{"id":1935,"date":"2025-11-26T19:01:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T10:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ec.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/?p=1935"},"modified":"2026-01-08T20:48:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:48:44","slug":"sepang-race-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/other\/sepang-race-report","title":{"rendered":"Sepang \u2013 Race Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TEAM UPGARAGE celebrated a historic achievement at Sepang: the team\u2019s first-ever pole-to-win<\/strong> in SUPER GT competition. It marks four years since our last pole position – earned at Motegi in 2021 – and our very first with the AMG GT3 platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nA Long-Awaited Shot from Pole Position\n\n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The team arrived at race day still energized by the excitement of securing pole with the AMG GT3 for the very first time. During official practice, our long-run pace looked promising, and the ideal scenario was to pull away early in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the tire allocation draw after qualifying meant we had to start the race on the Q2 tires – tires that had already completed three attack laps instead of the usual two during qualifying. This brought a slight concern heading into the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nRace Start \u2013 A Fierce Battle from Lap One\n\n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Starting duties were handed to the in-form Hayato Nomura<\/strong>, who led the field through an unusual three-lap formation procedure before the green flag finally waved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nomura defended hard into Turn 1, holding the lead despite heavy pressure from the #52 car. But by the final corner of Lap 1, the #52 had fully closed the gap and managed to take the lead. Shortly after, the #0 car also began attacking aggressively, forcing Nomura into a defensive race from the opening laps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the pressure, Nomura showed exceptional composure -unbelievable for a rookie driver – holding onto P2 all the way into the planned pit window around Lap 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As nearly every team completed their driver swaps, the #18 UPGARAGE car remained on track, capitalizing on Nomura\u2019s strong pace before timing the pit stop with precision. The stop came on Lap 29, one lap after the race-leading #52 car had boxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nThe Turning Point \u2013 A Perfect Pit Stop\n\n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A stroke of opportunity arrived when the #52 car suffered a pit delay, allowing UPGARAGE to rejoin with a massive 14-second advantage -roughly a full straight\u2019s length<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking over the car, Takashi Kobayashi<\/strong> immediately pushed to stabilize the gap, bringing the tires up to temperature while restoring the car to full race pace. He held a margin of around seven seconds for much of the stint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the final stages around Lap 40, traffic compressed the gap to the four-second range, and with tire grip fading, Kobayashi was forced to dig deep – using every ounce of his veteran skill to keep the car ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nFinal Lap \u2013 Holding on Under Maximum Pressure\n\n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As the race entered its dramatic final lap, onboard cameras captured the #52 car looming directly behind the UPGARAGE AMG GT3. The tension was palpable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Kobayashi remained ice-cold. With a clean and stable exit out of the final corner, he held off the charging #52 and crossed the line to take the team\u2019s first-ever pole-to-win finish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Victory Built by the Entire TEAM UPGARAGE Family <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This result was made possible not only by our two outstanding drivers, but also by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • \nMechanics who executed a flawless pit stop\n<\/li>
  • \nEngineers who constructed a perfect race strategy\n<\/li>
  • \nTeam staff and supporters who stayed committed through difficult races this season\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    After several frustrating rounds where the car had potential but results slipped away, the team finally delivered a performance that repaid the unwavering support of our fans – achieved on international soil in Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thank you, as always, for your incredible support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Driver Comments<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Hayato Nomura <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cRight after the start, I struggled to bring the tires up to temperature and got overtaken by the #52 car. But I managed to keep the #0 car behind me and stay in contention until the pit stop, so reversing the position through strategy felt amazing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Takashi Kobayashi<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI\u2019m incredibly happy to achieve back-to-back pole-to-win results at Sepang, 12 years apart. Even though we lost the lead on Lap 1, Nomura kept pushing and didn\u2019t let the leaders escape.
    The #52 had a pit error, but I pushed hard on the out-lap to retake P1.
    The car was fantastic thanks to everyone\u2019s hard work, and despite the tires being on the limit at the end, their performance was strong enough to secure the win.
    I\u2019m just really proud and grateful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Team Director \u2013 Makoto Ishida<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThe AMG GT3 has shown strong potential since the start of the season, but mistakes in the first two rounds prevented us from achieving results.
    We wanted to deliver a proper race for our fans, and I believe yesterday\u2019s pole and today\u2019s victory finally showed what this team is capable of.
    Winning here in Malaysia – one of my favorite places – means a lot to me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Good mobility, Happy life!<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    TEAM UPGARAGE celebrated a historic achievement at Sepang: the team\u2019s first-ever pole-to-win in SUPER GT competition. It marks four years since our last pole position – earned at Motegi in 2021 – and our very first with the AMG GT3 platform. A Long-Awaited Shot from Pole Position The team arrived at race day still energized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,50,28,1,8,137],"tags":[138,139,57,61,63,48],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1935"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1947,"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935\/revisions\/1947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.upgarage.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}