43 Entries For Super Taikyu Autopolis 5H Race

Sincerest apologies for missing the previous round at Sportsland Sugo due to IMSA commitments!

But the ENEOS Super Taikyu Series is back this weekend for its fifth round of the 2026 season, at Autopolis International Racing Course. 43 cars across nine classes will race for five hours at the very simply named, Super Taikyu Race in Autopolis.

The field is headlined by a six-car ST-X (GT3) class. Last time out at the doubleheader Sugo Super Taikyu 4 Hours Race, the #31 apr Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Ryuta Ukai, Ryo Ogawa, and Koki Saga picked up the win in Sunday’s feature race ahead of the #777 D’station Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, but third place was still enough for the #23 TKRI Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO to hold onto its championship lead.

ST-X regains two noteworthy competitors. The #33 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG is back for the first time since the Fuji 24 Hour Race, and just a week removed from a dominant weekend performance at Fuji Speedway in Super Formula, Kakunoshin Ohta is back with the team. He and Jeffrey Lee are also joined by legendary Brazilian driver João Paulo de Oliveira, making a cameo appearance. The other returning entry from Fuji is GTNET MotorSports’ and Team Daishin’s #81 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

Just 11.5 points separate the #23 Mercedes-AMG (104.5) from the #33 (93.0), and the #31 Lexus (83.0) is still in the fight after its win at Sugo.

Toyota customer teams swept the ST-Z (GT4) podium at Sugo, led by the #52 Saitama Green Brave GR Supra GT4 EVO2, which picked up its first win of the year at a critical time. That keeps the #52 Toyota within just eight and a half points (77.0) behind the championship-leading #25 Team ZeroOne Nissan Z NISMO GT4 (85.5) in the title race. Also of note was Wing Hin Motorsports, a Malaysian team venturing into Japanese competition, scoring its first podium with a well-earned runner-up finish.

One notable absence from the ST-Z grid this time out is Kokusai Group Sports Team’s #22 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport.

ST-TCR headlined the Saturday “Group 2” race at Sugo where the #19 Birth Racing Project Cupra TCR won overall. It will once again compete against the two Honda Civic FL5 TCRs from M&K Racing and Hitonowa The Team Standard, and the #430 Audi Team Show Apex RS3. Speaking of Birth Racing Project, its Ford Mustang Dark Horse R is looking for a better showing as the lone ST-USA class entrant.

In ST-Q, Toyota Gazoo ROOKIE Racing brings just one car, its #32 entry, but in the form of a Toyota GR Yaris DAT Concept instead of the famous GR Corolla H2 Concept. Also returning to the track is Team HRC’s Honda Civic Type R Concept, which uses not only domestically-produced low-carbon gasoline but also renewable powertrain lubricants.

This round, ST-2 and ST-4 have the weekend off before returning for the penultimate round at Okayama. Endless Sports’ ST-2 Toyota GR Yaris and ST-4 Toyota GR86 not only won their races at Sugo, but also took their respective classes’ championship leads.

That leaves ST-1, ST-3, and both variants of ST-5 to fill out the grid. The #2 K’s Frontier KTM Cars X-Bow GTX finally won its first race of 2026 in ST-1, but the #47 D’station Porsche 992 Cup that has been so dominant elsewhere could wrap up the championship this weekend. Meanwhile in ST-3, the #39 Tracy Sports with RCIT Lexus RC 350 hasn’t lost this year, as Hitotsuyama Racing’s BMW M2 Racing appears overmatched.

Murakami Motors is on the brink of clinching the ST-5R title after the #88 Mazda Roadster took its third win of the year at Sugo. But it’s a bit closer in ST-5F: The top three teams, all racing with third-generation Honda Fits, are separated by just five points in the standings – Team Bride, Sakae Motorsports and its famous yellow “Kōdan-chan” machine, and AndLegal Racing’s #821 car, leading the standings while the #822 machine got its moment of glory with a win at Sugo.

Sunday’s race will air live with Japanese commentary on the official Super Taikyu TV YouTube channel.

Images © STMO