The 2021 Super GT season started with an action- and drama-filled thriller into the new season at Okayama. Beforehand, GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh held a press conference to talk about the new season, the series‘ carbon neutrality efforts for the future, revealed the transfer of the inellectual property rights of the Class 1 regulations from the ITR to the GTA and much more.
GTA to obtain the intellectual property rights for the Class 1 regulations; set to be renamed
GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh opened the first press conference of the season with somewhat of a bombshell announcement. The Class 1 regulations got created by the ITR and GTA. However, with DTM abandoning the regulations and switching to a GT3 series, Super GT will be the only series in the world to continue using Class 1 vehicles. Therefore, the GTA came to an agreement with the ITR and has signed a license agreement to transfer the intellectual property rights of the Class 1 regulations. A formal announcement on that matter will be made at a later point. While the regulations and suppliers will remain the same, Masaaki Bandoh confirmed that they’ll abandon the name Class 1 and instead rename it to something like SUPER GT GT500 regulations – a final decision on the new name has yet to be made. While chairman Bandoh didn’t talk about it, by obtaining the intellectual property rights for Class 1 it sounds like the GTA is planning develop an evolution of it for the new technical GT500 regulations planned for the 2024 season.
The reasons why a special Balance of Performance (BoP) got adopted for the season opener at Okayama
The idea to reduce the speed of the cars originated after last year’s Fuji finale, when it became clear that the cars, despite the aerodynamical development freeze, would gain even more speed for the next season. Okayama International Circuit is a very narrow course with small run-off areas, thus the GTA was worried about a potential safety issue, Masaaki Bandoh explained. In order to reduce the speeds, they worked together with the three GT500 manufacturers to reduce the regular fuel flow rate of 95.0 kg/h down to 90.2 kg/h for the season opener. During the pre-season test at Okayama, Masaaki Bandoh even thought about further decreasing it to 88 kg/h, but after studying the data, they decided to go with 90.2 kg/h instead. Reducing the speeds of the GT300 class cars turned out to be quite tricky. At first, the GTA thought about installing a speed limiter. However, since the characteristics of the various car types in the class differ (some models emphasize on torque, others on top speed etc.), they found out that this approach would be meaningless for certain cars. Instead, they opted to install additional weights.
Thus, the GTA’s BoP committee asked for additional data. In the end, they decided that the impact of a collision could be reduced by installing additional weights. While no new track records were able to be achieved this weekend (editor’s note: both GT500 and GT300 were about one second slower compared to 2019), they wanted to priorize safety over everything else. Masaaki Bandoh confirmed that this special BoP was only in place for Okayama.
While Sportsland SUGO is another very narrow circuit, they don’t think such measurements are required, as the cars will be slowed down by the success weight anyway.
Will there be any carbon-neutral efforts in Super GT in the future?
With F1 announcing to introduce ethanol fuel in the future and IMSA requiring the DPi class cars to run with E20 (gasoline containing 20% ethanol), Japanese media was wondering if Super GT will adopt similar carbon-neutral measurements in the future. Masaaki Bandoh explained that while domestic manufacturers can supply the series with E10, there are currently issues due to the high costs. The GTA has to consider to not further increase the burden on the entrants. Chairman Bandoh further explained that there are several other ways to achieve carbon neutrality, for example by using a fuel-efficient engine that can run a longer distance with the same amount of fuel, thus reducing the number of required engines per season from two to one, as well as decreasing the race distance.
Additionally, it’s also possible to regulate the tyres to extend their mileage to run a longer distance. The GTA is talking to all involved manufacturers about the new regulations scheduled for 2024 and they would like to make them cost-reducing and environmentally friendly.
At the same time, the GTA is thinking about potentially increasing the race distance by a little next year. By doing so, they could force the manufacturers to focus on fuel efficiency, developing fuel-efficient engines and use tyres that emphasize on long runs. This would mean that soft compound tyres that only need to go the minimum race distance of one third would not be required anymore. At last year’s season finale, the Toyota GR Supra safety car ran with gasoline made out of tempura oil. The GTA will continue to make such attempts in the future.
Required PCR tests for all paddock personnel until at least the third round at Suzuka
Unlike the fans coming to the track, the people working inside the paddock are required to take a PCR test. About 2844 people got tested (including the people involved in the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan as well as Okayama International Circuit staff and VIP guests). Those required measurements will be conducted until at least the third round at Suzuka at the end of May, chairman Bandoh explained. Since the spectators can’t be tested before entering the circuit (editor’s note: instead, their temperatures are being measured before entering) they still can’t allow any fans inside the paddock.
Amidst the travel restrictions, the GTA wants to support international drivers to enter Japan
Currently, only Japanese nationals as well as foreign residentials with a special visa are allowed to enter the country. As of now, a 14-day quarantine is required after entering, but the authorities allowed football and baseball players to shorten that time to one week when taking a PCR test twice. In order to support national as well as international drivers (who still require the appropriate visa, of course) as well as part suppliers coming to Japan, the GTA held a meeting with the Liberal Democratic Party’s motorsport parliamentary group. The GTA, JRP and MFJ are thinking about asking for their own management system that would conduct two PCR tests. They haven’t decided if they’ll propose such a request, but they’re currently thinking of submitting it to the Japan Sports Agency.
The GTA is pushing for more digital content
GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh laughed and explained that he’s a very analog person for over 14 years now. However, with technological advancements come new opportunities. He reaveled that soon his mobile phone won’t be useable anymore (editor’s note: I can personally confirm that he’s using an old-generation flip phone known as “garake”, short for „garapagosu keitai“ or “Galapagos mobile phone”, which was actually pretty cool to see. However, it uses old 3G technology which will eventually be phased out in the near future). He’s aware that they must use YouTube and various forms of social media (SNS) to make Super GT visible to as many people as possible. Therefore, the GTA wants to strengthen their efforts towards digital content. So, for the first time, the sports navigation app of Yahoo! Japan, which is one of the most used apps in Japan, now features a SUPER GT tab. In the future, they want to increase and enhance the content that can be watched for free. For example, they’re devising ideas so that driver interviews can be delivered in a “cool” form like in Formula 1, Bandoh explained. Needless to say, but Bandoh’s statements were from the perspective of the Japanese market, which remains the core market for Super GT.
Masaaki Bandoh also revealed that during pre-reason testing, they experimented with a 360° onboard camera. While it’s still difficult to broadcast something like that live, they could for example make such content available for VR headsets. By expanding this kind of content, the GTA wants to make Super GT even more enjoyable for both fans at the circuit as well as at home.
Copyright Photos: GT Association (GTA)