MUGEN

2013.9.24

"MUGEN CR-Z GT" remains at the head of the series ranking
with additional points under very severe condition.

Series name: 2013 AUTOBACS SUPER GT SERIES ROUND 6
Event name: FUJI GT 300km RACE
Course: 4.563km × 66 laps (301.158km)
Qualifying: 2013-09-07 Sat / Cloudy / Attendance 19,500 (Announcement from the organizer)
Race: 2013-09-08 Sun / Rainy then cloudy / Attendance 32,800 (Announcement from the organizer)

#16 MUGEN CR-Z GT (Hideki Muto / Yuhki Nakayama) participated in Round Six of the 2013 AUTOBACS SUPER GT SERIES held on September 7th and 8th at FUJI Speedway (Shizuoka Pre.).

For this event the race distance was back to the more usual 300km, after the previous 1000km race held under the hottest summer weather. Also this race would be a high speed affair with FUJI SPEEDWAY featuring one of the longest straights of the season.

Due to its ranking at the top of the series points table #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT was given a cumulative total weight handicap of 114kg, which was reduced to the 100kg maximum weight handicap allowable within the technical regulations. This along with the compulsory detune meant TEAM MUGEN was forced to compete under quite severe conditions. To achieve a faster lap time on a circuit with long straights the machine was configured in a lower downforce set-up.

The newly adopted air conditioner, which in the previous race had been powered by the battery, was this time connected to the hybrid system to improve driving performance.

September 7th, (Sat)

■   Practice: 15th position (Best time: 1:41.228)

Despite an autumn rain front and a cloudy sky the course was dry when the 1 hour 40 minute joint practice session started at 9:00am. Nakayama began the session and Muto took over for the second half.

At 10:40am there was a 10 minute session for GT300 machines. #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT ran 35 laps, with Muto completing 14 laps and Nakayama 21 laps. TEAM MUGEN were kept busy assessing the countermeasures produced after analysis of the data from the previous 1000km race where the team had lost several positions, and also checking the settings for this race. Muto recorded the best time of 1:41.228, which was equal to 15th place overall.

■   Qualifying: 3rd position (Q1: 2nd position, Q2: 3rd position)

The position of each machine on the starting grid would be determined by Q1 where all machines compete, and then the first thirteen machines advance to Q2; so called knockout qualifying.

As usual Nakayama was nominated for Q1 with Muto on board for Q2. Q1 lasts 15 minutes and Q2 for 12 and TEAM MUGEN had confirmed this driver rota at the previous joint test at FUJI SPEEDWAY.

Nakayama, running in Q1 recorded 1:40.027 in the first session and 1:39.713 at the second one, at the time the fastest time recorded, however after that his time was beaten by another machine and at the end of the session Nakayama had qualified to advance to Q2 in 2nd place.

Previously the technical limitation of the discharge and charge of the hybrid system had meant only one time attack had been possible, however with improvements made to the hybrid system this time round at FUJI SPEEDWAY the team were able to make more timed laps, after some intervals, in one session.

Muto ran in the Q2, and set a time of 1:39.892, until just before the flag was waved when Muto made a last concerted effort and finished with a time of 1:39.237, putting the #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT in a final qualifying position of 3rd.

September 8th, (Sun)

■   Free Run: 7th position (Best time: 1:51.506)

For the Sunday morning practice the heavy rain meant that the circuit was completely wet with all cars needing to use their headlights.

With wet tires fitted #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT and Muto ran for seven laps while Nakayama completed four laps and then the final setting was confirmed. The lap time of 1:51.506, set by Muto was worth 7th position.

■   Race: 8th position (61 laps 1:53:36.851 / Best time: 1:41.831)

By the scheduled start of the race at 2:00pm the rain had stopped and the sun soon dried the track surface completely. Muto started the race from 3rd position and immediately set about looking for a chance to pass the car in front while at the same time defending against a pass from behind.

By the 10th lap he had moved up to 2nd position and was keeping to within 1 second of the car in front and maintaining a 2.5 second gap back to the car behind.

