Baguette: “A very beautiful season”

Disappointed at the time but happy to be there. Bertrand Baguette entered the Super GT final last weekend leading the championship before finishing 3rd in the end in the No. 17 Real Racing Honda. “Of course I hoped for better, but there were five of us eyeing the title,” comments the Belgian.

“From experience, I know that Fuji is a circuit that is better suited to Toyota, even if it was ultimately a Honda (that of Kunimitsu Racing. Editor's note) which won. With a 12th place on the grid, the challenge was arduous. I started and after five laps I was in 5th position. Unfortunately, the tires suffered from “pick up” (vibrations caused by balls of rubber sticking to the tread. Editor’s note). A phenomenon that Koudai Tsukakoshi, my teammate, also encountered. »

Bertrand Baguette took 4th place in the race. “Clearly, we were not the fastest and our rivals deserve the title. Overall, we had a very good season with two victories (Fuji on August 9 and Motegi on September 13. Editor's note). Sixth in the championship last year, 3rd this year… Looking forward to 2021! For the first time we drove a front-engined Honda NSX-GT. And clearly, the car was born well. »

The pilot played its seventh season in Japan and is unlikely to want to leave a very popular series in the country. “I am always so impressed by the supporters who stand up and wave little flags as the car they support passes. What's funny is that this championship is very popular without displaying Hollywood VIP areas. »

The teams are also in a less closed environment. “The drivers eat in the truck, the spectators parade in the paddock and are close to the competitors. It feels like a BGDC (Belgian Gentlemen Drivers Club) paddock. In my team, I have an engineer and eight mechanics. That's all. The technical approach of the engineers is also very old school. They listen more to pilots' comments regarding settings rather than jumping into data acquisition. Coming from such a technologically advanced country, it’s funny. »

Find the full interview in the n°2289 of AUTOhebdo, on newsstands this week.