Super GT: Top 5 finish for Audi team Hitotsuyama at Suzuka 1000km

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi team Hitotsuyama took a solid fifth place at the Suzuka 1000km endurance race. The famous Honda owned track played host to the fifth round of the 2015 Super GT.

The Japanese team performed very well in the stellar event of the series against very strong rivals representing a great selection of Japanese and European brands.

The #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra shared by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii was the among the fastest in the field all race long. This is a great result for the Audi Japan backed team after some unlucky rounds in Super GT.

The second Audi entry from Audi Team Racing Tech had an unlucky race. Their #86 Audi R8 LMS ultra finished in seventeenth place within the GT300 class. The car was driven by Christian Mamerow, Shinya Hosokawa and Masanobu Kato.

GT300 victory went to the #10 Nissan GT-R GT3 from GAINER TANAX GT-R. The #7 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Team Studie was second. The podium was completed by the factory #61 Subaru BRZ.

The next round for the Super GT series will be at Sugo, September 19th and 20th.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / Racing Tech

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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: Frustrating qualifying for Audi teams at Fuji Speedway

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi Super GT teams had a frustrating and disappointing qualifying session today at the famous Fuji Speedway. Both of Audi Team Hitotsuyama and Audi Team Racing Tech pushed hard and yet it was not enough to fight for the top spots in the demanding GT300 class.

The best ranked R8 LMS ultra was the car from Audi Team Hitotsuyama. The #21 Audi supported by W Racing Team (WRT) and driven by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii was eighteenth fastest within the GT300 class. Their best time was 1'39.298.

The Audi Team Racing Tech entry was twenty-second in class. Their #86 Audi R8 LMS is shared by Christian Mamerow Sn ya Hosokawa Shinya Hosokawa. Their best time in qualifying was 1'39.713.

The two Audi Japan backed squads will be eager to bounce back on race day. Once again they will have to challenge competitive cars and teams representing a great selection of Japanese and European teams.

GT300 pole position went to the #55 Honda CR-Z from team ARTA. The #65 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from team Leon was second fastest. The top three was completed by the #31 Toyota Prius from team apr.

Fuji GT300 Qualifying Results

The 300km endurance race will be held on Sunday.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / Racing Tech

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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: Audi Team Hitotsuyama and Audi Team Racing Tech heading to Fuji Speedway

By Tarek Ramchani

The Super GT series is heading to the famous Fuji Speedway this upcoming weekend. The Toyota owned track will play host to the fourth round of the 2015 season. The Audi brand will be represented by two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars competing in the GT300 class.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama will field the #21 Audi R8 LMS with drivers Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii. The two drivers had a very unlucky and frustrating race last time out in Thailand. The Hitotsuyama squad will be eager to bounce back and challenge for the top spots.

The second Audi entry is coming from Audi Team Racing Tech. Their #86 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Shinya Hosokawa and the returning Christian Mamerow. The latter just clinched an overall third place at the Spa 24 Hours with Audi Sport Team Phoenix and will try to help the Japanese team to perform well in a demanding GT300 field.

The two Audi Japan backed teams will be challenged once again by strong teams representing a great selection of Japanese and European brands.

Fuji Speedway GT300 Entry List

Practice session and the qualifying are set for Saturday. The 300km endurance race will be held on Sunday.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / Racing Tech

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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: Strong qualifying for Audi Team Hitotsuyama in Thailand

By Tarek Ramchani

Thailand's Chang International Circuit is playing host to third round of the 2015 Super GT series. The qualifying session held today was mixed one for the Audi squad with some ups and downs.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama performed well and qualified in a strong seventh place within the GT300 class. The #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii was one of the strongest car in a very demanding field.

Unfortunately the second Audi entry had an unlucky qualifying. Audi Team Racing Tech was ninteenth fastest in class. The #86 Audi R8 LMS ultra was shared by Shinya Hosokawa and Masanobu Kato.

The two Audi Japan backed teams will be eager to perform well tomorrow in the race against strong rivals representing various Japanese and European brands.

Pole position in GT300 went to the #25 Toyota 86 MC ahead of two Nissan GT-R NISMO. The #3 car from B-MAX NDDP was second and the #10 from GAINER TANAX was third.

GT300 qualifying results.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / Racing Tech

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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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Super GT: The Audi teams heading to Thailand, round 3 at Chang International Circuit

By Tarek Ramchani

The Super GT series is heading to Thailand this upcoming weekend. The Chang International Circuit will play host to the third round of the 2015 season. The Audi brand will be represented by two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars competing in the GT300 class.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama will field the #21 Audi R8 LMS with drivers Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii. The two drivers performed well in the season opener taking a strong third place at Okayama but had an ulucky secound round at the Fuji Speedway.

The second Audi entry is coming from Audi Team Racing Tech. Their #86 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Shinya Hosokawa and Masanobu Kato in Thailand. Audi Team Racing Tech is having a strong debut in the demanding Japanese series with a fourth place at Okayama and a tenth place at Fuji.

The two Audi Japan backed teams are aiming high in Thailand and will challenge for the top spots in the highly competitive GT300 class.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / Racing Tech

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Super GT: Hitotsuyama Racing and Racing Tech Audi R8 LMS ultras at Audi Forum Tokyo

Photos with the Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from Hitotsuyama Racing and Racing Tech at Audi Forum Tokyo. A very special guest was on site, André Lotterer the 3-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner and 2015 FIA WEC points leader.

