Super GT: Richard Lyons ready for Suzuka 1000km

Richard Lyons Press Release

This year in Super GT sees the 44th running of the 1000KM race at Suzuka Circuit in Mie prefecture, Japan.

Suzuka International Circuit built in 1962 is Japans jewel in the crown, a track that hosts F1 and is openly rated by drivers as one of the best circuits in the world is sure to come up trumps in Japans punishing summer heat with another hard fought and exciting Super GT race.

Richard Lyons:


“Rd5 marks the second half of the season and with that comes my strongest and most favourable circuits.


Past experience recently has not given us any advantage of late but maybe the best way to look at things is that this is certainly not a disadvantage.


Suzuka Rd 5 is Super GT’s biggest and longest race of the year being a brutal 1000km race in summer heat, with extra points on the table compared to the normal 300KM races it certainly ups the ante. 


Suzuka is traditionally the Japanese equivalent of Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, it has everything that a driver could possibly demand. However, our weak area has been straight-line speed (Regulated by each Championship) and this is highlighted with the extremely high ambient temperatures (35oC + June through September) in Japan which makes our Audi R8 V10 run on the limit.

Our goal for the weekend has to be solid points and if theres chances to pick up extra points then we have to be in a prime position to take advantage.


It’s going to be a hot weekend, not only for the car but for the drivers, let’s see how it all plays out.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing

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Super GT: Richard Lyons looking forward to a strong race at Fuji Speedway

Richard Lyons Press Release

Super GT hits its halfway point in the championship season and its back at Fuji Speedway Japan for round 4. Fuji Speedway, the only track to feature twice in the SuperGT calendar and will again be tricky for the Hitotsuyama Racing/WRT combinations R8 Ultra, but after some great testing and preparation through the June and July break in action they will be looking for a strong finish at this famous track. 


Richard Lyons:


"Looking forwards to getting back out there in our Super GT Audi R8 at Fuji Speedway for Rd 4."

"This past week WRT staff joined with Hitotsuyama team to prepare and train for the upcoming races. Fuji hasn't brought us much luck recently but I feel that we have prepared well so look forwards to some just rewards!"

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing

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Super GT: Richard Lyons "Not the result we were hoping for"

Richard Lyons Press Release

SuperGT doesn't get any hotter than this. Temperatures as high as 38°C were recorded at the Chang International Circuit located in Thailand's Buriram province.

With a solid qualifying behind them and an already proven race pace, hopes were high of a good result here in Thailand. Unfortunately things were not to work out this time for the number 21 R8 Ultra in the challenging heat and humidity.


Richard Lyons:


“Not the result we were hoping for! Starting from 7th gave us hope of a podium finish but after only a few laps it was clear we had big engine overheating issues. Unfortunately when I took over the wheel on lap 23 things didn't get any better with a further delay in the pit stop. I was then able to record fast laps but being a lap down already meant it was in vain. In the end we retired a few corners from the chequered flag”.

“I am now only looking forward to the next races and can't wait to be back on the podium soon!”.


Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing 

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Super GT: Richard Lyons ready for round three in Thailand

Richard Lyons Press Release

Richard Lyons travels to Thailand and will race at the new Chang International Circuit for this years SuperGT round 3. This brand new 4.5Km long stretch of Thai track will be a race hard fought in extreme conditions in Thailands hot Buriram region. Stay tuned to Richard Lyons Racing for details on when & where to watch this race weekend! #Flatout

“ Rd 3 of Super GT certainly brings a challenge to any Northern Irish man with travelling across the world from a place where temperatures are barely making double digits on a good day to 37oC on your average day at the Chang International Circuit! This, of course, is the only down side but after a few days to acclimatise, the focus will be firmly on getting the best performance from our Audi R8 Ultra. ”

“ This is the second time we visit this venue and it’s one circuit that may well have crept into my top 10 in the world as it has just about everything a driver wants from high speed corners to technical medium speed flowing corners. Our sights are firmly set for the podium but I’m sure we’ll come up against some tough opposition.”

