Fuji GT 450km Entry List Features Several New & Returning Faces

The Autobacs SUPER GT Series returns to Fuji Speedway in two weeks’ time for the Fujimaki Group Fuji 450km GT Race, held during the Golden Week public holiday period on its traditional date of 4 May.

This year’s edition is the 28th running of the Fuji Golden Week Race as part of the SUPER GT Series. With only the exceptions of 2004 when Fuji Speedway underwent extensive renovations, and 2020 due to the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Golden Week race has been part of the calendar every year since the first time it was held as part of the inaugural 1994 All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship.

The entry list for this year’s Fuji GT 450km Race was published Wednesday. It’s the second year of this 100-lap, 450km format, requiring two compulsory pit stops for refuelling and at least one driver change.

In GT300, there are ten teams entering three drivers for the upcoming race. Five of these additional drivers intend to make their first SUPER GT starts in this event.

They include the reigning Formula Regional Japanese Champion Miki Koyama, who will attempt to become the first woman since 2012 to race in the GT300 class as she joins Igor Fraga and Yuga Furutani at Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage. Koyama will be able to race after the completion of her SUPER GT Rookie Test.

Seven years since he first attempted to race in SUPER GT, three-time and reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Japan Champion, Ryo Ogawa, will finally make his first start aboard the #30 apr Toyota GR86. Ryo’s father, Hitoshi, won the 500km, 500 mile, and 1000km endurance races at Fuji during his legendary career. The #30 apr crew will also welcome back gentleman racer Hiroaki Nagai, who missed the first race of the season, joining Ogawa and regular co-driver Manabu Orido.

And in the #31 apr Lexus LC500h, Yuki Nemoto makes his SUPER GT race debut alongside Koki Saga and Kazuto Kotaka. Nemoto arrives with a Fuji Super TEC 24 Hour race win already on his CV, in addition to his international experience as a Lamborghini Squadra Corse Young Driver.

Meanwhile, two drivers with experience in the Super Taikyu Series’ GT4 class will step up to GT3 racing: 22-year-old Seiya Jin for Team LeMans, and 26-year-old Takumi Sanada for NILZZ Racing.

Experienced GT300 runners are also reporting for third driver duties including two-time GT300 championship runner-up Hiroki Katoh (muta Racing INGING), podium finishers Shinnosuke Yamada (SHADE Racing), Masaki Kano (R’Qs Motor Sports), and Takuya Otaki (Tomei Sports), and Yusuke Shiotsu – who was part of the Gainer crew that won the GT300 class last year but hopes to make a more meaningful impact in this year’s race aboard the #11 Gainer TanaX Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

With Bruno Spengler honouring his commitments to BMW in the Italian GT Championship, two-time GT500 and GT300 champion Masataka Yanagida will make his first start of the year with BMW Team Studie x CRS. Also, NILZZ Racing have brought back Masaya Kohno, who ran a part-time schedule with the team last season, to drive alongside Taiyo Ida and the aforementioned Sanada.

Success Ballast is now a factor for the leading teams in the championship standings. The top GT500 teams have earned two kilogrammes per championship point, so the championship-leading #23 Motul Autech Nissan Z (Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli) will run with 42kg of Success Weight on board. In GT300, the payout is three kg per point, which means the #18 UPGarage Honda NSX GT3 (Takashi Kobayashi/Syun Koide) will have +60kg of Success Weight to work with.

GT500 Class

GT300 Class

Feature image © Fuji Motorsports Forest