Koizumi starts seventh as both TF Sport Corvettes make Hyperpole for first time
GOTEMBA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 14, 2024) – Tom Van Rompuy and TF Sport’s No. 81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start on the front row of the LMGT3 category for the Six Hours of Fuji as both of the team’s Corvettes made the 10-minute Hyperpole session for the first time this year.
Van Rompuy posted the second-fastest time in Saturday’s 10-minute Hyperpole session that set the top 10 spots on the grid ahead of the seventh round for the FIA World Endurance Championship. He set a best lap of 1:40.975 (101.097 mph) in the Corvette that he shares with Rui Andrade and factory driver Charlie Eastwood to miss the Z06 GT3.R’s second pole position of the season by just 0.082 seconds.
The biggest story, however, was both TF Sport Corvettes making Hyperpole, thanks to Hiroshi Koizumi’s strong performance in the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R. The Japanese driver advanced for the first time while Van Rompuy finished in the top-10 for the third straight event and fifth time this season.
Koizumi’s best lap at his home track came on his final effort – a 1:41.310 (100.724 mph) – in the Corvette that he will drive with Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella. It equaled the best starting spot for the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R of the season, matching the position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Both Corvettes were within 0.3 seconds in the first 12-minute qualifying session ahead of Hyperpole, showing the continued strength in pace and performance of the Z06 GT3.R.
TF Sport is coming off a strong showing two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas, where the No. 82 finished eighth in class – thanks to Juncadella’s strong performance in the final three hours – and the No. 81 ran as high as second before being hit by another LMGT3 competitor.
As evidenced by qualifying, momentum is on the side of TF Sport heading to Fuji Speedway. It’s a track the team knows well, having scored two race wins, a runner-up and a pair of pole positions in its previous four trips to the 2.84-mile, 16-turn circuit less than two hours outside Tokyo.
The Six Hours of Fuji is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japanese Standard Time (JST) on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend TV will air live television coverage from 9:30-11 p.m. ET on Saturday plus 3-4:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. Full live streaming coverage of the race will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of Sunday’s race.
TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – STARTS SECOND IN LMGT3: “It’s a very good starting position. Thanks to the team for keeping on working on the setup to give me a really good car. It felt really good and felt good on the lap. It’s really tight, but we’re on the front row. It’s a good position from where to start tomorrow, and hopefully we can gain one more.
“It was a really tight qualifying session, and everyone was bunched tight together. We have a really strong car especially for the race tomorrow. We are in a really, really good window. So I’m really happy with the result today, and we will fight for a podium and try to go for a win tomorrow.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Things are really good so far. FP1 was a little tricky for everyone because the track was pretty dirty. As it cleaned up and into FP2, I think the car balance shifted a lot. For us, we learned the car is still quite strong. From the changes we made already for COTA, we saw that we had a lot of pace and were happy with the progression things had taken. We’ve maintained that for Fuji. It’s a completely different track with different characteristics, but the Corvette still seems quick and strong compared to our competition, so I’m happy with that.”
(Race prospects) “It’s hard to say. Everyone always has a little bit left in the bag. The most important thing is the feeling that we have in the car and the car balance. We were quite happy at the end of FP2. There are still some small tweaks to be made, but it’s always good when you can end a Friday on a high note and you don’t have so much left to do on setup with Free Practice Three and qualifying. Now it’s about fine-tuning things. It was warmer today and closer to race conditions so it was good to see for our race setup.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – STARTS SEVENTH IN LMGT3: “I was happy to get into my first Hyperpole! I was aiming for pole position but ended up with P7. In tomorrow’s race, we will win it! This is my first race at Fuji in a year but in a new car with the Corvette and my team at TF Sport. So I’m feeling both excited and nervous! I haven’t had very good results so far this year, but I’ll do my best to achieve a slightly better result for the Japanese fans here at my home track. Our aim is for the podium and hopefully the top step.”
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Since COTA, we have been very competitive. The Corvette has been very nice to drive, and we have been up there for every session. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a result in the COTA race due to some penalties. Now here for Hiroshi at Fuji, he can really feel it’s his home race and he has some extra performance in him! This is a great starting position, and we have high expectations for tomorrow.”
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