Autopolis Penalties Reshape SUPER GT Standings Ahead of Motegi
Autopolis, Japan – Significant penalties were issued following the three-hour race in the Autobacs SUPER GT Series at Autopolis, impacting the championship landscape.
On race day, the #666 seven x seven Porsche 911 GT3 R (driver pairing: Sven Müller/Taichi Watarai) and the #88 Venteny Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 from JLOC (Takashi Kogure/Daniil Kvyat) were disqualified for failing to complete two mandatory full-service pit stops under green flag conditions. Initially finishing second and fourth, these cars have now been officially classified as 11th and 12th after receiving 100-second post-race penalties. This ruling was confirmed after a review of supplementary regulations by the GTA’s stewards.
The disqualifications elevated the #56 Realize/Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R, driven by João Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura, from 14th to 12th in the GT300 standings. This adjustment awards them an additional two points, extending their championship lead to 17 points over Zak O’Sullivan from CarGuy MKS Racing, who will not race at Motegi, and 20 points over three other close contenders.
Kondo Racing now has a prime opportunity to clinch the title during Race 1 on November 7. A victory would secure the championship for the #56 Nissan GT-R, provided that key rivals #2 Hyper Water GR86, #7 CarGuy Ferrari, and #65 LEON Pyramid AMG do not finish in second place.
Further complicating matters, D’station Racing’s Tomonobu Fujii has been banned for a weekend following an incident deemed “deliberate contact” with O’Sullivan’s Ferrari after the chequered flag. This contact, occurring at turn one, resulted in a two-lap penalty that initially placed the #777 D’station Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in 22nd position, later adjusted to 20th with the disqualifications.
Fujii received a 10-point demerit under the Driving Moral Hazard Prevention System for an act classified as “malicious and violent.” This marks a notable precedent, being the first instance of a driver accumulating a race ban’s worth of penalty points in a single incident since 2017.
He will be replaced by two-time GT300 race winner Tsubasa Kondo for the forthcoming Motegi Grand Final weekend. Charlie Fagg, also with D’station Racing, is now 25 points behind in the standings as the season heads toward its conclusion.
Revised GT300 Results from Autopolis 3H
- [Updated results pending official communication]
Images © GTA.
