From the author: Consider this part three of the Suzuka 1000km retrospective, a brief overview of the cars that won the GT300 class from 2006 to 2017, back when the race was part of the SUPER GT Series.
This portion is included as during this era, SUPER GT had stopped using overall classifications in its events and instead promoted the GT500 and GT300 classes as equals. A GT300 class had existed at the Suzuka 1000km since 1999, but winning the category held less weight than it did once the SUPER GT era began.
The factory Subarus from R&D Sport excelled in this event, winning four times – twice with the Legacy B4, twice again with the first-generation BRZ. Individually, four drivers won the GT300 class three times during this era: Tetsuya Yamano and Kōta Sasaki of R&D Sport, as well as Kazuki Hoshino and Hiroki Yoshimoto.
The GT300 races of this era, particularly in the 2010s, served as a prototype of what was to come when the SRO took over the Suzuka Summer Endurance Race in 2018… –RJ
2006: #52 Toyota Team Cerumo Celica – Hironori Takeuchi / Kōki Saga / Keita Sawa
2007: #2 Cars Tokai Dream28 Mooncraft Shiden RT-16 – Kazuho Takahashi / Hiroki Katō / Hiroki Yoshimoto
2008: #46 MOLA Nissan Fairlady Z33 – Kazuki Hoshino / Hironobu Yasuda
2009: #46 Team Nishizawa MOLA Nissan Fairlady Z33 – Kazuki Hoshino / Masataka Yanagida
2010: #62 R&D Sport Subaru Legacy B4 – Tetsuya Yamano / Kōta Sasaki
2011: #62 R&D Sport Subaru Legacy B4 – Tetsuya Yamano / Kōta Sasaki
2012: #66 A Speed Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 – Hiroki Yoshimoto / Kazuki Hoshino / Hiroki Yoshida※
2013: #61 R&D Sport Subaru BRZ – Tetsuya Yamano / Kōta Sasaki / Takuto Iguchi
2014: #60 LM corsa BMW Z4 GT3 – Akira Iida / Hiroki Yoshimoto / Shinya Satō※
2015: #10 Gainer Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 – André Couto / Katsumasa Chiyo / Ryuichirō Tomita
2016: #61 R&D Sport Subaru BRZ – Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi
2017: #65 K2 R&D LEON Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Haruki Kurosawa / Naoya Gamō
※Denotes a driver who was entered, but did not drive during the race.
