The NSX-GT contingent locked out the top spots overall in last weekend's first official pre-season test, which was also the first to be held entirely with SUPER GT's new-for-2023 carbon-neutral fuel (CNF).
Honda has consistently been quickest throughout winter testing, with the ARTA Honda team notably topping four out of six private test days and setting a blistering new unofficial lap record at Suzuka earlier this month.
ARTA once again topped the times at Okayama on Saturday courtesy of a 1m17.827s from Nirei Fukuzumi, which stood as the fastest time of the test, while the Impul Nissan Z that Baguette shares with Kazuki Hiramine finished up seventh overall, within half a second of the pace.
Despite some suggestions that the introduction of CNF across the board having the potential to shake up the order between the GT500 class's three manufacturers, Baguette feels that Honda still has an edge over the opposition.
"The ranking is more or less the same as what we had in the February test [at Okayama] with normal fuel," Baguette told Motorsport.com. "Honda looks fast.
"I think Honda has strong line-ups in all four Bridgestone cars. For me they go into the season as favourite. Of course we have the #1 on our car, so we should be there as well, and we don’t feel too bad.
"My feeling is that Honda is a bit in front right now. I don’t think we are that far behind, and anyway, if we are behind at this track I won’t be worried.
"Honda is consistent with all four Bridgestone cars, which shows you something. But we are happy with our feeling."
Baguette reiterated that he isn't overly concerned about Nissan's performance at Okayama, a venue which has tended to be not representative of the rest of the season in recent years.
But he stressed the importance of showing well at Fuji and Suzuka, which are both hosting a pair of 450km races this season, as he and Hiramine aim to deliver back-to-back titles for Team Impul.
"At Fuji we were strong in winter testing, but at Suzuka we only did really cold-weather tests and when it’s like this Honda is unbeatable with their downforce," said Baguette. "It will be interesting to see how it is in April with the [Bridgestone] tyre test with warmer weather.
"I won’t be worried if we are not that competitive at Okayama, but we need to be there at both Fuji and Suzuka."
Quintarelli bullish on Michelin long-run pace
Nissan's pair of works NISMO cars on their Michelin tyres ended up eighth and ninth in the combined timesheets, with the #23 car of Ronnie Quintarelli marginally the faster of the pair.
Despite a gap of more than seven tenths of a second to the pace-setting Honda, Quintarelli was feeling confident about the long-run pace he and team-mate Tsugio Matsuda displayed on Sunday afternoon.
"Over a single lap, it seems we are missing something, to Honda and to Yokohama [the #19 Racing Project Bandoh Toyota and Kondo Racing Nissan] as well," Quintarelli told Motorsport.com.
"We are missing a couple of tenths. But anyway, we have never been so strong on a single lap at Okayama.
"On the long run, we are better than in the past. Usually we are struggling with graining and pick-up, but this time we improved. If we have similar temperatures for the opening round, we will be even stronger, so it’s quite promising.
"Now we just have to do some fine tuning and try to improve for qualifying, because the competition is huge."
