GT3 / 17 September 2018

NSX GT3 takes best-ever Super GT result

The Honda NSX GT3 achieved its best ever finish in Super GT after a sensational late-race charge by Hiroki Otsu netted fourth place in the hotly-contested GT300 class at the Sugo 300km.

The result was a fantastic reward for the Modulo Drago Corse team, who were running a replacement chassis after the previous one was destroyed at Fuji last time out.

Otsu and Ryo Michigami had qualified 11th in the 27-car class in a tight session, but showed strong race pace to gain a handful of spots before he handed over to Otsu ahead of half-distance.

Emerging 19th in class, but filtering back to 11th by the time every car had stopped, Otsu was in attack mode when a late safety-car period released the field with just seven laps to go.

An incredible late run through the field moved the young Japanese driver up to fourth place with a lap remaining and he was unlucky to miss out on the car’s maiden podium in the series by just six hundredths of a second.

The car was competing as part of the NSX GT3 Customer Racing Programme; a global collaborative project with JAS Motorsport responsible for assembly of all cars.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) and M-TEC handle sales and technical support in North America and Japan respectively, with JAS responsible for these areas across the rest of the world.

Stefano Fini, JAS Motorsport NSX GT3 Project Leader, said: “This is a great result. The team at Drago Corse were dealt a huge blow at Fuji when they wer hit by another car and their chassis was destroyed. Putting a new car together has been a huge challenge, but it’s incredible to see them take the NSX GT3’s best-ever finish in Super GT and come so close to a podium. Obviously the top three is the next target, and the pace of the car late-race was extremely encouraging as the team aim to achieve this in the remaining races of the season.”