#12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z scores podium finish at round 3 of SUPER GT in Malaysia

The #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Kazuki Hiramine/Bertrand Baguette) took third place at the 2025 Super GT Series Round 3 on June 28 in Malaysia — the team’s first podium finish of the season. The #3 Z and #23 Z finished in 11th and 13th places, respectively.

The third round of the 2025 season saw the return of overseas racing after a six-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the first SUPER GT race to be held in Malaysia since 2013. Following good results at the Sepang test in January, the Nissan/NISMO team took on the challenge of the 300km race with four Nissan Z NISMO GT500s aiming for their first victories of the season.

Ahead of the race start the #24 Realize Corporation Advan Z (Tsugio Matsuda/Teppei Natori) experienced a mechanical issue, was pushed to the pits and retired.

Once the race kicked off, Bertrand Baguette in the #12 Z drove aggressively and moved from 6th place to 5th in the first lap, while the #23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/Mitsunori Takaboshi) advanced to 11th with Chiyo behind the wheel. The #3 Niterra MOTUL Z (Daiki Sasaki/Atsushi Miyake) was overtaken, with Sasaki finishing the first lap in 7th place.

Maintaining a blistering pace, the #12 Z made another pass on lap 9 and grabbed 4th place. The #3 Z remained in 7th and the #23 Z held on to 11th when it came time for the pit stop. Both cars pitted after completing 21 laps, - 2 - while the #12 Z pulled in two laps later. The #23 Z piloted by Mitsunori Takaboshireturned to the race in 13th place, while Atsushi Miyake in the #3 Z took 12th place. The #12 Z resumed racing in 7th place with Kazuki Hiramine now driving. After all the GT500 cars completed their pit stops by lap 32 and the race entered its second half, the #12 Z was in 4th place, the #3 Z in 10th and the #23 Z in 12th.

The #12 Z made another pass on lap 34, moving into 3rd place. In the race’s final stages, a competitor that had already received a 10-second penalty rapidly closed in on the #12 Z. The #12 Z, aiming to avoid taking unnecessary risks, finished in 4th but the penalty bumped it up to 3rd.

The #3 Z and #23 Z struggled to maintain competitive paces, finishing in 11th and 13th places, respectively.

Despite the challenges it faced in qualifying and the race, the #12 Z successfully demonstrated the potential of the Nissan Z NISMO GT500 with its podium finish. The Nissan/NISMO team is fully committed to doing its best at the upcoming sprint race at Fuji Speedway.

Kazuki Hiramine (TRS IMPUL with SDG Z): “The team made an ultimate effort and Baguette had a fantastic start, which really motivated me. After I took over, I faced challenges with rivals passing me, but I managed to overtake them and finish in 3rd place. I will do my best to achieve another podium finish in the next race.”

Bertrand Baguette (TRS IMPUL with SDG Z): “I believe we maximized our package today. The start was good, but I couldn’t close the gap with the cars ahead so I tried to save fuel to shorten our pitstop. The team’s strategy was excellent and I’m satisfied with today’s result, but I’m aiming to win at Fuji next.”

GT300 Class

Three Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 cars participated in the GT300 class. The #56 Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R (Kohei Hirate/Yu Kanamaru), began and ended in 10th place, while the #62 HELM MOTORSPORTS GT-R (Yuya Hiraki/Reiji Hiraki), started in 18th place and finished in 11th. Both teams secured valuable points.