A total of 40 cars, 15 in GT500 and 25 in GT300, are entered for the seventh round of the season, slated to begin at 1.30pm local time on Sunday (GMT +9).
For the first time ever, Autopolis will be hosting a 450km race, making SUPER GT's annual visit to the island of Kyushu a real step into the unknown. Teams will have to find the ideal timing to make two mandatory pitstops over the course of 97 laps at a track known for being tough on tyres.
After a tumultuous race last month at Sugo, NDDP Nissan pair Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi have a narrow two-point lead in the GT500 drivers' standings, but face the considerable disadvantage of being the only drivers in the top class carrying a fuel flow restrictor this weekend with success ballast halved.
That makes this weekend's race a golden opportunity for Chiyo and Takaboshi's nearest rivals, TOM'S Toyota drivers Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata, to make up ground. But with no fewer than nine crews sitting within 20 points of the leaders, it's anyone's guess as to who will head to next month's Motegi season finale in the best position.
Honda squad Real Racing (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Nobuharu Matsushita) won at Autopolis last year and will be eager to make up for the disqualification that cost them victory at Sugo last time out, while ARTA will be hoping to keep up its winning streak after its #8 car (Tomoki Nojiri/Toshiki Oyu) revitalised its title hopes by picking up the win at Sugo.
Particular attention will also be focused on the Team Kunimitsu Honda team as Iori Kimura makes his GT500 debut in place of Naoki Yamamoto, who is out for the remainder of the season following the injuries sustained in his nasty crash in the previous race at Sugo.
In the GT300 class, Toyota outfit Saitama Toyopet takes a 10-point lead into the penultimate round of the season after victory at Sugo, where Hiroki Yoshida and Kohta Kawaai were pipped to the finish by the Team UpGarage Honda after running out of fuel virtually in sight of the chequered flag, only to be awarded the win again when the UpGarage car failed post-race technical inspection.
Yoshida and Kawaai are joined aboard the #52 Toyota GR Supra GT300 this weekend by Toyota junior Seita Nonaka, who has been sidelined since the fire at Fuji in August that brought the Tsuchiya Engineering squad's season to a premature end.
Subaru's hopes of a late title fightback have been boosted by the removal of the extra 15kg of Balance of Performance weight that the works BRZ was handed for Sugo, but Hideki Yamauchi and Takuto Iguchi still face an uphill task to close the 19-point deficit to the championship leaders.
SUPER GT time schedule for Autopolis Round 7
Times are Local/UK time (GMT+1)/EDT/PDT
Saturday October 14
Free practice (1h45 minutes) – 9.25am/1.25am/8.25pm (Friday)/5.25pm (Friday)
Qualifying – 3pm/7am/2am/11pm (Friday)
Sunday October 15
Warm-up – 12pm/4am/11pm (Saturday)/8pm (Saturday)
Race (97 laps) – 1.30pm/5.30am/12.30am/9.30pm (Saturday)
Don't see your timezone listed? Check out our SUPER GT schedule page to see the session times in your local timezone
How can I watch SUPER GT at Autopolis?
Motorsport.tv will once again be offering full coverage of both qualifying and the race for every round of the 2023 SUPER GT season (subscription required, available worldwide except Japan).
Commentary will be provided by Jake Sanson and Motorsport.com’s own expert Japanese racing analyst Jamie Klein.
Click here for further information, and to get your subscription now
SUPER GT entry list for Autopolis Round 7
GT500 class:
|
Manufacturer |
Team |
Tyre |
No. |
Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nissan Z GT500
|
Team Impul |
Bridgestone |
1 |
|
|
NDDP Racing |
Michelin |
3 |
|
|
|
NISMO |
Michelin |
23 |
|
|
|
Kondo Racing |
Yokohama |
24 |
|
|
|
Toyota GR Supra
|
Rookie Racing |
Bridgestone |
14 |
|
|
Racing Project Bandoh |
Yokohama |
19 |
|
|
|
TOM’S
|
Bridgestone
|
36
|
|
|
|
37 |
|
|||
|
Cerumo |
Bridgestone |
38 |
|
|
|
SARD |
Bridgestone |
39 |
|
|
|
Honda NSX-GT (Type S)
|
ARTA
|
Bridgestone
|
8 |
|
|
16 |
|
|||
|
Real Racing |
Bridgestone |
17 |
|
|
|
Nakajima Racing |
Dunlop |
64 |
|
|
|
Team Kunimitsu |
Bridgestone |
100 |
|
Bertrand Baguette
Kazuki Hiramine
Ronnie Quintarelli
Giuliano AlesiGT300 class:
| No. | Team | Car | Tyre | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Muta Racing Inging | Toyota GR86 GT | Bridgestone |
|
| 4 | Goodsmile Racing & Team Ukyo | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 5 | Team Mach | Toyota 86 MC | Yokohama |
|
| 6 | Team LeMans | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 7 | BMW Team Studie | BMW M4 GT3 | Michelin |
|
| 9 |
Pacific Racing
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 10 | Gainer | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Dunlop |
|
| 11 | Gainer | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Dunlop |
|
| 18 | Team UpGarage | Honda NSX GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 20 | Shade Racing | Toyota GR86 GT | Dunlop |
|
| 22 | R'Qs Motor Sports | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 27 | Yogibo Racing | Honda NSX GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 30 | apr | Toyota GR86 GT | Yokohama |
|
| 31 | apr | Lexus LC500h GT | Bridgestone |
|
| 48 | NILZZ Racing | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 50 | Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage | Lexus RC F GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 52 | Saitama Toyopet Green Brave | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Bridgestone |
|
| 56 | Kondo Racing | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 60 | LM Corsa | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Dunlop |
|
| 61 | R&D Sport | Subaru BRZ | Dunlop |
|
| 65 | K2 R&D LEON Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Bridgestone |
|
| 87 | JLOC | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 88 | JLOC | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 96 | K-tunes Racing | Lexus RC F GT3 | Dunlop |
|
| 360 | Tomei Sports | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
Roberto Merhi
Bruno Spengler
Liang Jiatong
Igor Fraga
