2026 Super GT Series
The 2026 Super GT Series (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2026 Autobacs Super GT Series) is a planned motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars, which will be the thirty-fourth season of the Super GT series, tracing its lineage to the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era. It is the twenty-second season for the series under the Super GT name, and the forty-fourth season of a Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) national sportscar championship, dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.
TGR Team TOM'S drivers Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita enter the season as the defending champions of the GT500 class.
Calendar
The provisional calendar for 2026 was confirmed on 5 August 2025, which consists of eight races.[1] On 9 January 2026, the dates of the Sepang International Circuit round were shifted from 19–20 June to 20–21 June.[2]
| Round | Race | Circuit | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Okayama GT 300 km Race |  Okayama International Circuit
|
Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture | 11–12 April |
| 2 | Fuji GT 3 Hours Race |  Fuji Speedway
|
Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture | 3–4 May |
| 3 | Sepang GT 300 km Race |  Sepang International Circuit
|
Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia | 20–21 June |
| 4 | Fuji GT 300 km Race | Fuji Speedway
|
Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture | 1–2 August |
| 5 | Suzuka GT 300 km Race |  Suzuka Circuit
|
Suzuka, Mie Prefecture | 22–23 August |
| 6 | Sugo GT 300 km Race |  Sportsland Sugo
|
Murata, Miyagi Prefecture | 19–20 September |
| 7 | Autopolis GT 3 Hours Race |  Autopolis
|
Hita, Oita Prefecture | 17–18 October |
| 8 | Motegi GT 300 km Race |  Mobility Resort Motegi
|
Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture | 7–8 November |
Regulation changes
On 19 October 2025, it was announced that the 2026 season would be the last with different tire manufacturers competing against one another. The series will switch to a single tire manufacturer in each class in 2027.[3]
Teams and drivers
GT500
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GT500 vehicle changes
- Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) introduced the new HRC Prelude-GT as its GT500 vehicle, replacing the Civic Type R-GT after two seasons.[7][8]
GT500 entrant changes
Nissan announced its line-ups on 9 December 2025.[5]
- Two-time GT500 Champion Tsugio Matsuda retired from Super GT after 20 seasons as a Nissan GT500 driver, and 26 seasons in GT500 in total.[9] Matsuda become the new team director for NISMO, replacing Takeshi Nakajima. Atsushi Miyake transferred from NISMO NDDP to Kondo Racing, replacing Matsuda in the No. 24 car. Kondo Racing will also switch to Bridgestone tires, after competing in GT500 with Yokohama for 20 years.
- NISMO scaled down to one car from two, discontinuing the No. 3 car that had been running under the NISMO NDDP banner. Daiki Sasaki was retained by Nissan as its GT500 reserve driver.[10]
Toyota announced its driver line-ups on 19 December 2025.[6]
- TGR-DC driver Rikuto Kobayashi was promoted to GT500 with TGR Team KeePer Cerumo after two seasons in GT300. He will replace Hiroaki Ishiura, who retired from racing in GT500 after 18 seasons and will move to GT300 with Team ENEOS Rookie.[11][12]
Honda announced its driver line-ups on 23 December 2025.[13]
- The No. 8 ARTA Honda will be operated as a works team with direct support from HRC. The No. 8 car will be driven by Kakunoshin Ohta, who returns to the series after a year away, and Hiroki Otsu, who moves over from the No. 16 car. They replace Tomoki Nojiri, who will now drive the No. 16 car, and Nobuharu Matsushita, who will drive exclusively in the Super Formula Championship for Honda customer team Delightworks Racing.
- 2025 Super Formula Lights champion and GT300 class race winner Yuto Nomura was promoted to GT500 with Real Racing, replacing Syun Koide, who will serve as Honda's GT500 reserve driver.
