Team LeMans takes a Lexus hat-trick to Buriram

The Buriram event saw a clear domination of the Lexus LC 500, with a hat-trick of cars from the satellite brand of Toyota, led by the No. 6 – Team LeMans of Kenta Yamashita and Kazuya Oshima.

The majority of the first part of the race came down to a duel for first place between the #6 from Oshima and the #36 – Team Tom'S from Kazuki Nakajima. We will have to wait after the driver changes to see the action intensify for the final victory.

The safety car was in fact deployed after the halfway mark after a three-way contact between Daisuke Nakajima (Nakajima Racing – Honda), Jenson Button (Team Kunimitsu – Honda) and Tomoki Nojiri (ARTA – Honda). The peloton is therefore regrouped and released at the end of the 42nd lap.

The moment chosen by Nick Cassidy (Lexus n°37 – Team Tom's) to take second place against Sekiguchi, taking over from Nakajima in the n°36. Cassidy gets back on the leader Kenta Yamashita and a superb battle with the Japanese follows, but the New Zealander will never be able to find the opening, Yamashita escaping thanks to the traffic.

Sho Tsuboi took the opportunity to catch up with Cassidy for second place, but the hierarchy would not move into the top 3 until the checkered flag. The top 5 is completed by the #500 Nissan GT-R GT24 – Kondo Racing of Mardenborough – Takaboshi and the #39 Lexus – Team SARD of Kovalainen – Nakayama.

Frédéric Makowiecki and Kohei Hirate (Nissan GT-R GT500 n°3 – NDDP Racing with B-Max) failed in sixth place. The best Honda finished 10th.

In GT300, Nissan signs the double with the GT-R Nismo GT3 n°10 – Gainer of Hoshino – Ishikawa, the latter having taken the advantage in the last lap over the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 n°56 – Kondo Racing of Sacha Fenestraz and Kazuki Hiramine, long leader and who lost big with the safety car which annihilated their lead built during the first stint.

Discover the full report of the Buriram event in issue 2223 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.