2023 Super GT Series

The 2023 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars, sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ran by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirty-first season of the JAF Super GT Championship, which included the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the nineteenth season under the Super GT name. It was also the forty-first overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.

Team Impul and drivers Kazuki Hiramine and Bertrand Baguette entered the season as the defending GT500 champions, while Kondo Racing and driver João Paulo de Oliveira entered the season as the defending GT300 champions. This was the final season for three-time GT500 champion, Yuji Tachikawa, who announced his retirement at the end of the season.

TGR Team au TOM'S won the championship in the GT500 class after having won the previous title in the 2021 season, with Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata won the Drivers' Championship. In the GT300 class, Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave, Hiroki Yoshida and Kohta Kawaai won the Teams' and Drivers' Championship. Both class championships were won by Toyota teams driving the respective GT500 and GT300 versions of the Toyota GR Supra.

Calendar

A confirmed eight round provisional 2023 calendar was announced on 8 August 2022. On 28 December 2022, the dates of Sugo and Autopolis rounds were changed. On 20 February 2023, distances and formats for all rounds were confirmed. Both races at Fuji Speedway and Suzuka Circuit, plus the penultimate round at Autopolis, would be 450 kilometre races requiring at least two green flag pit stops for refuelling. Also, the first and final rounds of the championship will no longer require teams to change tyres on their compulsory pit stops.

Regulation changes

GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh outlined the series' environmental initiative plans in November 2022, known as the "Super GT Green Project 2030". The series aims to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030. As part of this initiative, Super GT made the following regulation changes for 2023:

* Super GT debuted a new, 100 percent sustainable carbon-neutral fuel manufactured by ETS Racing Fuels, a division of Haltermann Carless GmbH. The new ETS Renewablaze GTA R100 racing fuel was introduced to GT500 for the first round of the championship. The GT300 class will continue to use petroleum fuel for the season after feedback gathered in testing.
* The number of tyre sets available to teams per race weekend has been limited to five sets of dry tyres and six sets of wet tyres for 300 kilometre race meetings, one set fewer for each than in 2022. The number of tyre sets available for 450km races would be determined on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately, there would be six sets of dry tyres and seven sets of wet tyres available at all five 450km races, one set fewer for each than in 2022.

Teams and drivers

On 20 February, 2023, the GTA released the series entry list, featuring 15 entries in the GT500 class and 27 entries in the GT300 class. All teams compete under a Japanese license.

GT500

GT300

Vehicle changes

GT500

* Honda announced that a new GT500 car based on the Civic Type R will debut in 2024. As a result, 2023 is the final season for the second-generation NSX-GT.

GT300

* apr replaced their Toyota GR Sport Prius PHV with a new hybrid GT300 car, the Lexus LC500h GT. The Prius had served as apr's flagship car since 2012.
* After selling their Toyota 86 Mother Chassis to Team Mach in the off-season, Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage (see Entrant changes below) changed to the Lexus RC F GT3.
* Pacific Racing Team replaced their Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

Entrant changes

GT500

* Toyota: Toyota Gazoo Racing announced their GT500 class driver line-ups on 25 November 2022.
** TOM'S saw Sacha Fenestraz left the series to compete in Formula E with Nissan. TOM's drivers Ritomo Miyata and Giuliano Alesi exchanged cars, with Miyata going to the number 36 team and Alesi going to the number 37 with new sponsorship from Deloitte. Alesi would share the car with former Honda driver Ukyo Sasahara, who officially joined Toyota on 12 January 2023.
* Honda: Honda Racing announced their GT500 class driver line-ups on 12 December 2022.
** Mugen Motorsports (M-TEC) and ARTA formed a strategic alliance, competing with two ARTA Mugen-branded cars under the ARTA entrant name. Toshiki Oyu moves over to the number 8 ARTA Mugen car to partner Tomoki Nojiri. In exchange, Nirei Fukuzumi moved to the number 16 car to partner Hiroki Otsu, who joined ARTA after three seasons at Nakajima Racing.
** Kakunoshin Ohta who raced with Team UpGarage GT300 stepped up fromto take Otsu's place at Nakajima Racing, alongside Takuya Izawa.
* Nissan: Nissan announced their GT500 class driver line-ups on 27 January 2023.
** Team Impul carried the GT500 champions number 1 plate. Kazuki Hoshino the son of team founder Kazuyoshi Hoshino, became the new Team Director. Four years after the merger between Impul's longtime title sponsor Calsonic and Magneti Marelli, the Marelli brand replaced Calsonic on the blue Impul Nissan Z, now entered as the "Marelli Impul Z".
** NDDP Racing signed spark plug manufacturer Niterra as their new main sponsor, to replace specialty dealer CraftSports.