- Nakajima Racing Super Formula driver Igor Omura Fraga was promoted to drive the team's GT500 car after three years in GT300 with Anest Iwata Racing. Fraga replaces Takuya Izawa, who retired from Super GT after 17 seasons.[14]
GT300
GT300 vehicle changes
- Ferrari customer teams Velorex, and Ponos Racing will receive the new Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo package.[16]
- Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific customer team Seven x Seven Racing will receive the updated Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2).[16]
- SHADE Racing will replace its Toyota GR86 GT300 with the Lexus RC F GT3.[21]
- R&D Sport replaced the No. 61 Subaru BRZ GT300's four-cylinder EJ20 engine with the six-cylinder EG33 engine used in the Subaru Alcyone SVX.[24]
- Anest Iwata Racing replaced their Lexus RC F with the Nissan Fairlady Z GT300.[19]
GT300 entrant changes
- Reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Japan champion Iori Kimura joined Kondo Racing from Team Mach, as Kimura replaces last season's championship runner-up Kohei Hirate, who left Nissan.[10][30]
- Harry King left Seven x Seven Racing and the series to compete full-time in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with AO Racing.[31] Porsche driver and GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup champion Sven Müller returns to the series after 8 years away, as he replaces King.[28]
- Kazuhisa Urabe was promoted to a full-time seat at Inging Motorsport, replacing apr bound Hibiki Taira.[6]
- Former Inging driver Hibiki Taira will drive the No. 30 apr Toyota GR86 GT300, which will revert to Yokohama tires after a season with Michelin. Kazuto Kotaka returns to the GT300 class to the No. 31 apr Lexus LC500h after serving as Toyota's GT500 reserve driver, replacing Oliver Rasmussen. Manabu Orido remained with the No. 30 GR86 as its third driver, and FIA Formula 3 Championship alumni Charlie Wurz will make his GT300 debut as the third driver of the No. 31 LC500h for apr, replacing Yuki Nemoto.[6]
- 2025 Formula Regional Japanese Champion Kiyoshi Umegaki will make his GT300 debut with CarGuy MKS Racing, replacing newly-promoted GT500 driver Rikuto Kobayashi.[6] Former Porsche Carrera Cup Japan champion Reimei Ito joins the team as the third driver.[17]
- Team UpGarage will receive technical support from Real Racing, replacing Servus Japan. HFDP driver and F4 Japan graduate Kotaro Shimbara will make his series debut, replacing newly-promoted GT500 driver Yuto Nomura.[4][20]
- Rookie Racing expanded their presence into GT300 class by entering a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. 2007 GT300 champion Hiroaki Ishiura returns to the category after 18 seasons in GT500, and reigning FIA F4 Japanese Champion Tokiya Suzuki will make his series debut.[23] The team will use Bridgestone tires.[12]
- F4 Japan graduate Ryota Horachi will make his series debut with Hoppy Team Tsuchiya, replacing Kimiya Sato.[22]
- Former Formula 1 driver and Lamborghini factory driver Daniil Kvyat will make his Japanese racing debut with JLOC.[26]
- K-tunes Racing switched back to Bridgestone tires after competed with Dunlop for 5 years[27]
- 2025 Super Taikyu TCR champion Lee Jungwoo will make his series debut with Anest Iwata GAINER Racing, replacing newly-promoted GT500 driver Igor Fraga.[19]
Notes
- ^ Kvyat is a Russian driver competing under an Italian licence, as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
References
- ^ Klein, Jamie (5 August 2025). "Largely Unchanged 2026 Calendar Revealed". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
- ^ "Small modifications to the 2026 SUPER GT calendar｜SUPER GT オフィシャルサイト". SUPER GT オフィシャルサイト. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ Thukral, Rachit (19 October 2025). "Super GT's long-running tyre war to end after 2026". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "Honda 2026 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Nissan/NMC announces 2026 Super GT GT500 team lineups". Nismo. 9 December 2025. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2026 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 19 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (30 September 2025). "Honda Reveals Prelude GT500 Car for 2026". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ Thukral, Rachit (30 September 2025). "Honda reveals new Prelude GT500 challenger for 2026 Super GT season". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ "Tsugio Matsuda to retire from SUPER GT after 2025 season". NISMO. Nissan. 23 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Nissan and NMC announces motorsports programs for 2026". Nismo. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ O'Connell, RJ (25 July 2025). "Hiroaki Ishiura Announces SUPER GT GT500 Retirement". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ a b c "SUPER GT 2026 SERIES 体制発表". Rookie Racing. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (23 December 2025). "Honda Reveals GT500 Roster, ARTA Gains Works Status". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (21 August 2025). "Honda Veteran Izawa Calls Time on GT500 Career". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (13 December 2025). "Goodsmile Racing Switches Service Provider". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Klein, Jamie (4 December 2025). "Ferrari, Porsche GT300 Teams Set for Evo Upgrades". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (16 February 2026). "CarGuy MKS Confirms Umegaki Alongside O'Sullivan". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ "スーパーGTに参戦中のPACIFIC RACING TEAMが、チームスタッフ＆2026レースアンバサダーを募集". Auto Sport Web. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Klein, Jamie (15 February 2026). "Anest Iwata Reveals Nissan Z, Names Fraga Replacement". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (9 January 2026). "Team UpGarage Confirms Real Tie-Up, Signs Shimbara". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (25 December 2025). "Shade Racing Switches to RC F GT3 After Troubled Year". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ a b O'Connell, RJ (5 February 2026). "Hoppy Team Tsuchiya Announces 2026 GT300 Programme". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ^ a b O'Connell, RJ (11 January 2026). "ROOKIE Racing Announces GT300 Entry With Mercedes-AMG GT3". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ a b "2026 SUBARU Motorsport Activities". Subaru. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ O'Connell, RJ (5 February 2026). "LEON Racing Renews Champions Gamou, Suganami For 2026". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (9 February 2026). "Kvyat to Race for JLOC With Lamborghini Backing". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (14 February 2026). "K-tunes Racing to Field Corvette Z06 GT3.R in Japan Cup". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (16 February 2026). "Mueller to Make GT300 Return With Seven x Seven Racing". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ "Entry Announcement: Super GT 2026" (PDF). D'station Racing. 9 February 2026. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (3 November 2025). "Hirate Parts Ways With Nissan After Title Near-Miss". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ^ Dagys, John (November 26, 2025). "Tandy Moves to AO in All-New Full Season GTD Pro Lineup". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved November 26, 2025.