Lilou Wadoux endured a challenging weekend in the seventh round of Super GT at Autopolis, as weather conditions resulted in the cancellation of all practice on a circuit where she had never driven before and, after tyre compound issues and a slow puncture, her race was compromised even before the start of her stint.
One round after her maiden podium, Lilou Wadoux faced a challenging weekend in Japan’s premier sports car championship, Super GT. The French racer, recently confirmed as part of the Ferrari factory drivers' program, struggled to aim for a strong result in the seventh round at Autopolis, with tyres and weather playing a critical role throughout the weekend.
Wadoux made history at the previous round, the 300km of Sugo, by securing her first Super GT podium, finishing second in the GT300 class, and becoming the first woman in nearly 30 years to achieve a top-three result in the series.
Lilou, who has also raced part-time in IMSA and claimed her first victory in the LMP2 class earlier this year at the 6H of the Glen—following another historic win in WEC last year—has been a key protagonist in a remarkable development year in Super GT, where she shares the #45 Ferrari 296 GT3 with Kei Cozzolino.
The duo has made impressive progress since the start of the year, scoring points consistently and closing in on the top three, which they achieved at Sugo after a stellar race by both drivers. Wadoux led much of her final stint in tricky weather conditions, only to finish second at the end of the 300km race.
However, with no previous experience at the Autopolis circuit, Lilou faced a remarkably tough weekend in the seventh round. Adverse weather led to the cancellation of all practice sessions, and qualifying was rescheduled for race day, leaving her no chance to practice before the race.
The Autopolis circuit, located in the mountains of Aso, is notorious for its dramatic elevation changes and unpredictable weather. For Ponos Racing, in its first season in the championship, achieving a notable result became difficult, with tyre choices proving decisive.
Both in qualifying and the final race, the team struggled with the selection of the tyre compound, and the race did not go in their favor.
Qualifying was initially set for Saturday, but the rain and thick fog covering Autopolis led to the cancellation of the official practice session. A thunderstorm then struck just before the scheduled qualifying session, deteriorating track conditions further, and all running for that day was called off.
Qualifying was rescheduled for Sunday morning, which also brought fog and damp spots on the circuit. Kei Cozzolino took the wheel of the Ponos Ferrari 296 GT3 for the short 30-minute session. The team however had to compensate for the lost practice time, trying different setups and tyres before setting their flying laps.
Cozzolino initially improved his time to 1:51.250, moving up to fourth place. However, after a red flag, competitors began to improve their times, and Cozzolino ultimately qualified 17th, struggling with the cold conditions.
With all previous day’s runs canceled, Lilou finally had her first drive around Autopolis during the warm-up after qualifying. She placed the Ponos Ferrari in ninth.
Just a few hours later, her teammate Kei Cozzolino started the race, initially improving his position but soon losing pace, which eventually resulted in the #45 Ponos Racing crew struggling to recover from 17th.
Cozzolino dropped one position after the start but fought back, climbing to 14th by lap two. However, tyre pick-up began to affect his pace after lap 10, allowing rivals to get by.
The team opted to pit for new soft tyres, but the timing was unfavorable, and the #45 Ferrari fell a lap behind. To add to their woes, Cozzolino then suffered a slow puncture.
Now a lap down and in 25th place, the team’s chances for a front-running result were effectively over. At this point, Cozzolino pitted earlier than planned to give Lilou Wadoux more driving time.
Despite effectively learning the track in race conditions, Wadoux maintained a stable race pace during a chaotic second half of the race, which saw four safety car deployments. She skillfully managed traffic and brought the car safely to the finish in P24.
“The race was complicated even before my stint, and I was already a lap down when I got in the car,” Lilou commented. “This was my first time driving at Autopolis, so I just focused on getting the car to the finish without any issues. But honestly, I don’t enjoy that kind of race."
"If the car had a better setup, the circuit would’ve been fun", she continued. "I also felt I needed to understand the tyres better, so the things I couldn’t work on are something to reflect on.”
After a podium finish in the previous round, a final result of 24th was a disappointing outcome for Wadoux and her teammate. The team struggled with tyre performance in colder-than-expected conditions, and while Wadoux’s stint on the softer compound showed improvement, the race was already compromised.
Looking ahead, the next round at Motegi on November 2-3 - where Lilou has some testing experience - could provide a fresh opportunity: with reduced success ballast for the next race, the team will aim to bounce back at the penultimate round of the 2024 season.
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