The series has not held a race outside of Japan since it last visited Buriram in Thailand in the summer of 2019, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic causing races both there and at Sepang in Malaysia to be scratched from the 2020 calendar.
However, over the last six months Japan has started dropping restrictions, reopening its borders to foreign tourists last October and more recently dropping advice for face masks to be worn. In addition, all border controls that were imposed during the pandemic are set to be scrapped in May.
SUPER GT itself has ditched COVID-era measures such as temperature checks on entry and regular health condition reporting, with fans now allowed back in the paddock and able to take part in regular activities such as autograph sessions that had been previously scrapped.
This has put the question of the championship racing abroad back on the agenda, with Bandoh revealing interest from multiple Asian tracks when addressing the issue in his pre-race press conference last weekend at Okayama.
However, he cautioned that the high costs of shipping cars and fuel outside of Japan, as well as the costs for the teams themselves, mean that talks are not progressing quickly.
“The requests have been coming in from each promoter, but the problem is logistics,” said Bandoh. “We need about 60 40-feet containers, but the costs have skyrocketed since the pandemic and the price shows no signs of coming down.
“In addition to that, each team has the issue of paying for travel and accommodation. In the past, these costs have been borne by the overseas promoters. But now they must consider the economic benefits and decide if they really want to hold the event in this situation.
“There are also other considerations like hosting fees and scheduling, but we’re not at the stage of discussing that yet.
“Shanghai says it wants to do it next year. They are also happy to have it as just an exhibition race. We’ve also been talking to Buriram, Malaysia [Sepang] and Indonesia, but first we have to solve the issue of logistics.”
Bandoh previously floated the idea of bringing back international races by way of a ‘winter series’ with races to be held in January and February before the main season proper begins in April.
Asked if he still saw a winter series as the most likely route for SUPER GT to race overseas, Bandoh replied: “I don’t know what others think, but I am still thinking that way.”