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Q&A: Interview with Richard Lyons - Audi Team Hitotsuyama driver in Super GT

By Tarek Ramchani

Richard Lyons is one of the fastest and most popular drivers in the Japanese Super GT. The British driver is racing with Audi and team Hitotsuyama Racing since 2012.

For this year's competition he is sharing an Audi R8 LMS ultra with Tomonobu Fujii. The two drivers performed well at the Okayama opener taking a great podium within a demanding GT300 class.

We were pleased to have an interview with Richard Lyons. A very interesting Q/A about his 2015 season in Super GT with Audi Team Hitotsuyama and more.

You can follow Richard Lyons news at his official website, on Facebook and Twitter.

The Super GT season started very well at Okayama with a fine podium, tell us more about that race.

Yes it got of to a great start but for sure not an easy race. The race itself came down to quite a bit of strategy as we knew that it wasn’t a clear choice which tires to start on. We have a choice of Dry, intermediate and wet tires. We choose the intermediate as the track was damp and rain wasn’t forecast for another 40-60 mins. It turned out this was the correct call as we were able to carve up the field to 2nd position before having to pit for tires and fuel on lap 44. Fujii san took over the duties continuing on a new set of Intermediate tires and was able to keep with the leaders. Unfortunately 20 mins before the end the rain came down hard again and ruin our chances of moving further up the podium but he hung on for a brilliant 3rd.

Since 2014 Hitotsuyama Racing has had more support from Audi Japan and Audi Sport customer racing, tell us more about that.

In 2014 Audi Japan have been strong supporters of Hitotsuyama Racing and this has continued into 2015. Audi Sport have always been great supporters of all teams that run their Audi R8 GT3 so it’s great to continue these partnerships.

You are sharing the #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra with Tomonobu Fujii, how is the work split between the two of you during race weekends?

generally the work load is fairly even with both drivers having input into the setting of the car and tire choices. Both Fujii San and I have a lot of experience in Super GT so we enjoy the fact that we trust each others opinions and can help push each other to better performances.

Many race fans who follow Super GT focus on GT500, how competitive is GT300?

I drove in GT500 from 2002 to 2011 and it is very competitive between the 3 major car Manufacturers in Japan. Obviously the GT500 cars are faster and this in itself is very interesting. However in the last few years GT300 has became much more supported by the big Manufacturers in Japan but also Audi amongst other European brands are now involved. This has now brought GT300 from an Amateur level GT class to almost fully Pro driver and team line ups. The racing has become maybe even more entertaining in GT300 compared to GT500.

This year Audi Team Hitotsuyama is joined by Audi Team Racing Tech, how good is it to have two R8 LMS ultra teams in Super GT?

The goal for Audi Sport and Audi Japan is to have as many cars in the championship as possible. Every extra car helps for different reasons to having more feedback for set up to choosing correct tires from our Tire supplier Yokohama and also most importantly it helps push each team and driver a little more.

W Racing Team (WRT) from Belgium is supporting Hitotsuyama Racing this year, tell us more about that.

WRT are the most accoladed team for Audi Sport customer Racing so it was an obvious choice to become involved with them. WRT also were very keen to broaden there experience as well as accept new challenges and enter into the asian racing scene. So far it’s been a perfect combination.

What are your targets for the 2015 season in Super GT?

The target is simple. To be Champion!

Could we see you in classic European races with Audi R8 LMS cars in the near future?

Yes it would be great to be involved in some of the big races in Europe although the first goal is to win Super GT

What is your favourite race track, and why?

Suzuka is my favourite track for many reasons. I won both the Super Formula (formula Nippon) and Super GT titles there. From a driving point of view it is ultra fast with many high speed flowing circuits that no matter how good you know is always tricky to find the limits.

Photo credit: Richard Lyons / Audi Media

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