The fourth race of the series, marking the halfway point of the eight-race championship, unfolded under blistering conditions, providing an intense and exhilarating spectacle. The trio of Naoya Gamou, Takuro Shinohara, and Haruki Kurosawa, piloting the LEON PYRAMID AMG, delivered a masterclass in strategy and skill to secure their first victory of the season, crossing the finish line with an impressive lead of over 31 seconds.
Qualifying saw an unexpected twist as the method for the GT300 class was suddenly revised. An oil leak in a previous race prompted officials to alter the format, de-ciding the grid for the final solely based on Q2 times under wet conditions. This change introduced a new dynamic to the competition, affecting several top teams.
| PO. | NO. | MACHINE | DRIVER | BEST LAP | TYRE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #65 | LEON PYRAMID AMG Mercedes AMG GT3 |
Takuro Shinohara Naoya Gamou Haruki Kurosawa |
1'38.271 1'37.764 |
 |
| 12 | #31 | apr LC500h GT LEXUS LC500h |
Kazuto Kotaka Jin Nakamura Yuki Nemoto |
1'38.848 1'38.754 |
|
| 18 | #2 | muta Racing GR86 GT TOYOTA GR86 |
Hibiki Taira Yuui Tsutsumi |
1'38.796 1’38.602 |
|
| 19 | #52 | Green Brave GR Supra GT TOYOTA GR Supra |
Seita Nonaka Hiroki Yoshida |
1'39.188 1'38.769 |
|
Yuui Tsutsumi and Hibiki Taira (muta Racing GR86 GT) and Hiroki Yoshida and Seita Nonaka (Green Brave GR Supra) faced the challenge of carrying the maximum success weight of 50kg. This disadvantage prevented them from breaking into the top 8 of their groups in Q1, relegating them to the lower group for Q2. In contrast, despite heavy success weights of 42kg, Naoya Gamou, Takuro Shinohara, and Haruki Kurosawa (LEON PYRAMID AMG) along with Kazuto Kotaka, Jin Nakamura, and Yuki Nemoto (apr LC500h GT) managed to advance to the upper group in Q2. The Gamou/Shinohara/Kurosawa trio clinched their second pole position of the season with a stellar performance.
Race Day brought even higher temperatures, increasing the challenge for all drivers. From pole position, the LEON PYRAMID AMG team quickly established a commanding lead, pulling away from the pack lap by lap. The race remained relatively incident-free, with only a brief Full Course Yellow (FCY) on lap 26 when a GT300 car encountered a problem.
| PO. | NO. | MACHINE | DRIVER | BEST LAP | TYRE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #65 | LEON PYRAMID AMG Mercedes AMG GT3 |
Naoya Gamou Takuro Shinohara Haruki Kurosawa |
1'39.245 | |
| 8 | #2 | amuta Racing GR86 GT TOYOTA GR86 |
Hibiki Taira Yuui Tsutsumi |
1'39.476 | |
| 12 | #31 | apr LC500h GT LEXUS LC500h |
Kazuto Kotaka Jin Nakamura Yuki Nemoto |
1'40.293 | |
| 23 | #52 | Green Brave GR Supra GT TOYOTA GR Supra |
Hiroki Yoshida Seita Nonaka |
1'40.365 | |
In a pivotal moment, the LEON PYRAMID AMG team executed a perfectly timed pit stop just before the FCY was deployed. This strategic move allowed them to change drivers and return to the track with a substantial lead. As their competitors were unable to pit under the FCY, the team emerged with a 50-second advantage, a margin they managed masterfully for the remainder of the race.
The trio maintained their pace, controlled their position, and ultimately secured victory with a 31-second lead, earning a total of 23 points and propelling them to second place in the championship standings.
"I'm really happy. Since I joined LEON RACING, I've been able to get pole position several times and second place several times, but I haven't been able to win, so in that sense I'm very happy with this long-awaited victory. As for my own stint, I had good pace from the first lap after the start, and I was able to drive while watching the battle behind me. Thanks to the performance of the Bridgestone tyres and the good car that the team had made for me, I was able to drive comfortably during my stint, and the timing of my pit stop was also very lucky."
Takuro Shinohara, Winning Driver (LEON PYRAMID AMG/Bridgestone)
"I'm the director and the third driver this time, but I'm really glad that the two of them won and the team achieved its first pole-to-win. I really owe it all to everyone. I told the drivers in advance about the timing of the pit stops, such as the number of laps for the tyres that would be used in the pits and the point where the window would open in terms of fuel. I told them, "If anything happens, please let me know by radio." So I asked Shinohara, "Is the fuel okay if I enter here?" and he said, "It's okay," so I decided to enter the pits. I checked with the engineer about 300 times to see if the fuel would last (laughs). I asked Gamou to save a little fuel, but I wasn't worried about the tyres."
Haruki Kurosawa, Director and Winning Driver (LEON PYRAMID AMG/Bridgestone)
"We weren't that worried, but our rival manufacturers were also doing well in the long runs of the final race, so we were wondering how things would turn out. However, the Gamou/Shinohara/Kurosawa team built up a lead right after the start, and were able to pit in just before the FCY, which ended up being a big reason for our victory, but even without that, I think we would have won without any problems with the tyre performance. Also, the top-ranked Tsutsumi/Taira team managed to get us some points again. As for whether to change tyres, there were no problems with durability under these tough conditions, so it was a decision based on which team's strategy would be more advantageous. We achieved the best results, with pole to finish in both GT500 and GT300."
Takahiko Yamamoto, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Manager