GT300

* Team UpGarage recruited Reigning F4 Japan Champion Syun Koide following Ohta's promotion to the GT500 class.
* After forming a two-car GT500 programme with M-TEC, ARTA ceased their GT300 operation.
* 2016 GT300 champion Takamitsu Matsui transferred from Hoppy Team Tsuchiya to Team Mach, replacing Reiji Hiraki who switch to his HELM Motorsports in Super Taikyu ST-X class.
* 2013 GT300 champion Yuhki Nakayama left apr as he switch to Super Taikyu ST-X class with TKRI. Reigning Super Formula Lights champion Kazuto Kotaka replaced Nakayama in the number 31 apr team, with GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup driver Yuki Nemoto signed as the third driver for long-distance rounds. Yuta Kamimura and reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Japan champion Ryo Ogawa would share the role of third driver in the number 30 apr GR86 GT.
* Augusto Farfus left Team Studie as he switch to IMSA SportsCar GTP class. His replacement was another BMW factory driver and 2012 DTM champion Bruno Spengler. Two-time GT500 and GT300 champion Masataka Yanagida was signed to be the third driver and replaced Spengler in the event of calendar clashes. The entrant name was changed from BMW Team Studie x CSL (Customer Racing Support Limited) to BMW Team Studie x CRS (Customer Racing Support). From the fourth round onward the entrant name was changed again, to BMW M Team Studie x CRS.
* 2008 GT300 champion Hironobu Yasuda moved to the number 10 GAINER team to partner second-year driver Riki Okusa. In exchange, Ryuichiro Tomita moved to the number 11 car to partner Keishi Ishikawa. Yusuke Shiotsu, previously the third driver of the number 10 car, became the third driver of the number 11 car for long-distance rounds.
* After 8 years racing with Tsuchiya Engineering, Takamitsu Matsui left the team to Team Mach. Togo Suganami returned to the series after a year away after he competed in Super Formula Lights with B-Max Racing Team where he finished 7th in the standings.
* Equipment manufacturer Anest Iwata established a racing team, and partnered up with Arnage Racing to compete as "Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage". Ryohei Sakaguchi and Masaki Kano left the team for Pacific Racing Team and R&Q's Motor Sports respectively. The team signed multi-time Gran Turismo World Series champion and former FIA Formula 3 Championship driver Igor Fraga made his series debut after not racing for over two years, and 2021 Formula Regional Japanese Champion Yuga Furutani. 2022 Formula Regional Japanese Champion Miki Koyama was named the third driver and became the first woman to race in the series since Cyndie Allemann in 2012.
* Furniture retailer Yogibo having previously sponsored Drago Corse in 2021 season, returned to Super GT and competed as "Yogibo Racing". The team entered a Honda NSX GT3 and received technical support from Servus Japan, who previously supported ARTA. The team signed F4 Japanese Championship graduates Yugo Iwasawa and Reimei Ito after both finished 5th and 7th respectively.
* Two-time GT300 championship runner-up Hiroki Katoh was appointed as Inging's new team director and shifted to a part-time driving role as the team's third driver.Replacing Katoh would be 2020 FIA F4 Japan Champion Hibiki Taira as began his first full season in the series after previously served as the third driver for apr.
* Reigning GT300 champion Kiyoto Fujinami left Kondo Racing, 2021 Super Formula Lights champion Teppei Natori returned to the series with defending series champions after competed in Super Taikyu ST-Z with Team ZeroOne and a one off appearance with Tomei Sports last year. Kondo Racing declined the option to use the number 0 plate reserved for the reigning GT300 series champions and instead kept the number 56.
* Drago Corse, who dropped out of the 2022 season due to sponsorship issues, did not return to the series in 2023. Masataka Yanagida move to Studie as the third driver, and Yuji Ide left the series once again.
* Pacific Racing Team ended their collaboration with CarGuy Racing after the 2022 season. Pacific signed an all-new driver line up with former Arnage driver Ryohei Sakaguchi and China Endurance Championship driver Liang Jiatong. While race winner Shintaro Kawabata hired the third driver for the team.
* Seiya Jin, Shinnosuke Yamada, Masaki Kano, Takumi Sanada, and Takuya Otaki were announced as the third drivers of Team LeMans, SHADE Racing, R'Qs MotorSports, NILZZ Racing, and Tomei Sports respectively.

