私はドイツ人です。 Europe-based freelance journalist covering 🇯🇵 motorsport (SUPER GT, Super Formula and more). TV commentary experience for SGT, SF and S耐. よろしく!
Obituary: Kunimitsu Takahashi (1940-2022)
Today, we lost a true legend of the sport. Kunimitsu Takahashi shaped 🇯🇵 motorsport into what it is today. Finding the right words on today's tragic day wasn't easy. Rest in peace, Kuni-san.
#SUPERGT
#SFormula
YouTube user "nenkatsu" has captured the crash between the Stanley NSX-GT & Realize GT-R. A very unfortunate situation. Yamamoto tried to follow the Eneos GR Supra and overtake Natori, who at this moment turned into the pits and couldn't see him.
#SUPERGT
Say hello to the new Honda Civic Type R -GT. 👀
No longer just a concept, Honda has unveiled the first proper look at their new machine for 2024, the first 4-door GT500 car, ahead of this week's Okayama test. Notice the, albeit camouflaged, aerodynamic changes.
#SUPERGT
HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE ‼️
@LiamLawson30
has won his debut race and becomes the first rookie to win his first race since Marc Surer in 1978! What a debut by the 21-year old, who also takes the honor of winning the very first race of the new SF23. Congratulations! ㊗️
#SFormula
2023 Fuji Speedway pole position lap time comparison:
GT500: 1:26.420
Hypercar: 1:27.794
LMP2: 1:32.182
GT300: 1:35.114
GTE: 1:38.338
SF23: 1:21.196
Of the closed cars,
#SUPERGT
stays 👑 at 🗻 with the intense tyre war making the difference.
#WEC
#6HFuji
#WECjp
#SFormula
The
#LeMans24
,
#24hNBR
and
#Spa24h
will all be back-to-back next year.
Le Mans: June 14-15
Nürburgring: June 21-22
Spa: June 28-29
The teams and people working all three races: 😱
The fans watching all three races: 😍
A wild
#SUPERGT
car appeared in Europe! 👀
@pacificracing
's former Porsche 911 GT3 R featuring VTuber Mirai Akari was sighted at Jerez at a racing test organized by Gedlich Racing. It's being used as a test car by German Team Joos Sportwagentechnik and looks as stunning as ever.
You could hear the happiness in her voice on the team radio! And rightfully so:
@JujuNoda_Racing
finishes her debut race on P17 ahead of the reigning F2 champion and with a pace that matched, and at times was even faster, than many other drivers. Well done! ㊗️👏
#SFormula
#SUPERGT
(2024) vs.
#WEC
(2023) fastest qualifyling laps at Fuji Speedway comparison:
GT500 Q1: 1:26.709 (Astemo Civic Type R-GT)
GT500 Q2: 1:27.077 (Motul Autech Z)
Hypercar: 1:27.794 (Toyota GR010 Hybrid)
Even with less downforce and used tyres, GT500 stays 👑 on a single lap
R'Qs Motor Sports has now confirmed that their Mercedes AMG GT3 is unfortunately a total loss after the heavy crash at Autopolis. Since they're operating on a small budget, they're asking for any support possible to resume their racing activities sometime in the future.
#SUPERGT
End of an era:
Following the merger between Marelli and Calsonic in 2019,
@IMPUL_official
's car will only wear the Marelli name from now on, ending the rich history that started in 1982. In reference to the past, the livery includes "formerly Calsonic" in small letters.
#SUPERGT
👑 The 27-year long drought is finally over!
@IMPUL_official
finally wins their first GT500 championship since 1995! P2 at Motegi was enough for
@BerBaguette
and Kazuki Hiramine to win their maiden championship in
#SUPERGT
! Congratulations! ㊗️👏🍾
Meet Nissan's new GT500 car: The Nissan Z GT500. 👀
The successor of the GT500 spec GT-R will see its debut in 2022. This is the second time Nissan is entering a Z model in the class since the Fairlady Z (Z33) from 2004-2007.
#SUPERGT
Wearing a throwback livery to one of the most legendary
#SUPERGT
cars and liveries just makes you win automatically. Losing is impossible. It's like destiny. It was cool to see this piece of 🇯🇵 motorsports history come to live again is 🇺🇸 motorsports. Congratulations! ㊗️
#NASCAR
FINALLY. THE WAIT IS OVER.
