At the weekend the Suzuka circuit hosted the first round of the Japanese Super Taikyu championship, in which Tairoku Racing's Ferrari 488 GT3 was forced to retire after a competitive race.
Comeback. Starting from third position with Nicolas Costa at the wheel, the Ferrari returned to the pits for a change of driver during a Full Course Yellow on lap 31. Harrison Newey, 16 seconds behind the leader, began a very effective comeback that gave him the lead, at least until lap 51 when a safety car prompted another change of driver. Tairoku Yamaguchi, who had taken over from the Briton, went out on track in third position, before moving up into second due to his rivals’ pitstops. Then with two hours to go and Shinichi Takagi preparing to take over, a collision with a car sent the 488 GT3 off the track at Spoon Curve, thus bringing its race to an end.
Round 2. Despite the understandable disappointment at just missing out on a podium, the team is looking forward to the rest of the championship, in part due to the speed shown by the car. The next round of the Super Taikyu will be held in Sugo on 27 and 28 April.