The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR86/BRZ Cup Rd.2 Autopolis Tournament was held in Hita City, Oita Prefecture on Sunday, June 16, 2024.

After taking third place in the first round, Naomasa Kishimoto took second place in the qualifying round and second place in the final in the second round.

Naomasa Kishimoto Racing TEAM HERO'S WORK GR86 runner-up in the Clubman class

◆ Exclusive run: 6th/26 cars 2'14"942
Racing TEAM HERO'S comment
"The opening round was at Sportsland Sugo, and the second round was at Autopolis, so this tournament is full of circuits that are unfamiliar to driver Kishimoto.

To counter this, we used our racing simulator and practiced with our staff member Okumoto.

Thanks to that, we were in good shape from the start and were able to complete the menu smoothly.

In the last exclusive run of the practice day, while our rivals used new tires, we set a run plan for the final, so we ran with used tires.

We recorded the 6th fastest time and got a good feeling.

For this tournament, we changed the wheels to the new WORK EMOTION ZR7.
The wheels have high rigidity, and the stability and traction when using curbs are good, so the drivers were looking forward to using them.
We chose the ZR7 especially at Autopolis, where the curbs are high and it is easy to disrupt the car's behavior."

◆Qualifying: 2nd place/27 cars 2'12"680
Kishimoto's comment: "We were worried about the weather during the race week, but the sun came out and we had a completely dry track on Sunday.
In qualifying, we overcame the challenge of the opening round, "qualifying with only one lap," and put together an attack with almost no mistakes.
However, we were just a step away from the winner, coming in 2nd place, 0.15 seconds behind the winner.
The winner was the same driver who set the course record at the Autopolis event last year, and I was made to realize how lacking I was in my skills.
The drivers in 3rd place and below were about 0.3 seconds behind, so in the final, I will focus on how to overtake the driver in front of me."

◆Final: 2nd place/27 cars finished

Kishimoto's comment: "The final was a 10-lap sprint race, but Autopolis is a circuit that puts a lot of strain on tires, so the strategy was to decide which part of the 10 laps to peak at.

I was confident in my race pace, so I followed the front in the first half and went for the win in the second half.

However, I got off to a bad start and dropped back to 4th place at the first corner. I quickly got back to 2nd place, but the gap with 1st place was wide at that point and remained that way until the second half of the race.

I was able to put in stable laps even at the end of the race, and when the top driver made a mistake, I closed the 2-second gap in one go, but it wasn't enough to overtake, so I finished in 2nd place with a difference of 0.2 seconds.

After this race, I realized how difficult it is to overtake in a one-make vehicle, and I realized how important qualifying is.

My long run was good, so I used this as my strength, and my next challenge from the next race onwards is to get good results in qualifying.
After this tournament I am now in second place in the points rankings, just four points behind first place.
I am now in a good position to aim for the series championship, which is my goal for this season, and I will do my best to turn the tables at the next race in Fuji, so please support me!

Congratulations to Kishimoto Naomasa of Racing TEAM HERO'S WORK GR86 for finishing second in the Clubman class.

He is currently second in the points rankings.

The next race is next month at Fuji.

We appreciate your continued support.