@keselowski
DRIVES THE LEGENDARY TOM’S CASTROL THROWBACK INTO VICTORY LANE IN DARLINGTON! HIS FIRST WIN WITH RFK!
@Castrolusa
|
#NASCAR
Before the new
#SUPERGT
season starts, let's remember the people we sadly lost during the off-season and aren't with us. Legends who shaped the sport and will be missed. May their souls rest in peace. 🙏
Keikichi Nakano
Yutaka Suzuki
Tsuyoshi "Go Max" Oono
Kunimitsu Takahashi
After 7 years in
#SUPERGT
, 2016 GT500 champion
@H_Kovalainen
announced in a clip on Instagram today that last Sunday's race was his last in the series. His reason to retire is due to the pandemic as he wants the be closer with his family again. Thank you for the memories, champ!
Red flag after a huge crash by Hideki Mutoh in the Motul Mugen NSX-GT. Thankfully, Mutoh was able to climb out of the car on his own and seems uninjured.
#SuperGTxDTM
#supergt
#DTM
TV anime "Overtake" will make its premier at next week's Fuji 450km round. The first episode will be shown on the official
#SUPERGT
stage on May 3, followed by a talk show. The series is about high schooler Haruka Asahina and photographer Kouya Madoka entering the world of
#F4jp
.
At the press conference, au TOM's GR Supra team director Daisuke Ito revealed some juicy info: After qualifying, a mechanic opened something they rarely open, because he had a vision, and found a faulty part. Without fixing, it could've potentially caused a DNF today. 😱
#SUPERGT
The upgraded SF19 made its public testing debut at Suzuka today, featuring new front & rear wings, engine cover and floor as well as sidepods. The latter are made out of Bcomp flex fibre. The new package is said to produce 8% less downforce but up to 50% less dirty air.
#SFormula
Honda introduces their new model for the 2024
#SUPERGT
season: The Honda Civic Type R Concept GT500. 👀
That's the first time the legendary Type R will compete in Japan's top category, succeeding two generations of the NSX-GT as well as the HSV-010 GT.
#TAS2023
A strong official test debut for
@JensonButton
as a full-time GT500 driver, finishing day 1 on P6 with team-mate Naoki Yamamoto in the Raybrig NSX-GT, just 0.391 seconds away from P1.
#supergt
+++BREAKING NEWS+++
#SUPERGT
is planning to hold its first ever 24 hours race in 2022. The location? Sportsland SUGO! Here's my exclusive story (in English!) with the first details and a few statements by GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh.
This weekend,
@goodsmileracing
celebrated their 100th championship race and with it came their best result so far this year.
@NOB_TANIGUCHI
and
@TK_KATAOKA
finished on a strong P5 after being involved in the battle for the podium. A great foundation for the rest of 2021.
#SUPERGT
Nissan and NISMO has unveiled the liveries for their four GT500 machines this season. A familar look. 👀
Notice how the old "Calsonic blue" is gone, as the
#12
Marelli Impul Z will feature a much darker blue this year.
#SUPERGT
He's done it! Naoki Yamamoto has won the 2020
#SFormula
championship. With his third title he hasn't just become the second most successful driver after
@SatoshiMotoyama
, he's also now the only two-time double champion who won both
#SUPERGT
and Super Formula in the same year! ㊗️
👑 First there was misfortune, but at the end they caught a lucky break!
@fujinamikiyoto
and
@JPdeOliveira
defied all odds and bad luck in the race to win their second GT300 championship since 2020. Congratulations,
@kondoracingteam
! Enjoy the celebrations! ㊗️👏🍾
#SUPERGT
Great news: 2023
#TCRJapan
champion
@inotsume3
, who crowed herself the first woman worldwide to win the title in a national TCR series, will run the full season in
@FRJapanese
with
@HELM_MS_62
this year after doing Round 12 & 13 at Fuji Speedway last year. 💪
#FRJ
Look who's on the way to Germany 👀 While a driver announcement has yet to be made,
#DTM
confirms that the
@NISMO_JP
Motul GT-R and
@tomsracing
KeePer LC500 (notice the color and sponsor collaboration with the au LC500) will start at Hockenheim. No pictures of Honda yet.
#supergt
Get in the NSX, Shinji!
@evaracing
will team up with
@KCMotorgroup
for the upcoming Sportsland SUGO round to sponsor the team with the famous colors of EVA Unit-01, piloted by Paul Ip, Marchy Lee and Ho Pin Tung. EVA Racing was last active in
#SuperTaikyu
in ST-Z in 2021.
