The GT Association (GTA) revealed the eight-race provisional calendar for the 2023 Autobacs SUPER GT Series on Monday.
There are no surprises when it comes to the six domestic venues selected, and there are no changes in the order in which they are visited. The season will begin in its customary home at Okayama International Circuit on 16 April, and it will end on 5 November at Mobility Resort Motegi.
Once again, Fuji Speedway and Suzuka Circuit receive two dates on the calendar. Fuji will host the annual Golden Week race on Thursday, 4 May, and its summer race on 6 August.
Likewise, Suzuka will host a late spring race on 4 June, and then its summer race on 27 August.
Between round five at Suzuka and round eight at Motegi, the season will wind down with a trip to Sportsland SUGO to the north on 10 September, and then to Autopolis International Racing Course in the west on 1 October.
As expected, the series will not have any overseas races. Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, SUPER GT made annual visits to Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, and planned to hold a night time race at Sepang Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia beginning in 2020.
What isn’t known is the distance of these eight races. In 2022, SUPER GT will hold three 450 kilometre “semi-endurance” races including one at Suzuka in the late August slot, which had been the traditional time of the Suzuka 1000km endurance race.
With the Intercontinental GT Challenge forgoing the Suzuka 10 Hours once again in 2023, there has been some hope that the Suzuka summer endurance race can be held once more as SUPER GT’s signature event, and that other endurance events can be held going forward.
“As long as it’s something the audience will find interesting, I want to do it,” GTA Chairman Masaaki Bandoh said in regards to the prospect of running longer races next season and going forward.
“But there is the issue of cost. We need to be able to meet the cost issues that have been raised by manufacturers and teams alike. If these issues can be resolved, I think it is a possibility.”
“We have been calling on tyre manufacturers to make tyres that prioritise durability rather than grip, and on manufacturers to focus on improving fuel efficiency rather than power output, so that we can run long distances in the same way as before – and to achieve carbon neutrality.”
“We have incorporated three 450 km races this season in order to develop tyres that can be run longer, and to improve the engine’s fuel economy for longer runs. After the 450km race at Suzuka, we’ll talk to the tyre manufacturers again.”
The 2023 calendar is pending approval from the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and FIA, and changes could be made to accommodate world championship events.
2023 Autobacs SUPER GT Series Calendar
- 16 April – Okayama International Circuit
- 4 May – Fuji Speedway
- 4 June – Suzuka Circuit
- 6 August – Fuji Speedway II
- 27 August – Suzuka Circuit II
- 10 September – Sportsland SUGO
- 1 October – Autopolis International Racing Course
- 5 November – Mobility Resort Motegi
