Kogure and Motojima execute perfect pit strategy in safety car affected race to come out on top

Sant’Agata Bolognese/ Ōita Prefecture, 21 October 2024 – Lamborghini recorded its second Super GT300 victory of the season as JLOC’s Yuya Motojima and Takashi Kogure played the strategic game to perfection in a safety-car affected sixth round of the year at Autopolis.

The crew of the #88 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 started 15^th on the grid for the three-hour race but quickly made progress up the order into the top 10 and ran as high as sixth by the end of the opening hour.

Four safety car periods impacted the race, with the penultimate intervention helping the #88 Huracán emerge in the lead having made its second mandatory driver-change pit-stop some laps before. With drive time limited to a maximum of two hours, Motojima swapped with Kogure for his stint with valuable track position.

Kogure kept the #88 in the lead ahead of the chasing Ferrari and Toyota, but a final safety car deployment effectively ended the contest, with the race finishing under yellow flag conditions. It is the second victory of the season for Motojima and Kogure – who claimed a dominant victory in the Fuji race earlier in the year – and one which leaves them third in the standings, 16 points adrift with two races left to run.

Heavy fog and rain meant that Sarturday’s planned qualifying session had to be moved to Sunday morning, with the sister JLOC #87 crew of Kosuke Matsuura and Natsu Sakaguchi starting ninth on the grid, six places ahead of the #88. Both cars made early gains, with the #87 jumping to fifth while the #88 made up a number of positions in the opening hour to run eighth.

Following a safety car period for a crash in the GT500 class, the #88 then moved up into the top five, with Motojima pulling off a superb overtaking manoeuvre around the outside of the turn six hairpin to take fourth place with just over 90 minutes remaining. Having moved up to second place after pitting earlier than those around it, the #88 then cycled into the lead of the race during the third intervention of the safety car. A further heavy crash for the #61 Subaru meant that the #88 could not be challenged in the closing stages, as extensive clean-up and repairs forced the race to finish behind the safety car.

Yuya Motojima, #88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, said: “I am really happy. Of course, we are always aiming to win (but having to start from 15th position on the grid) before the start I never thought this would happen, and that we would end up winning. But soon after the start, I had a great feeling with the car and the tyres, so I thought I would try to work up through the field even if it meant punishing the car a bit.”

Team-mate Takashi Kogure added: “Today weren’t able to get a good time in qualifying, but we were able to redeem ourselves with this win. The way Motojima-san performed in the first half put pressure on me in a good sense. And I believe that the way all of the team members did their jobs so well is what finally brought us this victory. Since this has brought us to the top in the rankings, I want to keep trying to do my best.”