#S
耐
The reigning GT500 champions
@TM_Kunimitsu100
present their livery for the 2019 season. ZF will continue to sponsor and support the team. The Raybrig NSX-GT will be driven by Naoki Yamamoto &
@JensonButton
, who are aiming for the first successful title defense since 2012
#supergt
🐎 is back! Video game company PONOS, who joined forces with Gainer this year, will enter GT300 as an independent team with a Michelin-shod Ferrari 296 GT3 in 2024.
Drivers: Veteran
@keicozzolino
& Ferrari factory driver
@LWadouxD44
, the first woman to win a
#WEC
race.
#SUPERGT
.
@M_Ritmo
wins the 2023
@SUPERFORMULA_En
championship ‼️
A third place in the season finale was enough for him to win the championship for the very first time in just his third full-time year in the series. First drivers' title for Toyota since 2019. ㊗️
#SFormula
#JAFGP
The Honda Civic Type R-GT is a stunning-looking surprise and will be the first 4-door car in the history of the GT500 class.
Naturally, the concept model presented today isn't wearing the 2024 GT500 aerodynamics as the GTA hasn't officially unveiled those yet.
#SUPERGT
#TAS2023
End of an era: Not just Yuji Tachikawa, but also longtime sponsor Zent is saying "sayonara" after 18 successful years being the title sponsor of the
#38
Cerumo car, winning two GT500 titles in 2005 & 2013.
In 2024, KeePer will be the main sponsor for Cerumo's GR Supra.
#SUPERGT
It just hit me: I now did commentary for all three major championships. Back in 2011, when I started to cover 🇯🇵 motorsport, I would've never thought that a nobody like me would ever get this opportunity. I can't thank everyone enough for their support! 😭
#SUPERGT
#SFormula
#S
耐
The GTA and ITR will hold a joint press conference on August 3rd at Fuji Speedway to talk further details about the
@SUPERGT_JP
x
@DTM
Special Exchange Race to be held at Fuji on November 23rd-24th.
#supergt
#DTM
#DTMjp
Next week's
#SFormula
rookie and manufacturer test will be very interesting and should gather a lot of (international) interest, because of one particular name, who'll likely be subject to a lot scrutiny from some people. ♀️ Expect the confirmation ahead of the entry list. 👀
And here it is! The Gainer Tanax Z is finally making its official competition debut after the team had to skip Okayama. The crew worked hard and faced lots of challenges to develop their own car based on the GTA-GT300 regulations – but now the car is finally on track! 👏
#SUPERGT
Say hello to the
#SUPERGT
class of 2023. 👋👀
4⃣2⃣ cars in total
1⃣5⃣ in GT500
2⃣7⃣ in GT300
The 2023 season of the fastest GT series in the world kicks off at Okayama on April 15-16. Mark your calendars! 🗓️
Big announcement for all VTuber fans:
@pacificracing
will team up with
@hololivetv
, one of the biggest and popular VTuber talent agencies, to form the Pacific Racing x hololive Racing Project for the 2022
#SUPERGT
season. The goal is to popularize motorsport and acquire new fans.
I usually don't promote my articles here anymore, because most of them are in German. However, I wanted to make an exception this time. Here's my huge
@SUPERGT_JP
preview with over 8600 words on 17 pages.
#SuperGT
is finally back! Here's to a great season!
I just watched the first episode of the
#F4jp
anime Overtake. It was really good! I'm impressed with the attention to detail. From the paddock, event plaza, food stalls, pit lane, media center - everything is very accurate and it felt like I was at Fuji. #オーバーテイク
#SUPERGT
The au TOM'S GR Supra wins at Motegi and the 2023
@SUPERGT_JP
GT500 championship ‼️
Third win of the season for
@tomsracing
and with it the second title for
@RaceSho
and the first for
@M_Ritmo
, who's now the 5th double champ to win both
#SUPERGT
and
#SFormula
the same year. ㊗️
📣 Welcome to
@SUPERFORMULA_En
,
@JujuNoda_Racing
! Following her strong tests results last December, the soon-to-be 18-year old sensation will join
@tgm_grandprix
for her first-ever season in Japan. Juju is the first woman to race in
#SFormula
since Tatiana Calderón (2020-2021).
