#12 Nissan Z NISMO GT500 secures place on podium at Sportsland Sugo

Four Nissan Z NISMO GT500s competed in sixth round of the 2024 Super GT series, a 300km race at Sportsland Sugo, on September 22.

Starting from fifth on the grid, and against a backdrop of intermittent rain, the #12 Marelli Impul Z (Kazuki Hiramine/Bertrand Baguette), fought valiantly to secure third place on the podium. The #3 Niterra Motul Z (Mitsunori Takaboshi/Atsushi Miyake) finished in sixth place.

Detailed race report

Heavy rain across the Tohoku region on Saturday, led to the cancellation of qualifying and the starting grid was decided based on official practice times. The Unpredictable weather continued into race day, with a mix of wet and dry conditions making tire selection challenging on Sunday.

Under the lead of the safety car, proceedings got under way at 2:22pm, with a wet track and heavy clouds covering the sky above.

After three laps, the safety car left the track and the green signal was issued for the race to begin. Baguette in the #12 Z got off to a good start and moved up to third place. Matsuda in the #24 Z, who started in seventh place, was unable to improve his pace in the early stages and dropped to 15th by the ninth lap. Chiyo in the #23 Z, who started in ninth place, dropped one position and Takaboshi in the #3 Z steadily climbed through the pack, holding sixth position by the tenth lap.

Occasional light rain throughout the race made conditions challenging for all drivers. On the 26th lap, the safety car was deployed after two GT300 class cars collided. At this point, the #12 Z was running in 6th place, the #3 Z in 7th place, the #23 Z in 10th place, and the #24 Z in 11th place. After the 31st lap, when the safety car left the circuit, the #23 Z made an early pit stop and driving duties were handed over to Quintarelli. This pit stop put the #23 Z in 14th place, and it adopted a strategy of waiting for the other cars to pit.

After 42 laps, the #12 Z, which was running in 5th place, and the #3 Z, which had dropped to 11th place, pitted to change drivers, and install dry tires. Although many of the GT500 class cars pitted at this time, and the #24 Z adopted a strategy of postponing its pit stop and took the lead, while the #23 Z, which had pitted earlier, was in 4th place.

After completing a pit stop, Hiramine was in 8th place in the #12 Z, and Miyake was in 13th place in the #3 Z, which underwent damage repairs after being rear-ended.

On lap 43, a GT300 class car stopped on the course and the safety car was deployed yet again. Racing resumed on lap 50, and on lap 51, the #24 Z, which was running in the lead, pitted and Natori took the wheel.

On lap 54, #12 Z passed three cars and moved up to 2nd place. By lap 58 the #12 Z had dropped to 3rd but widened the gap with the cars behind it, as it continued to hunt down the leaders. After lap 58, #23 Z, which had been struggling on wet tires, pitted and changed to dry tires, dropping significantly in position.

In the final stages of the race, the #12 Z, running in third place, had several opportunities to close in on second place, but the narrow course and GT300 class cars, that were laps behind, made it difficult for it to move up a position. The #3 Z gradually moved up in position, and by the 79th lap, had risen to sixth place.

As the checkered flag was waved after 84 laps, the #12 Z, having pulled away from the rest of the pack with stable speed, finished in third place and earned a place on the podium. Courtesy of a comeback in the final stages, the #3 Z took sixth place. The #23 Z and #24 Z, finished in 12th and 13th place, respectively.

For the Nissan/NISMO team, the challenging conditions provided a valuable opportunity to gain new learnings and data, as they prepare for the remaining three races of the season. The team aims to secure its second win of the season at Round 7, scheduled for the Autopolis circuit, in Oita Prefecture, on October 20.

Kazuki Hiramine (No. 12 MARELLI IMPUL Z)
"It was a long race. To be honest, I've been struggling quite a bit since winning the title (in 2022). The team has been working hard to listen to our requests and perfect the car, so I hope that we can turn the tide with our first podium in a long time. Thanks to Baguette's great job and perseverance, I was able to run with slick tires at the end. I would like to give the first place to team manager Kazuki Hoshino, and I think I was able to give something back this time. I will do my best to be in the middle of the podium at the next race at Autopolis."

Bertrand Baguette (No. 12 MARELLI IMPUL Z)
"It was difficult to decide which tires to use at the start. The track was starting to dry, so I think choosing the harder tires was a good choice. Although I lost positions, I did my best to manage the front tires until Kazuki, who was in the second stint, was able to put on slick tires. Our pace after the safety car was very good, and Kazuki did a great job moving up the ranks. I'm happy to be on the podium for the first time since the third round of 2023 at Suzuka. We still have work to do, but I think Autopolis is a track that suits us, and I want to keep making progress."