A total of 40 cars, 15 in GT500 and 25 in GT300, are entered for Sunday's 77-lap race, slated to begin slightly later than usual at 2.45pm local time (GMT +9).
With four races down, it's Nissan and NDDP Racing pair Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi that lead the standings after a wet-weather masterclass last time out at Fuji. But TOM'S Toyota pair Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata are just five points back.
However, both squads will be carrying the maximum stage three fuel flow restrictor, meaning that, barring more inclement weather, it's unlikely either team will be in the fight for victory this weekend.
Instead, all eyes will be on Honda as it aims to take a belated first victory of the season, and end a losing streak at its home circuit dating back to 2018. There's extra significance as this weekend mark's the final visit to Suzuka for the current NSX-GT, before it is replaced by the new Civic Type R-GT next year.
Both ARTA Hondas arrive at Suzuka still relatively light on success ballast, carrying an extra 32kg (#16, Nirei Fukuzumi/Hiroki Otsu) and 22kg (#8, Tomoki Nojiri/Toshiki Oyu) respectively, but Real Racing (Nobuharu Matsushita/Koudai Tsukakoshi) always goes well at its home track and can't be discounted despite a 42kg handicap.
Also not to be forgotten is the Nakajima Racing Honda (Takuya Izawa/Kakunoshin Ota, 32kg), whose Dunlop tyres always suit the high-speed Suzuka layout as well as the expected hot conditions.
Nissan's hopes of keeping its unbroken streak of Suzuka wins dating back to 2020 alive are likely to rest on Kondo Racing pair Daiki Sasaki and Kohei Hirate (10kg), who scored pole on SUPER GT's first visit to the track of the year only to be sent to the back of the grid for a technical infraction.
In the GT300 class, the top two cars in the championship will be carrying the maximum 100kg of success ballast - the Team Studie BMW M4 GT3, in which Bruno Spengler makes his return to the series alongside Seiji Ara, and the Kondo Racing Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 of Joao Paulo de Oliveira and Teppei Natori.
The favourite for victory has to be the Goodsmile Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which looked good for the win at Fuji until an uncharacteristic error by Nobuteru Taniguchi handed the initiative to the #11 Gainer Nissan. Taniguchi and Tetsuya Kataoka will carry just 9kg of success ballast.
Others that will be aiming to take advantage of their light handicaps are the works Subaru squad (33kg), the JLOC outfit with its new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 (24kg), and the apr Toyota GR86 GT (18kg).
SUPER GT time schedule for Suzuka Round 5
Times are Local/UK time (GMT+1)/EDT/PDT
Saturday August 26
Free practice (1h45 minutes) – 9.15am/1.15am/8.15pm (Friday)/5.15pm (Friday)
Qualifying – 3.10pm/7.10am/2.10am/11.10pm (Friday)
Sunday August 27
Warm-up – 13.15pm/5.15am/12.15am/9.15pm (Saturday)
Race (77 laps) – 2.45pm/6.45am/1.45am/10.45pm (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 Suzuka?
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 Scott Woodwiss 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 Suzuka Round 5
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 |
|
| 25 |
Hoppy Team Tsuchiya |
Toyota GR Supra GT300 | 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 |
|
| 244 |
Max Racing |
Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Yokohama |
|
| 360 | Tomei Sports | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
Roberto Merhi
Bruno Spengler
Liang Jiatong
Igor Fraga
