DUBAI — The No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT car driven by Koki Saga and Yuichi Nakayama won Round 8 of the 2015 Autobacs Super GT 300 series, which was held recently at the Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.
The final round took place in tricky conditions with the track wet in the early stages and dry in the latter half.
The race began with all the cars starting on rain tires. The pole-sitting No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT of Koki Saga had a good start before beginning to pull away from the pack. Running in the lead, the No. 31 car was turning out laps as fast as 1:55, while the cars from the second place down were running at a pace of about 2:00 flat.
By the 10th lap, Koki had built up a lead of more than 25 seconds, and that lead continued to grow. However, he fell behind by the 30th lap to sit fourth because of a collision between two cars which brought out the safety car, hence, Koki lost its chance to make its routine pit stop.
By this time, the weather had changed and the cars proceeded to race on slick tires. With Yuichi Nakayama at the helm, Koki started to accelerate and make his way back into the lead.
On lap 37, he clocked the fastest with a time of 1:49.434 and then went on to retake the lead on the 38th lap before eventually winning the race. This win was the second of the season for the No. 31 team, following the win at Okayama.
“This was a wonderful win for the team and highlights the superb performance and versatility of the Prius,” said Takayuki Yoshitsugu, chief representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation.
Nakayama said: “We got two wins this season, so I am very glad about the way things have gone.”