2022 Fuji Speedway pole position lap time comparison:
GT500: 1:26.137
Hypercar: 1:29.234
LMP2: 1:31.649
GT300: 1:34.888
GTE: 1:36.371
SF19: 1:21.404
Of the closed cars,
#SUPERGT
stays 👑 of the 🗻 with the intense tyre war making the difference.
#WEC
#6HFuji
#WECjp
#SFormula
Delighted to announce that I'll be flying to 🇯🇵 next week for about a month. 🥰
I'll be covering both the
#SFormula
&
#SUPERGT
(accreditation pending) finales live from the track.
After what's been a personally rough year, it means everything to me to be able to do this trip.
.
@ryohirakawa
is switching to
#WEC
. Here are his accolades in
#SUPERGT
:
🏆 2017 GT500 champion
5⃣8⃣ championship races
🥇 7 victories
🥈🥉 21 podium finishes
⏱️ 7 pole positions
Thanks for the memories, champ! Best of luck on the world stage in 2022! Go get that world title! 💪
The majority of the GT300 class didn't run at all in the afternoon. Only 7 cars set a time. They must've deemed it too dangerous as a crash could mean missing Okayama. It seems likely that a race would get red flagged in those conditions anyway (remember Okayama 2019).
#SUPERGT
***ANNOUNCEMENT***
I'm happy and very excited to announce that I'll be joining
@JakeSanson
on commentary for the international
@MotorsportTV_UK
broadcast of the
@SUPERGT_JP
season finale at Fuji Speedway this weekend. 🗻
#SUPERGT
.
@REAL_RACING
has published the first pictures of their fully colored Astemo NSX-GT on the team's official Line account. The car is currently being prepared for this weekend's official test at Okayama. Until now, they have tested with the old livery.
#SUPERGT
On May 1 in 1994,
#SUPERGT
held its first championship race as JGTC at Fuji Speedway, which was won by Masahiko Kageyama. The shade of blue may have changed, but can
@IMPUL_official
also win the 30th anniversary race on Saturday – 10 years after their last Golden Week victory? 🗻
Honda, Nissan and Toyota will test the 2024-spec GT500 vehicles at Okayama on July 25-26 with one car each. It'll be the debut of the new Civic Type R-GT as well as aerodynamic upgrades (no aero freeze next year). J SPORTS on Demand will stream day 1 live (🇯🇵 only).
#SUPERGT
Another look at one of visually striking cars from ST-5 – the
#11
D.R.C EZO Honda Fit, a fairly new team from Sapporo. Not just their livery resembles a road safety vehicle because of their sponsor Sakea Kensetsu, the crew is wearing appropiately designed suits too
#Fuji24h
#S
耐
Meet the Toyota GR Concept GT3. 👀 While no further details were mentioned, Toyota said they're committed to further accelerate customer motorsports to make the world of motorsports sustainable. The concept is promoting a “driver first” car development.
#TAS2022
#Toyota
#GT3
WOOOOOOW!! NAOKI YAMAMOTO!!! Ishiura attacks from the outside going onto the backstraight, which opens the gap for Yamamoto to turn this into a 3-wide battle -- and he overtakes both the Calsonic Z and Zent GR Supra to take P2. Incredible! That's Naoki Yamamoto for you!
#SUPERGT
I'm wishing 14-year-old Juju Noda best of luck for her long anticipated official racing debut in the Danish
#F4
Championship this weekend. Juju's future looks bright and I'm sure she'll go her way. For that I'm wishing her all the best! 💪
@NODA_Racing
#Juju10
#F4dk
Wishing
@TPourchaire
all the best with his new challenge in
#IndyCar
! 💪
Unfortunately, Pourchaire won't be racing in
#SFormula
anymore this year as there are three clashes on the calendar. It's currently unknown who'll replace him at Impul for the remainder of the season.
.
@JujuNoda_Racing
showed great improvements the last two days, improving her fastest time (1:38.539) by 2.7 seconds over yesterday and beating rookie teammate Rasmus Lindh. Her biggest concern were physical fitness and muscle strength, but she said there were no issues.
#SFormula
While the Honda NSX-GT was known for its high cornering speed, the shape of the air intake holes on the rear created a lot of drag. While the Civic Type R-GT doesn't produce as much downforce, the top speed deficit is gone, doing between 295-297 km/h – similar to Nissan.
#SUPERGT
7 months ago, Naoki Yamamoto didn't know if he would ever be able to drive a race car again following his horrible accident at Sportsland SUGO.
