By Johan Laubscher
Hitotsuyama Racing concluded their 2013 season at the JAF Grand Prix Fuji
Sprint Cup this weekend, a special non-championship event for the Japanese
Super GT and Super Formula. It has been a long and difficult season, but the
team never gave up and that was the case again this weekend.
As was the case during the bulk of the 2013 Super GT season, the sole Audi
entry in the GT300 class this weekend was the #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Hitotsuyama
Racing. Their regular two-man driver line-up of Akihiro Tsuzuki and Richard
Lyons were behind the wheel. They had a season of ups and downs
as they worked against bad luck and a negative Balance of Performance, but they
never gave up and worked hard all season long, despite the setbacks.
The Fuji Sprint Cup was split into two sprint races per category. Each
car had two drivers and each driver took part in one of the two sprint races
individually. The two Super GT classes were also split for the races, running
GT500 and GT300 separately in the sprints.
Qualifying was held on Friday, with each driver qualifying for his own
respective race. In the Hitotsuyama Racing camp it was Richard Lyons in the
R8 LMS ultra for the first race and Akihiro Tsuzuki took the wheel for
race two.
It was a difficult qualifying session which saw the R8 LMS ultra relegated to the rear of the field, as has been the case in Super GT all season long. Richard Lyons qualified nineteenth for the first race and Akihiro Tsuzuki qualified twenty-first for the second race.
It was a difficult qualifying session which saw the R8 LMS ultra relegated to the rear of the field, as has been the case in Super GT all season long. Richard Lyons qualified nineteenth for the first race and Akihiro Tsuzuki qualified twenty-first for the second race.
The first GT300 race got underway on Saturday morning. Hitotsuyama
Racing pushed hard with Richard Lyons and the race concluded with the #21 Audi
R8 LMS ultra having recovered up to thirteenth place by the finish, up from the
nineteenth starting position. The first race was won by the #3 S Road Nissan
GTR GT3 ahead of the #11 GAINER Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 and the #55 ARTA Honda
CR-Z.
The second and final GT300 race concluded the JAF Grand Prix Fuji
Sprint Cup weekend and the 2013 season for Hitotsuyama Racing. Akihiro Tsuzuki
piloted the #21 R8 LMS ultra to nineteenth position. The final race was won by the #2 Eva RT McLaren MP4-12C ahead of the #11 GAINER DIXCEL Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 and the #4 GSR BMW Z4 GT3.
2013 was a long and difficult season for Hitotsuyama Racing, but they never gave up and continued to give their all at every single event. It remains to be seen what the team’s plans are for 2014, following a post on their Facebook page on 4 November: “Thanks to our drivers Akihiro and Richard, mechanics, and everyone who supported us this season. We will be back with a new package next year. Please stay tuned.”
2013 was a long and difficult season for Hitotsuyama Racing, but they never gave up and continued to give their all at every single event. It remains to be seen what the team’s plans are for 2014, following a post on their Facebook page on 4 November: “Thanks to our drivers Akihiro and Richard, mechanics, and everyone who supported us this season. We will be back with a new package next year. Please stay tuned.”
Photo credit: Audi Sport Communication / Media