However at the end of the 18th lap, an accident brought the safety car out on to the course where as per the regulations the machines were lined up behind. At this point although only one third of the race had been completed some teams elected to make a pit stop for fuel and a driver change. But #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT chose to remain on the course and took the lead on the 22nd lap.

Just before the 30th lap the rain returned and the course surface quickly started to become wet. With its initial low down-force set-up #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT started to struggle for grip and on the 29th lap lost a position down to 2nd, but on the 33rd lap regained the lead on the straight before entering the pits for a scheduled stop.

Nakayama got on board and the refueling and tire change were carried out. Due to the compulsory detune, #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT faces a time handicap when refueling, therefore, the team tried to save the tire change time as much as possible in order to cover this. Even so, during the pit stop other machines which had taken a pit stop during the safety car period were able to pass #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT, and #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT lost several positions.

Nakayama rejoined the circuit in 17th position and ran carefully, paying particular attention to the front tires that Muto had used previously. Around then other machines started to make their pit stops and so #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT started to make progress up the leader board. By lap 44 Nakayama was in 8th place.

Then the rain started again but Nakayama kept his pace despite feeling the reduced grip of the tires. At the last corner of the 53rd lap though, the machine behind passed Nakayama, but he also passed the other car driving in front of him and finished his race in 8th position.

As a result, #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT gained 6 team points (3 points for 8th finish position and 3 points for completion of the race one lap behind) bringing the team total ranking points up to 78, 17 ahead of the team in the second position. TEAM MUGEN again remained in the lead in the series ranking.

Hideki Muto / Yuhki Nakayama also gained 3 driver ranking points for their 8th place giving them 60 points, 1 point ahead of the second position maintaining their lead in the series rankings. For the next race the total weight handicap for #16 MUGEN CR-Z GT will be down to 60kg.

■ Comments from the driver, Hideki Muto

Though the total weight handicap was 100kg, the maximum weight handicap at GT race, owing to the excellent setting, I was able to record much better lap times than I expected. I felt the weight but in fact the drivability of the machine itself was good. I feel rather concerned that we can keep this ideal balance after such heavy weight is unloaded. At the last race, since I prevented the machines behind from catching up and kept a constant distance from the machine running in front I thought that we would stand on the podium. After the safety car appeared, I was asked to come in to the pit, however, I was directed to stay out. In the end this strategy worked negatively and I am feeling so sad. The positive to take from this race is that we could remain at the top with a one point over 2nd place in the driver points ranking. Since the result of the qualifying was good, and the pace in the race was also not too bad, I believed that we could gain more points to open a huge lead. Quite regrettable.

■ Comments from the driver, Yuhki Nakayama

I have to accept the fact that the strategy resulted from the discussion among the director, the engineers, and myself while I waited for a driver change, and worked negatively, although when I left the pit, I was not aware of that at all and I believed I could complete a stable driving throughout the race. Following information from Muto, I decided to change only two rear tires and thanks to this advice the front tires were warm enough to make a good start. However, even though I tried to take good care of them, the front tires gradually wore out and the machine tended to understeer, and in the end I could not pick up the pace in the middle stage of my race. Luckily in the end of the race I could pass the #61 and gain the one point advantage to hold the lead in the driver points rankings. I am not satisfied with this race result but two races still remain in this season and I will try to forget about the result of this race and do my best for the remaining races. But frankly speaking, I have lots of regrets since we could have won this race.

■ Comments from the director, Junichi Kumakura

I really want to blame myself for not having been able to link the performance of the machine and driver's effort to the result of the race. Under the severe conditions of a heavy weight handicap and the part detune, we tried to change the setting for a different strategy considering the result in Suzuka. The result was better than we expected in qualifying and we felt certain that we could win the race, but we lost several positions due to a bad performance at the pit stop. Maybe if we had chosen a different strategy, the result may also have been different, but who knows? However at least we were able to get a result, gaining extra series points and widening the gap between our machine and the machine in second place who we were in front of at the finish. We will continue to do our best to win the next race in which we are again the top in the series ranking, and at the same time our weight handicap will be reduced.

We thank you fans very much for your presence and cheers at the race under such bad weather condition.

♦ Photo Gallery (Round6)