Three races remain in the 2022 Autobacs SUPER GT Series, which heads north to the undulating, challenging and always lively Sportsland SUGO in Miyagi Prefecture from September 17-18.
The GT Association (GTA) has released the provisional entry list for the upcoming Sugo GT 300km race, which features a total of 42 cars. And, with the series returning to the standard 300km race format, the entry list for all teams appears to be a bit more “standard” when it comes to driver selections.
The only notable changes in GT300 are in Pacific CarGuy Racing, where gentleman Takeshi Kimura returns aboard the #9 Pacific Hololive NAC Ferrari 488 GT3 along with his professional co-driver Kei Cozzolino. Kimura will get the chance to atone for his legendary moment at the end of GT World Challenge Asia Race 2 at this venue just a few weeks ago. Tomei Sports will field its strongest driver pairing for the Nissan GT-R GT3 #360 RunUp Rivaux, bringing back Yusaku Shibata as partner Takayuki Aoki. Aoki and Shibata combined for a pair of top ten finishes in the 450km rounds at Fuji Speedway.
Additionally, Hiroaki Nagai has been cleared to return to action aboard the #30 Apr Toyota GR86 GT, following his last-minute retirement from the Suzuka 450km last week.
As the sixth round of the season, Sugo will also be the round where the GT500 and GT300 teams have the most Success Ballast on board. GT500 championship leaders, the #12 Calsonic Impul Nissan Z (Kazuki Hiramine/Bertrand Baguette), already have up to 89 kilograms of Success Ballast. This will be applied as 39kg of physical ballast and the ‘Stage 3’ fuel flow restrictor which reduces the fuel consumption rate from the standard 95kg/hr to just 88kg/hr.
Hiramine and Baguette lead the GT500 Championship by 10.5 points and are chasing Team Impul’s first top-flight title in SUPER GT since 1995. The team broke a five-year winless drought at this venue last year, but it will be tough for them to repeat as Sportsland SUGO winners this time.
The three teams behind Impul in the standings will have the “Stage 2” (90.2 kg/h) fuel flow restrictor applied, plus an additional 34 kg of ballast: the #3 CraftSports Motul Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/Mitsunori Takaboshi), the #17 Astemo Honda NSX-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi/Bertrand Baguette), and Keeper TOM’s #37 Toyota GR Supra (Sacha Fenestraz/Ritomo Miyata).
Two more teams have the “Stage 1” fuel flow restrictor (92.6kg/hr) at this stage, with the #14 Eneos X Prime GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima/Kenta Yamashita) having 43kg of ballast and the Denso Kobelco SARD #39 GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi/Yuichi Nakayama) at 37 kg. All other equipment will burn fuel at the standard rate.
The equation is simpler in GT300: this is the second consecutive race in which championship leader #56 Realize/Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R (Kiyoto Fujinami/João Paulo de Oliveira) has carried the maximum 100kg Success Weight. They currently have a seven-point lead over the #10 TanaX Gainer GT-R (Ryuichiro Tomita/Riki Okusa), who weighs +93kg this weekend.
Despite carrying +89kg, the #61 Subaru BRZ R&D Sport (Takuto Iguchi/Hideki Yamauchi) still has a chance of a good result. The second-generation BRZ took its first victory here last season, with Yamauchi taking pole position in each of the last three years that SUPER GT has visited the 3.586km circuit.
SUGO has always had a reputation for unexpected drama and exciting sports car racing, and whether or not one believes in the “Legend of Mamono”, in reference to the demon that supposedly haunts the circuit, this upcoming race should be any less ordinary thing.
| Class | Nope. | Vehicle/Registered Name | drivers | Incoming | tires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT500 | 3 | Nissan ZGT500 Motul Z Crafts |
katsumasa chiyo mitsunori takaboshi |
NDDP careers | michelin |
| GT500 | 8 | Honda NSXGT ARTA NSX-GT |
tomoki nojiri nireifukuzumi |
ARTA | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | 12 | Nissan ZGT500 Calsonic boost Z |
Kazuki Hiramine Bertrand Baguette |
team boost | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | 14 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 Eneos X Prime GR Supra |
kazuya oshima Kenta Yamashita |
TGR Team Eneos ROOKIE | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | sixteen | Honda NSXGT Red Bull Motul Mugen NSX-GT |
Ukyou Sasahara Toshiki Oyu |
Red Bull Mugen Team | dunlop |
| GT500 | 17 | Honda NSXGT Astemo NSX-GT |
Koudai Tsukakoshi Nobuharu Matsushita |
Astemo Real Racing | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | 19 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 WedsSport Advan GR Supra |
Yuji Kunimoto sena sakaguchi |
Team TGR WedsSport Bandoh | Yokohama |
| GT500 | 23 | Nissan ZGT500 Motul Autech Z |
Tsugio Matsuda Ronnie Quintarelli |
nismo | michelin |
| GT500 | 24 | Nissan ZGT500 Realize Advan GT-R Corporation |
