The Latest Breaking News from Kondo

Bandoh pair Yuji Kunimoto and Sena Sakaguchi finished second on the road when Sunday's race was abandoned after a horrifying crash involving Nissan driver Tsugio Matsuda on lap 59 of 77, but were promoted to what many felt was a rightful win after a penalty for the NDDP Racing Nissan.

The #3 Nissan Z of Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi was ahead on the road at the time of Matsuda's huge crash on lap 59 of 77 by virtue of not yet having completed its second refuelling stop.

The new chairman of championship promoter JRP, whose eponymous Kondo Racing team is active in both Super Formula and SUPER GT, has previously expressed his desire to broaden the category's international appeal.

The occupants of the #36 Toyota GR Supra came through from sixth on the grid to beat the pole-sitting Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX-GT of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino by 28 seconds in the 450km race, which ran completely caution-free.

The occupants of the #36 au-liveried Toyota GR Supra came through from sixth on the grid to beat the pole-sitting Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX-GT of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino by 28 seconds in the 100-lap, 450km race, which ran completely caution-free.

Free of any success ballast following a disastrous result in the season opener, Makino lapped the Toyota-owned circuit in 1m26.420s in the #100 Honda NSX-GT Type S to take Team Kunimitsu team’s first pole position since last year’s finale at Motegi.

Fujinami was part of the Kondo Racing squad that won the title in SUPER GT’s lower class in both 2020 and 2022 alongside Joao Paulo de Oliveira.

Kondo Racing driver de Oliveira has been at the forefront of the GT300 class since he joined the team in 2020, winning that year’s title alongside Kiyoto Fujinami, finishing runner-up the following season and then prevailing in a nail-biting climax to the 2022 campaign.

Fujinami's future was plunged into doubt in late January when his name was absent from Nissan's announcement of its GT500 driver line-up for the coming season, which came just days after the two-time GT300 champion was seen testing for Kondo Racing at Suzuka. 

Kiyoto Fujinami has publicly apologised for the violent incident that appears to have cost him his place on the Nissan Super GT roster for the 2023 season.

Kiyoto Fujinami has publicly apologised for the violent incident that appears to have cost him his place on the Nissan SUPER GT roster for the 2023 season.