The second Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS event in as many weekends takes place at Fuji International Speedway on July 22-24 when an impressive list of local teams and drivers once again goes head-to-head with continental rivals.
Rounds five and six of the regular season, as well as 2022’s second Fanatec Japan Cup event, follow hot on the heels of Suzuka, which served up its fair share of incredible racing and unpredictable results.
A total of 25 cars encompassing 16 GT3s, six GT4s, two TC Invitationals and one GTC are scheduled to contest both 60-minute races in the shadow of Mount Fuji this Saturday and Sunday before the championship moves on to Sugo next month.
Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Nick Foster will expect to reconvene with their GT3 drivers’ championship advantage intact after establishing a healthy advantage at Suzuka. Two podiums versus a double blank for Setiawan Santoso and Reid Harker has helped Triple Eight JMR’s duo move 38 points clear of their nearest full-season rivals.
Takeshi Kimura and Kei Cozzolino are actually five points closer thanks to their remarkable slick-shod victory in Suzuka’s first race. But with their Ferrari only contesting the four rounds of Fanatec Japan Cup – a class CarGuy Racing’s Pro-Am pairing lead – Ibrahim and Foster have less reason to be concerned about their overall title prospects.
Nevertheless, the #99 Mercedes-AMG does have a 10-second Success Penalty to serve in Race 1 thanks to its second place last Sunday. By contrast, CarGuy – which also had the pace but not the luck to claim two podiums last time out – will initially compete handicap-free approximately one mile from its Fuji workshop.
Meanwhile, Triple Eight JMR’s other entry fared little better than EBM Giga Racing’s Porsche at Suzuka where Prince Abu Ibrahim and Jazeman Jaafar collected just two points. They’re now 40 behind their table-topping team-mates but do at least have the luxury of competing without a Success Penalty.
The same goes for Yobigo Racing whose weekend began brightly with a pole position but ended in a double non-score thanks primarily to the Race 1 accident that necessitated a new car. Kiyoto Fujinami and Naoki Yokomizo share the same fresh chassis this weekend at a circuit where the latter clinched overall victory alongside Cozzolino and CarGuy in 2017.
