KUALA LUMPUR – Consistency is key for Johor Racing as they currently lead the GT World Challenge Asia GT3 Pro-Am standings after stepping on the podium for both races over the weekend at Suzuka, Japan.
At the second round of the race calendar, Triple Eight JMR car number 99 – driven by HH Crown Prince Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim and Australian Nick Foster – scored podium finishes on both days of racing.
In race one, they qualified in 12th behind the team’s second car, car number 888 driven by national racer Jazeman Jaafar and HH Crown Prince Tunku Abu Bakar Sultan Ibrahim.
Running on wet tyres, the race saw pole sitters Yogibo Racing spinning out on the opening lap while running alongside EBM Giga Racing’s Porsche.
After the hour-long race, Tunku and Foster completed the overall podium behind Porsche Center Okazaki’s Hiroaki Nagai and Yuta Kamimura.
CarGuy Racing’s Kei Cozzolino won in spectacular fashion after he made up 60 seconds and 12 positions in the final 30 minutes of the race.
In the Ferrari he shares with Takeshi Kimura, the team opted to switch onto the slick tyres. Being the only team who made the switch, they were lapping six to eight seconds faster than the other cars on the grid.
During the second race, car number 99 started in third, with their sister car two spots behind in fifth.
Although the weather improved compared to the previous day’s conditions, it was not a smooth race as the safety-car came on four times over the one-hour run.
Finishing second means Tunku and Foster extended their drivers’ championship lead by finishing second overall and winning the Pro-Am class.
They came behind Comet Racing’s Honda NSX, driven by Yusuke Yamasaki and Yorikatsu Tsujiko, who made history by becoming the first Am crew to win a race.
The results from round two see the Johor racing team lead the championship with 96 points and EBM Giga Racing seven points behind.
Tunku and Foster also lead the driver’s standings, with the team’s second car drivers Tunku Abu Bakar and Jazeman in fifth.
In the first round at Sepang in May, Tunku and Foster took the top spot of the podium in the first race.
On the second day, Johor Racing’s car number 888 took the spotlight as they crossed the chequered line in second.
The teams will remain in Japan as they head to Fuji International Speedway for the third round on July 22 to 24. – The Vibes, July 18, 2022.
