Honda has confirmed that they will again field five GT500 teams in the 2016 Super GT Championship.
The Honda weapon of choice will again be the NSX Concept-GT but for 2016 the car will feature a new direct-injected and turbocharged inline mid-mounted 4-cylinder engine without a hybrid system. Honda will not contest the GT300 class this season.
The same five teams from last year will continue their participation in the GT500 class, but there is a switching of drivers between two teams.
The #15 DRAGO Modulo Honda Racing begins its second season in the Championship with Team Manager Ryo Michigami at the helm.
Hideki Mutoh is a new signing for 2016 and will be paired with Oliver Turvey.
The #17 KEIHIN REAL RACING replaces the outgoing Mutoh with Takashi Kogure who is teamed with Koudai Tsukakoshi, “Bullet Boys” can very likely take SUPER GT by storm.
The #8 AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI（ARTA）team return with Kosuke Matsuura and Tomoki Nojiri for a second straight year.
The #64 Epson Nakajima Racing team will also have the same driver combination, Daisuke Nakajima and Bertrand Baguette, this time for a third year. And Naoki Yamamoto and Takuya Izawa return for a second season aboard the #100 TEAM KUNIMITSU NSX.
GT Project Leader Masahiko Matsumoto commented: “We only scored one win at SUGO last year, but I want to make this year an aggressive year. It will be the third year for NSX CONCEPT-GT and it’s a crucial year for the car. I will make sure that the development team at Honda will work closely together on the development so we can also be together with the teams and drivers to capture the title.”
When asked why the 2016 Honda was not equipped with a hybrid system, Matsumoto replied that battery supply had become problematic either from an external supplier or an in-house system.
“It was certainly heavier to have a hybrid system, but to not have it on the car will be a plus (the car will be lighter) as well as a minus (less power). As far as this year’s car is concerned, the importance will be how we can utilize the fact that we have a lighter car.”
