Super Supra produces podium performance in first race of 2024
Speedworks Motorsport-run squad begins season as it means to go on
Abu Dhabi result ‘just the beginning’, says team’s Head of Motorsport
Drivers deliver faultless display as Supra GT4 Evo ‘doesn’t miss a beat’
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK kick-started its 2024 campaign in style in the Hankook 6H Abu Dhabi last weekend (20-21 January), conquering a number of challenges to successfully reach the rostrum with its potent Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo.
In the 24H Series curtain-raiser, Samuel Harrison, Kavi Jundu and Benjamin Tusting combined to put the 443bhp Supra third on the grid in the GT4 category, with Jundu taking to the wheel for the start of the six-hour showdown around Abu Dhabi’s Formula 1-hosting Yas Marina Circuit.
Belying his limited experience, the British GT regular boldly snatched the GT4 lead on the opening lap, and while eventually having to give best to some of the more seasoned ‘Pros’ in the field, he nonetheless stayed in touch with the front-runners and handed the Supra over to Tusting shortly before one-quarter distance.
Tusting kept up the good work, although he had to deal with a couple of ‘Code 60’ neutralisations that restricted competitors to a maximum of 60km/h and threw strategies out of the window. Michael O’Brien was next to jump into the cockpit of the Speedworks Motorsport-run machine, now lying fourth in-class, with the firm intention of climbing the order over the course of a long double stint. But Lady Luck had other ideas.
A lengthy Code 60 to clear up debris and repair the crash barriers following an accident at Turn Three meant that despite his prodigious pace once the full-speed action resumed, the 2022 GT Cup winner was unable to make as much progress as he had been targeting.
Harrison then took up the chase for the final stint, producing a superb charge to reclaim third position, with the 20-year-old former historic racing ace bearing down rapidly on the car in second in the closing stages as he cemented TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK’s deserved rostrum result.
Danny Buxton, Head of Motorsport, Speedworks Motorsport, said:
“A great start to the year – I’m so pleased that our drivers and crew were rewarded for their efforts at Yas Marina. The ‘Balance of Performance’ wasn’t quite where we thought it should be across the class, which put us immediately on the back foot and caused us a few challenges, but the GR Supra GT4 Evo was brilliant and really didn’t miss a beat, and the whole team did an awesome job.
“Michael, Kavi, Samuel and Benjamin demonstrated incredible qualities and super pace all weekend, and there was even an element of ‘what might have been’ with the mid-race Code 60 during Michael’s stint; had that played in our favour rather than against us, things could have turned out even better.
“Still, I’m tremendously proud of the entire team. To finish on the podium when the chips are down is a bloody good result, and this is just the beginning. It sets us up nicely for the domestic GT seasons, as we continue to fine-tune the Supra’s ‘Evo’ package to unlock even more performance. Our day is coming...”
Michael O’Brien, Driver, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, said:
“We left Abu Dhabi with our heads held high. It became apparent early on that we simply weren’t going to be able to challenge for victory with our assigned performance, but to produce the result we did in the circumstances shows that the team at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK and my team-mates did a faultless job. Everyone has worked so hard and we drove a great race. To finish on the podium was a nice way to start the season.”
Images: Jakob Ebrey Photography