Dream Race - Nick Cassidy wins Race 1

On a finally dry track, there was no fight between the Super GT and DTM cars, the first mentioned flying over the debates.

Published on 23/11/2019 à 07:51

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Perhaps we should have thought about a Performance Scale? This is perhaps what ITR and GTA, respectively promoters of DTM and Super GT. Because if the Germans flew through the debates at Hockenheim, the opposite happened at Fuji Speedway, even if the gap over one lap was not enormous.

The race got off to a bad start for Audi and its best representative: Loïc duval. During the grid lap, the Frenchman lost control of his RS5 DTM, which ended up swerving into the tire piles. Too bad, the Frenchman, very energetic since the start of the week, was supposed to start from the first row of the starting grid alongside the No. 500 Lexus LC36 of pole sitter Nick Cassidy.

His companions from the Audi clan failed to take up the torch, nor did the BMW drivers, who showed astonishing discretion. Mike Rockenfeller, 5th in qualifying, lost positions lap after lap, while René Rast saw his rise from 14th place stop just outside the top eight.

Author of a solo rider, pole sitter Nick Cassidy thought he had lost everything when, eight minutes from the goal, the safety car intervened to free the No. 12 Nissan GT-R immobilized at the exit of the pit lane. But the New Zealander from Team Tom's held up perfectly to the #17 and #1 Honda NSX GT of Koudai Tsukakoshi and Naoki Yamamoto, who respectively defend the interests of Keihin Real Racing and Kunimitsu. The top five is completed by two LC500s, namely those of 2019 Super GT champion Kenta Yamashita (Team Le Mans) and Sho Tsuboi (Bandoh).

Finally, the best “DTM competitor” finished in sixth place. This is the surprising Benoît Tréluyer, entered in the No. 5 WRT Hitotsuyama Racing Audi RS21 DTM. The Frenchman was the author of a restart that was effective to say the least since he gained around ten places after the safety car disappeared! His contact with Mike Rockenfeller (Audi no. 99) having been dismissed, the three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – who was fondly remembered by his Japanese fans – could be exultant.