SUPER GT Returns With Fuji 300KM

The Autobacs SUPER GT Series’ very long three-month summer break will finally wrap up this weekend when the teams and drivers return to historic Fuji Speedway on 1–2 August.

Within this three-month period, SUPER GT was meant to race at Petronas Sepang International Circuit in June. But as we know, international conflict in West Asia led to a chain of events that resulted in the trip to Malaysia being cancelled, Ironically, as SUPER GT returns from the 90-day layoff caused by Sepang’s cancellation, Sepang has just recently been called on to fill a gap in Formula 1’s calendar, which had been brought on by the same turmoil in West Asia. It can’t be helped, as the locals would say.

Fuji’s annual mid-summer race experimented with a two-day, three-race sprint format last year, but in 2026 this event reverts to a more traditional 300-kilometre multi-class race. It’s the third race of the year, and the first leg in SUPER GT’s annual “mid-summer triple” which will be followed by Suzuka on 23 August and Sportsland Sugo on 20 September.

The Fuji GT 300km Race won’t be as long as the 3 Hour Race in May during the Golden Week holiday, but the blistering summer heat and the number of high-ranking teams carrying significant Success Weight add their own challenges. Teams who’ve been down and out in the first two races, therefore, must maximise these upcoming races – especially in a shortened season.

Over in GT500, the #36 au TOM’S Toyota GR Supra of Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita faces a steep mountain to maintain its championship lead. Their back-to-back victories have saddled the #36 Toyota with “80 kg” of Success Weight: It consists of 50 kg of ballast, a drop in horsepower by way of the engine fuel flow rate being limited to 88 kilogrammes per hour (from the standard 90.2 kg/h), and the first GT500 Success Refuelling Restrictor that will add around ten seconds to their pit stop time. No combination of team and drivers has won both Fuji SUPER GT rounds in the same season since 2005, and that seems unlikely to change this weekend.

That doesn’t mean TOM’S is out of the running for a victory for the third straight race. The first two races could not have gone much worse for Ukyo Sasahara and Giuliano Alesi in the #37 Deloitte TOM’S GR Supra, with mechanical problems in both Okayama and the Fuji 3H preventing them from scoring points. The only benefit is that no points means no Success Weight to carry, and if the #37 car avoids trouble, it will be a strong contender for the victory.

Another car to watch for without any Success Weight is the #8 ARTA Mugen Honda HRC Prelude-GT. Kakunoshin Ohta is dominating the Super Formula Championship this year, coming off of two wins in a triple-header at Fuji two weeks ago – and also scored his first IMSA podium at Watkins Glen. But Ohta and GT500 co-driver Hiroki Otsu have yet to crack the top ten this year in the new Prelude-GT, and the car itself has not yet scored its first podium.

Honda and Nissan are aware that this is the moment to strike: None of the five Hondas are carrying more than the +22kg aboard the #16 ARTA Mugen Prelude-GT (Tomoki Nojiri/Ren Sato), and while Nissan has put a car on the podium in each of the first two races, the leading #12 TRS Impul Z (Kazuki Hiramine/Bertrand Baguette) is only carrying +30kg.

Over in the GT300 side of the paddock, the story of the summer break was a permanent change at PONOS Racing.

In June, it was confirmed that PONOS Racing and driver Kei Cozzolino have mutually parted ways after a frustrating start to the 2026 season. Cozzolino’s departure was a surprise, given that the Italian-Japanese driver was instrumental in the team’s formation two years ago.

In his place, PONOS Racing has brought in Shintaro Kawabata to finish out the season in the #45 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. 33-year-old Kawabata has two GT300 class wins during his career, and most recently, won the SRO Japan Cup GT3 championship behind the wheel of a 296 GT3. This move reunites Kawabata with former Hitotsuyama Racing co-driver Takuro Shinohara, a race-winning combination in 2021.

Also within the Ferrari stable, Velorex has finally taken delivery of its new Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

One car that hasn’t turned up for Fuji is the Toyota GR GT3, as the racing world waits to see if it will race before it goes on sale next year. But there is still a change at Team ENEOS ROOKIE – Toyota young driver Tokiya Suzuki successfully regained his civilian driver license and will return to the cockpit of the #32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. Meanwhile his TGR-DC stablemate, Kiyoshi Umegaki, is back for his second start in the #7 CarGuy MKS Ferrari.

Further down the 29-car grid, 63-year-old elder statesman Hisashi Wada is back in his #22 R’Qs Mercedes-AMG, Bronze driver Hiroaki Nagai returns to the #30 apr Toyota GR86, and 21-year-old prospect Hironobu Shimizu has returned to Tomei Sports to drive the #360 RunUp x SOL Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

The top five cars in the standings (#777 D’station Vantage, #31 apr LC500h, #65 LEON Pyramid AMG, #2 Hyper Water GR86, and #56 Realize GT-R) will all carry Success Refuelling Restrictors: The #777 (Tomonobu Fujii/Charlie Fagg) are expected to have an additional ten seconds of pit stop time, while the other four cars will have around five seconds added on.

João Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura in the #56 Realize/Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R NISMO GT3 will be looking for the season sweep at Fuji regardless.

Sunday’s 66-lap feature race goes green at 13:30 JST.

Images © GTA