Goh and Elgore Showcase Lexus Dominance at Sepang 400, ARO To Impose Heavy Ballast For The Remainder Of The Season

Sepang, 5th August - The Hololive GT3 Japan Series' Sepang 400 weekend concluded with a stark demonstration of Lexus' dominance, prompting the Adak-RMS Organization (ARO) to impose a substantial 150kg ballast on all Lexus cars for the remainder of the season. This move aims to give Nissan and Honda teams a fighting chance in the upcoming Motegi and Suzuka 500 races.

On Saturday, Shawn Goh, representing Ichijou Ririka, clinched the Zako Series race on Saturday, marking ReGloss' inaugural victory in Hololive GT3 Japan. Goh led the race from pole position, maintaining his lead through most of the laps. His strategic early pit stop on lap 18 secured his position at the front, which he held to the finish line.

Lexus cars continued their supremacy, sweeping the first six positions. Hoshizono Ryo, despite a dramatic start, managed to secure eighth place. Ryo found himself in a three-wide battle into Sepang's turn one, which resulted in contact with Maverick Deuxieme and a spin into the runoff. Demonstrating resilience, Ryo recovered to finish in the top ten.

Meanwhile the race saw an early exit for Mohamed Khashiu, whose suspension failure led to a crash into the pit wall right at the start, marking a disappointing end to his race before it even started.

After two races in the Zako Series, Goh leads the standings with 375 points, with Marcman only 50 points behind with 325 in 2nd. Riba sits 3rd at 308 points, with Sinful and Gibbens at 4th and 5th respectively at 260 points and 193 points respectively. Jake Martinez is the best Nissan driver at 162 points in 6th for Hiodoshi Ao, and Takahashi Pin is the best Honda driver, in 11th and at 43 points for Hakui Koyori. Alticer Antanarau finally opens up his points tally in the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series season with an 11th place finish, he currently sits 13th in the Zako standings, while Kizuhara Leo for Murasaki Shion sits last in 19th still with no points in store.

On Sunday, Rim Elgore capitalized on the Lexus advantage to claim his third victory of the season and second consecutive win. This triumph for Oozora Subaru equaled Himemori Luna's record for the most wins in Hololive GT3 with six. The Lexus fleet once again dominated, securing all podium positions with Vladislav Domaschnev in second and Raijin Kaczynski in third.

Chae Yon briefly took the lead from Elgore on Lap 3 but relinquished it during her pit stop on Lap 7, ultimately finishing fourth.

Shazren Redza endured a frustrating race, starting from 17th due to setup issues. A strategic miscalculation on fuel saw him needing two pit stops, finishing a disappointing 16th, but note before forcing himself to 13th before his eventual first pit stop on Lap 7. Salmonman faced similar challenges, ending up in 18th.

After Sepang, in the Tsuyo Series, Elgore sits at 400 points, with Kaczynski at 325 points in second. Tyler Williams sits third in the Kanata Nissan at 198 points, while Domaschnev completes a Lexus 1-2-4 in the championship standings for Aki Rosenthal at 197 points in fourth. Ed Skye sits 5th for Kazama Iroha at 151 points, while championship hopeful Mohd Shazren Redza sits 6th at 150 points.

Rustim Kurashio and Airi Nakamura are tied at 32 points at 14th following both of them scoring 10th place finishes in one race and not scoring in another. However, by virtue of Kurashio scoring a 10th first at Tsukuba before Nakanura scored 10th at Sepang, and how Kurashio has a 17th place finish over Nakamura's 19th place finish at Tsukuba meant Kurashio won the tiebreaker and sits in 14th, while Nakamura is in 15th.

Two drivers still remain without any points, namely Alex Grant and Krzysztof Salmonman, but by virtue of Salmonman having a better best finish of 17th at Tsukuba over Grant's 18th in both Tsukuba and Sepang, Salmonman pips Grant for 19th.

The Sepang 400 highlighted the Lexus cars' continued dominance in the Hololive GT3 Japan Series. With the newly imposed ballast rules, the upcoming Motegi and Suzuka 500 races promise to be more competitive, giving Nissan and Honda teams a chance to close the gap. Lexus drivers hope to minimize damage in the final two races of the season, while the other drivers will aim to capitalize on these chances. Expect the title fight to go down to the wire at Suzuka once the Motegi weekend concludes.