and Ferrari 296’s up their sleeves. While the Acura NSX continues to show significant strength in the GT3 category, teams will surely be grasping at the opportunity to run a car with a subtle edge in straight-line speed.

But with rain not entirely out of the equation, car choice may not be such a clear-cut decision to make. The Acura is notably strong in both wet and dry conditions, which is something teams cannot look past when considering outright adaptability. At the moment, precipitation chances are relatively low, but the iRacing Tempest weather system is not to be mocked!

Don’t miss out on the action; catch Australasia’s most competitive GT3 series live on SimSpeed on the night of May 16th!