Kunimitsu Honda Stays on Top as Sepang Test Wraps Up

Photo: Honda

Honda and Team Kunimitsu concluded the opening SUPER GT pre-season test of the year at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit with the fastest time.

Tadasuke Makino posted the quickest lap of the test, a 1:48.911, on the morning session during the fourth and final day of the test on Thursday, at the wheel of the No. 100 Honda Civic Type R-GT he shares with Naoki Yamamoto.

That narrowly surpassed the 1:48.996 that Yamamoto set on the opening day.

Fastest on Wednesday and second overall was the No. 3 NISMO Nissan Z in which Atsushi Miyake set the best time of 1:49.051, just 0.150 seconds off the pace.

Making it three different marques in the top three was Giuliano Alesi in the No. 37 TOM’S Toyota GR Supra with a 1’49.112 on Thursday morning.

Two more Nissans completed the top five, the Yokohama-shod No. 24 Kondo Racing car in fourth courtesy of Teppei Natori’s 1:49.200 from the opening day and the No. 12 Team Impul car in which Kazuki Hiramine set the best time of 1:49.252 on Thursday.

Next up was the No. 14 Rookie Racing Toyota in which Kazuya Oshima set the second-fastest time on Wednesday, ahead of the sole Dunlop user in the GT500 field, the Nakajima Racing Honda, which set its best time on Thursday with Takuya Izawa driving.

Rounding out the 11-car order were the No. 19 Racing Project Bandoh Toyota that uses Yokohama tires, the No. 16 ARTA Honda, and the respective test cars from Toyota and Nissan, the No. 90 car and the No. 230 car.

The No. 90 Toyota test car was driven primarily by defending GT500 champions Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita, whose regular No. 36 TOM’S car was not present, although Toshiki Oyu, Hiroaki Ishiura, Sacha Fenestraz and Yuhi Sekiguchi also turned laps.

Fenestraz’s first laps on Wednesday marked his first in a GT500 car since he tested a Nissan Z at Fuji Speedway in December 2023.

Additionally, Toyota GT300 driver Hibiki Taira drove the No. 14 Rookie GR Supra on Monday, marking his first experience of a GT300 car.

Kazuto Kotaka, this year’s Toyota GT500 reserve, gained further experience aboard the No. 19 Bandoh car following his first outing in the same test this time last year.

Nissan’s No. 230 test car was fitted with Yokohama tires for the final day of the test, having used Bridgestones up until that point, with Kondo pair Natori and Tsugio Matsuda taking turns at the wheel.

With the Sepang test wrapped up, attention now turns to the first of two domestic makers’ tests at Okayama International Circuit on Feb. 12-13, with a further two days of running planned at Fuji Speedway on Feb. 27-28.

The GT300 field is set for its first test of the pre-season at Fuji on Feb. 6-7, which will be followed by another test at Okayama on Feb. 20-21.