Mid-season changes

GT500 Class

* Iori Kimura was named as the third driver for the number 8 ARTA Mugen NSX-GT. Kimura's appointment came after Toshiki Oyu suffered a fractured collarbone prior to the Super Formula race at Fuji Speedway on 16 July. Oyu was eventually declared fit to race, so Kimura did not run in practice, qualifying, or the race.
* Naoki Yamamoto suffered a neck injury in a crash at Sportsland Sugo which forced him to miss the final two races of the season. Iori Kimura was named as his replacement.

GT300 Class

* Yuta Kamimura replaced Hiroaki Nagai in the number 30 apr Toyota GR86 for the opening round of the series. Nagai returned for round two, and Ryo Ogawa made his series debut as the team's third driver. Kamimura and Ogawa alternated third driver duties throughout the season, with Ogawa running both races at Fuji, and Kamimura running both races at Suzuka plus the Autopolis round.
* Pacific Racing Team missed the second round at Fuji after a crash at Okayama. They returned from the third round onwards.
* Masaya Kono replaced NILZZ Racing's Yuki Tanaka for rounds two and three. Tanaka withdrew prior to the fourth round at Fuji and was not replaced. Kono would join Taiyo Ida and Takumi Sanada for the fifth round at Suzuka, and Tanaka returned for the sixth round at Sugo.
* Roberto Merhi signed with Mahindra Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship, replacing Oliver Rowland for the remainder of the 2023 season. Due to a clash of dates between the third round at Suzuka and the Jakarta ePrix, Merhi did not race at Suzuka.
* JLOC debuted the new Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 at the fourth round at Fuji Speedway. The number 88 team ran with a brand new EVO2 chassis, while the number 87 team would use the old number 88 GT3 EVO model following a heavy crash at Suzuka, which destroyed their previous chassis.
* Hoppy Team Tsuchiya's Toyota GR Supra GT300 was destroyed in a vehicle fire during the fourth round at Fuji Speedway, and the car and team would not return for the rest of the season.
* On 23 August, Max Racing announced their immediate withdrawal from the Super GT Series. They were scheduled to miss the fifth round at Suzuka due to a vehicle fire sustained in the previous round at Fuji.
* 2018 GT300 Champion and K2 R&D LEON Racing team director, Haruki Kurosawa, entered the fifth round at Suzuka as the team's third driver. It is Kurosawa's first Super GT appearance as a driver since the 2019 Fuji GT 500 Mile Race.
* Seita Nonaka joined Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave as a third driver for the seventh round at Autopolis.
* Yuki Nemoto replaced Koki Saga in the number 31 apr Lexus LC500h for the final round at Motegi.
* Time attack and gymkhana specialist Yusaku Shibata rejoined Tomei Sports for the final round at Motegi, driving alongside Takayuki Aoki.

Results

Drivers credited with winning Pole Position for their respective teams are indicated in bold text.

Championship standings

Drivers' championships

;Scoring system

GT500

GT300

Teams' championships

; Race points

Additionally, teams received points for completed the race behind the race winner:

GT500

GT300

Notes

References

External links

Super GT Official Website
{{Super GT seasons

Super GT seasons
Super GT
Super GT