TOKYO Japan (28 September 2024) - The Gran Turismo World Series made its return to Tokyo after five years, with Kanata Kawakami clinching a second win of the season in the Manufacturers Cup for Lexus.

Round 3 – Tokyo Special Page
https://www.gran-turismo.com/world/gt7/events/gtws2024/tokyo

Round 3 – Tokyo Results
https://www.gran-turismo.com/world/gt7/news/00_3413293.html

Below are the post-race reactions from each driver:

I was able to get on pole position in qualifying this time, so I really focused on a strategy to pull away in the race. I’m really happy I was able to safely run at a good pace and actually pull away from the others to win. It’s been a while since I last won so I’m very emotional right now.

"While only 2nd in qualifying, though of course it would have been better to get on pole position. I thought I had a good grasp of how I need to drive, and was able to start in a good position. For the race, the mistake I made on the first lap was painful, but I was able to make my strategy work afterwards, and it was a race I was pretty satisfied with even with the 2nd place result. The BRZ is the most tire friendly car in the game, so I was thinking from the beginning that I could drop the hard tires early and change to mediums. I was very happy that I was able to execute this and that it worked, and the five points for 2nd place I think will make a big difference towards the World Finals. I’d like to really keep trying hard to become champion as a team.

I really messed up in qualifying and ended up starting in 7th, but my pace in the Grand Final race was very good, and I was able to make the podium in 3rd place. So I am very happy with the race.

You can watch the post-race press conference 'THE EXTRA LAP' of the podium finishers by following the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/live/citPM63J3io?feature=shared&t=8977

The result of the race today was a little bit disappointing. But I think I was able to use the tires pretty much how I planned to.

I thought my tire strategy was good, but looking at the result I was 5th, so I want to review whether it was my strategy or whether it was my pace that was bad, and apply those lessons for the World Finals.

My position in qualifying was not too bad, but I ended up dropping my position a bit in the final. I think the tire selection order was not bad, but the soft tires really didn’t last so I think that was the cause.

I think it didn't help that my positioning was bad and caused me to enter a lot of skirmishes with other cars, not giving me a lot of time to drive alone. Because I became involved in those skirmishes, I wasn't really able to take advantage of the tire strategy.

I felt that the difference in the car's performances was too vast. I hope that in the World Finals we have a better balance.

"Participating in an offline event for the very first time here, I was really disappointed that I couldn’t drive like I usually do because the environment was so different than at home. I think it was good that I wasn’t overtaken because my strategy of focusing on track position worked."

"I was really disappointed with the race today. I was thinking to drive around four laps starting on hard tires but I had trouble raising my pace so I came in one lap earlier to change to mediums and then to softs."

It was a very disappointing race. I opted to start on hards, but I couldn’t pass the car in front and could not make it work. I think I should have started on mediums, placing more weight on track position.

Well, the race was kind of unexpected. I tried many things to work on my way to the field but didn't work. I also got involved in a crash with Hashima-san, so I want to apologize to him. We are still 2nd in the championship, so I'm going to try my very best to recover from this round for Amsterdam.