Following the cancellation and postponement of the flyaway round in Sepang, Malaysia, the AUTOBACS SUPER GT series had to take an unscheduled 3-month break. Thus, the anticipation was high when Japan’s premier GT championship went to Fuji Speedway again for the third race of the season, officially titled as Round 4, on August 1–2. Building on the momentum of the previous Fuji race, the duo of James Pull and Tayo Ida finished Saturday morning’s sole Free Practice session in a season-best 8th position, building a strong foundation for qualifying later that afternoon. Pull was on Q1 duty. Despite being impeded at the beginning of his push lap, Pull clocked in the seventh fastest time of his Q1 group, taking the #48 Kenko K’s Frontier WM NILZZ GT-R to the pole position shootout in Q2 for the very first time. Without being blocked, his pace could’ve been good enough for the top-three positions. Teammate and gentleman racer Ida couldn’t quite replicate Pull’s time in Q2, resulting in P18 on the grid. The maiden Q2 appearance and season-best starting grid position highlight the progress the team has made since announcing its new 2026 driver line-up.

The start of Sunday’s 300 km race ended up being quite challenging. About 30 minutes before the green flag, a sudden downpour got Fuji Speedway soaked. However, because of the high summer temperatures of 34°C, the track almost entirely dried just in time, with only a few wet patches remaining. Due to the treacherous conditions, race control opted for a Safety Car start. Expecting another quick rain shower after the opening laps, NILZZ Racing decided last-minute to increase the pressure of Pull’s dry tyres. While a few raindrops would eventually fall for a few minutes, it wasn’t enough to change the track conditions. The Safety Car pulled in on lap 5, but the race was immediately red-flagged following a crash in the GT500 class on the main straight.  

Once the race was properly underway after a 35-minute delay, Pull immediately found his rhythm, overtaking a multitude of cars and engaging in many battles with some of the top GT300 contenders, including last year’s series champions. Despite struggling with grip because of the higher tyre pressure, Pull’s average pace was on the same level as the top 3 frontrunners of the class. Opting for a longer stint, Pull even inherited the lead for a few laps, thus recording his maiden laps led of his still-young SUPER GT career. By the time he boxed on lap 42, the #48 Kenko K’s Frontier WM NILZZ GT-R was running in a net 6th position. Unfortunately, due to a problem during the driver change, the team lost a lot of time in the pits, resulting in a P24 finish. Despite missing out on a second consecutive points result, NILZZ Racing takes a lot of positives, highlighted by the first Q2 appearance as well as the race pace on par with the frontrunners, into the upcoming round at Suzuka Circuit on August 22–23.

James Pull:

“Making it into Q2 for the first time is a huge result for the team. It was only the third weekend of the season, but we’re already seeing the progress we’ve been making since pre-season testing. The start of the race was a bit chaotic with the rain and red flag stoppage. We expected it to rain a bit more, therefore increasing the tyre pressure to deal with the changing track conditions. As a result of that, I was struggling with grip towards the end of my stint. Despite this, I was able to run the same pace as the top 3 cars. Fighting for position on track with many of the top teams has been an incredible experience for both me and the team. That makes the final result following the unfortunate pit stop issue quite tough, as it doesn’t reflect our actual performance. Now knowing what we need to improve, we take lots of positives into the next round in Suzuka later this month.”