The teams are racing in the demanding Super GT series with support from Audi Japan. In the opening round Hitotsuyama Racing took a strong third place and Racing Tech were a position behind in fourth place within the GT300 class.

Photo credit: RacerLink Japan / Hitotsuyama Racing / Racing Tech

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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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Super GT: GT300 Podium for Audi Team Hitotsuyama and strong debut for Audi Team Racing Tech at Okayama

By Tarek Ramchani

Okayama Circuit played host to the opening round of the 2015 Super GT series. The 300km endurance race saw the Audi Sport customer racing squad performing very well.

Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars took part in the very wet race competing in the GT300 class. Audi Team Hitotsuyama with the #21 R8 LMS ultra. New comers from Audi Team Racing Tech with the #86 car.

Following a mixed qualifying session on Saturday, the two Audi teams were able to bounce back on race day. Great efforts by the drivers and perfect pit-stops gave the Ingolstadt brand some fantastic results in a very demanding GT300 field. The two cars made it into the Top 5.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama took a very well deserved podium finish. The #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra shared by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fuji ended the race in a strong third place within the GT300 class. Hitotsuyama was really unlucky in the last couple of season in Super GT, today's result was a big reward for them.

The Audi Team Racing Tech had a storming debut with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. Christian Mamerow and Shinya Hosokawa in the hands of the #86 started the race from position fifteen and were able to finish in an amazing fourth place within the GT300 class.

Overall it was a great Okayama racing weekend for the Audi Japan backed squad. We at the Audi Motorsport Blog want to congratulate both Audi Team Hitotsuyama and Audi Team Racing Tech for their strong results at Okayama.

Photo credit: 1to8.net

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Super GT: Top 10 in qualifying for Audi Team Hitotsuyama at Okayama

By Tarek Ramchani

Action has started at Okayama, the season opener of the 2015 Super GT series. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are entering the event competing in the GT300 class.

The two Audi efforts are coming from Audi Team Hitotsuyama and Audi Team Racing Tech, both with a single car effort each.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama was the best Audi team in the qualiffying session earlier today. The #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra shared by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fuji qualified in tenth place overall. The Hitotsuyama entry was able to finish in a strong fourth place in Q1 setting a fast lap time of 1'27.172.

Audi Team Racing Tech will start the race from the middle of the GT300 pack. The #86 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Christian Mamerow and Shinya Hosokawa took an honorbal fifteenth place within the GT300 class. Not bad for a team debuting with the Audi R8 LMS ultra in the demanding Japanese series.

It is interesting to note that both Audi Team Hitotsuyama and Audi Team Racing Tech are using Yokohama tires on their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.

Pole position in GT300 class went to the #10 Nissan GT-R from GAINER TANAX. Second place went to another car from GAINER TANAX, the #11 Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3. Third place went to the #55 Honda CR-Z from Team ARTA.

Okayama GT300 qualifying results are here.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing

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Super GT: Striking new livery for Audi Team Hitotsuyama's R8 LMS ultra

By Tarek Ramchani

The 2015 Super GT season will kick off this weekend at the Okayama circuit. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will enter the event.

One of the two Audi entries is coming from Audi Team Hitotsuyama. The Japanese team is returning with the Audi brand for a fourth straight season in the demanding Super GT series. Audi Team Hitotsuyama will have full technical support from Belgian W Racing Team (WRT) all season long.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama will be once again supported by Audi Japan. The team will have a striking new livery for this year's competition. The #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama will battle for GT300 class victories and top spots against strong rivals representing various brands.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / RacerLink Japan

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Super GT: Audi R8 LMS ultra teams at the official Okayama test days

By Johan Laubscher

The Japanese Super GT hosted its first official set of test days at Okayama this weekend. A total of four sessions were spread over Saturday and Sunday, with a pair of sessions each day. Audi Sport customer racing was represented by two teams at Okayama.

Audi Team Hitotsuyama and its W Racing Team supported Audi R8 LMS ultra performed well during the first official test of the 2015 Super GT. The #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Richard Lyons, Tomonobu Fujii and Stéphane Ortelli. The Japanese Audi Sport customer racing team also took part in the manufacturer test days at Suzuka last week.

The Audi Team Racing Tech Audi R8 LMS ultra, the third car for JLOC's three-car 2015 squad, arrived at Okayama still wearing its Nova Engineering livery from the 2013 Super Taikyu Endurance Series. The livery was removed on Friday and the plain silver Audi R8 LMS ultra was pitted during the two days of testing by the trio of Shinya Hosokawa and Yoshitaka Kuroda, joined by German Audi driver, Christian Mamerow.

Saturday's proceedings saw Hitotsuyama Racing performing well with two top ten results in the GT300 class, achieving fifth and fourth during the two sessions. Audi Team Racing Tech was seventh and sixteenth.

The final two sessions concluded the Okayama test days on Sunday. Hitotsuyama Racing again showed strong top ten pace with second in the morning and twenty-second during the afternoon, ahead of Audi Team Racing Tech in fifteenth and fourteenth.

Another set of official test days will be taking place at Fuji Speedway from 23-24 March, followed by the 2015 Super GT season getting underway at Okayama from 4-5 April.

Photo credit: 
Hitotsuyama Racing
Stephane Ortelli

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