Two months into the 2024 Japanese racing season, Yamamoto has now finished on the podium in both his
#SFormula
&
#SUPERGT
comebacks! 💪
A comparison of the MR Honda NSX-GT currently running in GT500 and the FR model for the 2020 season. Despite the layout change, Honda managed to keep the main form of the NSX. Bigger air outlets; fenders in accordance with Class 1 etc. FR NSX-GT 📸 by Ryuji Hirano.
#supergt
I'm excited to announce that I'll be joining the team of Motorsport Japan for the official English-language broadcast of the
@SuperTaikyu_STO
season opener this Sunday. A big thank you to
@JakeParsonsJP
for bringing me on! 🙌
#S
耐
#SuperTaikyu
⬇️⬇️⬇️
.
@LiamLawson30
wins at Fuji Speedway ‼️
Lawson repeats his Fuji victory from the season opener to take his third win of the year, surpassing Pierre Gasly in his rookie season. A magnificent drive and yet another statement by him that he's ready for
#F1
. Congrats! ㊗️
#SFormula
The 2020 Class 1 + α rules further limit the area below the design line where the manufacturers are allowed to do aerodynamical development.
@AUTOSPORT_web
made a great and simple overview of it. Blue is the area with open development, red where it's no longer allowed.
#supergt
After 19 years in GT300 and a total of 2 race victories, 66-year-old gentleman driver Kazuho Takahashi announced that he will retire from active
#SuperGT
competition. He'll still be competing in
#SuperTaikyu
. Cars Tokai Dream28 is set to stay in GT300. Thanks for the memories!
2012 was the last time
@AMR_Official
has won in GT300, when A speed took the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 to victory in the Suzuka 1000km and Autopolis rounds.
12 years later,
@dstation_racing
gave the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 its first worldwide class win today.
#SUPERGT
Welcome back to
#SUPERGT
,
@dstation_racing
! 🙌
The popular team was active in GT300 from 2017-2020. First as a Porsche customer until 2018, followed as an Aston Martin customer in 2019-2020. In 2020 they collabored with Pacific Racing. In those four years they scored 3 podiums.
D'station Racing is excited to announce its long-term plan to participate in the SUPER GT Series from 2024. The car manufacturer, tire supplier, drivers, and other team details will be announced soon. Thank you for your ongoing support.
■Press Release
I'm super delighted to say that I'll be flying to 🇯🇵 for 19 days at the end of next week. 🥰 You don't know how much this means to me. It's been a very tough year for me personally as a few horrible things have happened, so I hope this trip will help me clear my mind off things.
THE NITERRA MOTUL Z WINS THE FUJI 3 HOURS ‼️
In 1994, Nissan was the winning marque of the first
#SUPERGT
race. 30 years later, they are once again on top following an absolutely commanding performance by the
#3
. 4th career win for
@TAKAX32
, maiden win for
@Atsushi_Miyake
. ㊗️
Relive Naoki Yamamoto's and
@JensonButton
's championship winning drive at Motegi with the
@TM_Kunimitsu100
Raybrig NSX-GT in this official full race onboard video
#supergt
Hey, I'm back.. I guess. I don't know if you missed me, but I'm really sorry for the long radio silence! A lot of personal bad and negative things have happened in the past month. I had to take a break from everything to take care of things and also take care of myself. Sorry! 🙇
Looking at the times, it seems that Bridgestone's new wet tyre seems to be suited for heavy rain conditions, even though it looks like it was designed for light rain / damp conditions with its diagonal grooves and a more shallow tread depth compared to last year's tyre.
#SUPERGT
I talked with
@kamui_kobayashi
(P8 today). He said qualifying was tough, because he didn't have any new tyres left in Q2. I asked him about next year, and his simple answer: "I race everything I can. Because, if I race, I have less meetings. That's why I race." 🤣👍
#SFormula
📣 Just unveiled:
Say hello to the new
#KYOJOCUP
machine. The KYOJO FORMULA KC-MG01 is set to debut in 2025.
This hybrid-powered car will succeed the current VITA-01, meaning the all-female series will turn into a formula series. An exciting development!
#夏祭り
#SFormula
📣 My first ever Japanese column ‼️
While I was in Japan, I got asked by
@Reporter_ne_san
, who wrote a very kind foreword, to write a short column about my perspective being at the
#SUPERGT
and
#SFormula
paddock. I feel very honored! Thank you so much!