Daiki Sasaki Kohei Hirate |
kondo racing | Yokohama |
| GT500 | 36 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 au TOM’s GR Supra |
shō tsuboi Giuliano Alesi |
TGR team with TOM’s | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | 37 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 Keeper TOM’s GR Supra |
Sasha Fenestraz ritomo miyata |
TGR TOM’s Team Keeper | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | 38 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 ZENT Cerumo GR Supra |
Yuji Tachikawa Hiroaki Ishiura |
Team TGR ZENT Cerumo | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | 39 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 Denso Kobelco SARD GR Supra |
Yuhi Sekiguchi Yuichi Nakayama |
TGR SARD Team | Bridgestone |
| GT500 | 64 | Honda NSXGT NSX-GT module |
Takuya Izawa Hiroki Otsu |
Nakajima Racing Module | dunlop |
| GT500 | 100 | Honda NSXGT Stanley NSXGT |
Naoki Yamamoto Tadasuke Makino |
Kunimitsu Team | Bridgestone |
| GT300 | two | Toyota GR86 GT300 muta Racing GR86 GT |
Hiroki Katoh Yui Tsutsumi |
muta Racing INGING | Bridgestone |
| GT300 | 4 | Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo Goodsmile Hatsune Miku AMG |
Nobuteru Taniguchi Tatsuya Kataoka |
Goodsmile Racing & TeamUKYO | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 5 | MC86 dome Mach Syaken Air Buster MC86 Mach Go |
yusuke tomibayashi Reiji Hiraki |
team male | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 6 | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II Team LeMans Audi R8 LMS |
Yoshiaki Katayama Roberto Merhi Muntan |
le mans team | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 7 | BMW M4GT3 Study BMW M4 |
seiji ara August Farfus |
BMW x CSL Team Study | michelin |
| GT300 | 9 | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo Pacific Hololive NAC Ferrari |
Takeshi Kimura Kei Cozzolino |
Pacific CarGuy Racing | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 10 | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 TanaX Gainer GT-R |
Ryuichiro Tomita Riki Okusa |
Winner | dunlop |
| GT300 | eleven | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 TanaX GT-R Winner |
Hironobu Yasuda Keishi Ishikawa |
Winner | dunlop |
| GT300 | 18 | Honda NSX GT3 Evo NSX GT3 Garage |
Takashi Kobayashi Kakunoshin-ota |
UP Garage Team | Yokohama |
| GT300 | twenty | Toyota GR86 GT300 SHADOW Racing GR86 GT |
katsuyuki hiranaka eijiro shimizu |
shadow racing | dunlop |
| GT300 | 22 | Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo R’Qs AMG GT3 |
Hisashi wada masaki jionai |
Motorsports R’Qs | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 25 | Toyota GR Supra GT300 Hoppy Schatz GR Supra |
Takamitsu Matsui Seita Nonaka |
Tsuchiya Hops Team | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 30 | Toyota GR86 GT300 Apr GR86 GT |
Hiroaki Nagai Manabu Orido |
apr | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 31 | Toyota GR Sport Prius PHV GT Apr GR Sport Prius GT |
koki saga yuhki nakayama |
apr | Bridgestone |
| GT300 | 48 | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Shokumou/K Frontier GT-R |
Taiyo Ida yuki tanaka |
NILZZ Racing | Yokohama |
| GT300 | fifty | MC86 dome Arnage MC86 |
Masaki Kano Ryohei Sakaguchi |
Arnage Racing | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 52 | Toyota GR Supra GT300 Saitama Toyopet GB GR Supra GT |
Hiroki Yoshida kohta kawaii |
Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave | Bridgestone |
| GT300 | 55 | Honda NSX GT3 Evo ARTA NSX GT3 |
Hideki Mutoh Iori Kimura |
ARTA | Bridgestone |
| GT300 | 56 | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Perform Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R |
Kiyoto Fujinami John Paul de Oliveira |
kondo racing | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 60 | Toyota GR Supra GT300 Syntium LM corsa GR Supra GT |
Hiroki Yoshimoto Shunsuke Kohno |
Corsa LM | dunlop |
| GT300 | 61 | Subaru BRZ GT300 Subaru BRZ R&D Sport |
Takuto Iguchi Hideki Yamauchi |
R&D Sport | dunlop |
| GT300 | Sixty-five | Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo LEON Pyramid AMG |
Naoya Gamu Takuro Shinohara |
K2 I+D LEON Racing | Bridgestone |
| GT300 | 87 | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo I Bamboo Airways Lamborghini GT3 |
kosuke matsuura natsu sakaguchi |
JLOC | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 88 | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo I Weibo Primez Lamborghini GT3 |
takashi kogure yuya motojima |
JLOC | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 96 | Lexus RCF GT3 K-tunes RC F GT3 |
nitta morio Shinichi Takagi |
K Tune Racing | dunlop |
| GT300 | 244 | Toyota GR Supra GT300 Hachi-Ichi GR Supra GT |
kimiya sato Atsushi Miyake |
max runs | Yokohama |
| GT300 | 360 | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Racing Rivaux GT-R |
Takayuki Aoki yusaku shibata |
tomei sports | Yokohama |
Ticket list updated as of September 5, 2022
Images © GTA