EDGE driver Charlie Fagg took on the mighty SUGO circuit where the conditions for the official practice session were fully wet. It was predicted that the rain would increase further in the afternoon, and it had been explained the previous day that if qualifying was canceled, the official practice times would be used for the grid.
The weather for the afternoon was still unknown, but team mate Fujii was able to enter the course well when the rain had subsided a little, recording a time of 1 minute 30.153 seconds. The official practice ended up being red-flagged six times, but after Fujii set his time, Fagg took over the driving and continued to practice, and the D’station Vantage GT3 finished the official practice in third place with Fujii’s time.
After that, the rain at SUGO eased up for a while, but the official qualifying session at 2:45 pm was canceled due to lack of weather. Heavy rain was forecast for the next morning, and the official practice times were used for the grid. The D’station Vantage GT3 got the third place on the grid. The autumn rain front continued to affect the final day, Sunday, September 22. Heavy rain continued to fall from the morning, and at one point the final race was in doubt, but the race was rescheduled and started at 2:22 pm. The rain had subsided before the start, and the track surface was gradually drying out. Fujii was driving the D’station Vantage GT3, and on the first lap he moved up to second place. After that, the rival’s tires performed well, and he dropped back to fourth place, but he continued the early part of the race at a good pace.
However, during the safety car run introduced after a crashed vehicle, an unexpected problem occurred. The gears did not shift properly. While the car was realigning, Fujii restarted the car and the problem was resolved for a while, but after the restart, the gears came out again at the Umanose Corner. Fujii fell into a half spin, but he handled the situation calmly and returned to the course without a crash and only slightly down in position. The team pitted just as the safety car was about to be deployed again, and Fagg took over. At this point, they put on slick tires to suit the conditions. As the track dried, Fagg raced at SUGO for the first time, and on slicks, he drove at a good pace. On lap 68, he overtook the #7 BMW in front of him. In the final race, which was held with the prescribed number of laps, the D’station Vantage GT3 finished in third place, earning a podium finish. With their second podium of the season, Fujii and Fagg have also risen to third place in the driver rankings.
With the postponement of the fifth race, there are only three races left in the series. Although there is a slight point difference, the championship is well within reach. D’station Racing will aim for a higher position with their sights set on the title.