2018 Super GT Series explained
The 2018 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-sixth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fourteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-sixth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 8 and ended on November 11, after 8 races.
In the GT500 class, Team Kunimitsu won their first-ever championship with the all-star lineup of series veteran Naoki Yamamoto and 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button, narrowly beating defending champions Ryō Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy at the final race in Motegi to clinch the title after both teams came in to the race tied in points. It was the first championship title for Honda in the GT500 class since 2010. Yamamoto, who had won the 2018 Super Formula title before the season finale, became just the fourth driver to win both the GT500 and Super Formula titles in the same year, while Button became the first rookie to win the GT500 title since Tora Takagi in 2005.
In the GT300 class, the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG fielded by K2 R&D LEON Racing won the championship in Motegi after overcoming a 12-point deficit over the then-points leader No. 55 ARTA BMW, giving series veteran Haruki Kurosawa and Naoya Gamou their first championship title in the series. The No. 55 ARTA team, despite winning two races in the season, were ultimately too inconsistent in their championship challenge, as two races without scoring a point coupled with poor performance in both Sugo and Motegi ultimately cost them the championship over the more consistent LEON AMG. The No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT of Koki Saga and Kohei Hirate would finish third, just one point behind the ARTA BMW, while defending champions Goodsmile Racing finished fourth after a poor start to the season and a tire issue in Autopolis ultimately cost them the chance to defend the title.
Schedule
Schedule changes
- On March 4, 2017, Suzuka Circuit, the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, and the GT Association announced that the Suzuka 1000km would become the Suzuka 10 Hours from 2018, and moves to the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The Super GT championship round at Suzuka moves to May 19–20 and will be a 300km race, as it was from 1995 to 2010.
- To replace the Suzuka 1000km as the series' endurance round, the Fuji GT 300km, held in early August, was lengthened to a 500 mile (804 kilometer) race. The Fuji 500 Mile Race was originally held from 1977 to 1992.
- The race at Buriram United International Circuit in Thailand was moved from the seventh to the fourth round of the championship, on June 30 – July 1.
- The race at Sportsland Sugo was moved from the fourth to the sixth round of the championship, on September 15–16.
- The race at Autopolis was moved from the third to the seventh round of the championship, on October 20–21.
Teams and drivers
GT500
GT300
| Team | Make | Car | Engine | | Drivers | Tyre | Rounds |
|---|
| Goodsmile Racing with Team Ukyo[6] | Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | 0 | Nobuteru Taniguchi | | All |
|---|
| Tatsuya Kataoka |
| Cars Tokai Dream28[7] | Lotus | Lotus Evora MC | GTA V8 4.5 L V8 | 2 | Kazuho Takahashi | | All |
|---|
| Hiroki Katoh |
 Team Mach[8] | Toyota | Toyota 86 MC | GTA V8 4.5 L V8 | 5 | Natsu Sakaguchi | | 1–3, 5–8 |
|---|
| Yuya Hiraki |
| Tetsuji Tamanaka | 2 |
| Kiyoto Fujinami | 5 |
| D'station Racing[9] | Porsche | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche M97/80 4.0 L F6 | 7 | Tomonobu Fujii | | All |
|---|
| Sven Müller |
| Pacific with Gulf Racing[10] | Porsche | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche M97/80 4.0 L F6 | 9 | Rintaro Kubo | | All |
|---|
| Keishi Ishikawa |
| Kyosuke Mineo | 5 |
| GAINER | Nissan | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2018) | Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 | 10 | Kazuki Hoshino | | All |
|---|
| Hiroki Yoshida |
| 11 | Katsuyuki Hiranaka | | All |
| Hironobu Yasuda |
| Team UpGarage[11] | Toyota | Toyota 86 MC | GTA V8 4.5 L V8 | 18 | Yuhki Nakayama | | All |
|---|
| Takashi Kobayashi |
| Audi Team Hitotsuyama[12] | Audi | Audi R8 LMS | Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 | 21 |  Richard Lyons | | All |
|---|
| Ryuichiro Tomita |
| Takuro Shinohara | 2 |
| R'Qs Motor Sports | Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | 22 | Hisashi Wada | | 1–3, 5–8 |
|---|
| Masaki Jyonai |
| Masayuki Ueda | 5 |
| Tsuchiya Engineering | Toyota | Toyota 86 MC | GTA V8 4.5 L V8 | 25 | Takamitsu Matsui | | All |
|---|
| Sho Tsuboi | 1, 3–8 |
| Tsubasa Kondo | 2, 5 |
| Takeshi Tsuchiya | 2 |
| Team Taisan[13] | Audi | Audi R8 LMS | Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 | 26 | Shinnosuke Yamada | | 1–3, 5–8 |
|---|
| Shintarō Kawabata |
| Shinji Nakano | 2 |
| apr | Toyota | Toyota Prius apr GT | Toyota RV8KLM 3.4 L Hybrid V8 | 30 | Hiroaki Nagai | | All |
|---|
| Kota Sasaki | 1-5 |
| Manabu Orido | 6-8 |
| 31 | Koki Saga | | All |
| Kohei Hirate |
| est cola by AAS Motorsport | Bentley | Bentley Continental GT3 (2016) | Bentley EA824 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 | 32 |  Maxime Jousse | | 4 |
|---|
 Kantadhee Kusiri |
| Modulo Drago Corse[14] [15] | Honda | Honda NSX GT3 | Honda JNC1 3.5 L Twin Turbo V6 | 34 | Ryo Michigami | | All |
|---|
| Hiroki Otsu |
| Arto Panther Team Thailand | Lexus | Lexus RC F GT3 | Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 | 35 | Nattavude Charoensukhawatana | | All |
|---|
| Nattapong Horthongkum |
| Koji Yamanishi | 5 |
| Dijon Racing | Nissan | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2017) | Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 | 48 | Masaki Tanaka | | 1–3, 5–8 |
|---|
| Taiyō Iida | 1–2, 5 |
| Richard Bradley | 2–3, 7–8 |
| Hiroshi Takamori | 6 |
| Arnage Racing[16] | Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | 50 | Masaki Kano | | All |
|---|
| Hideto Yasuoka |
| Yūya Sakamoto | 2 |
| Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave[17] | Toyota | Toyota Mark X MC | GTA V8 4.5 L V8 | 52 | Taku Bamba | | All |
|---|
| Shigekazu Wakisaka |
| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | BMW | BMW M6 GT3 | BMW S63B44 4.4 L Twin Turbo V8 | 55 | Shinichi Takagi | | All |
|---|
| Sean Walkinshaw |
| LM Corsa | Lexus | Lexus RC F GT3 | Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 | 60 | Hiroki Yoshimoto[18] | | All |
|---|
| Ritomo Miyata |
| K-tunes Racing LM Corsa | 96 | Morio Nitta | | All |
| Yuichi Nakayama |
| R&D Sport[19] | Subaru | Subaru BRZ R&D Sport | Subaru EJ20 2.0 L Turbo F4 | 61 | Takuto Iguchi | | All |
|---|
| Hideki Yamauchi |
| K2 R&D LEON Racing[20] | Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | 65 | Haruki Kurosawa | | All |
|---|
| Naoya Gamou |
| JLOC[21] | Lamborghini | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | Lamborghini DFJ 5.2 L V10 | 87 | Kimiya Sato | | All |
|---|
| Yuya Motojima |
| Tsubasa Takahashi | 2 |
| 88 | Kazuki Hiramine | | All |
| Marco Mapelli | 1–3, 6–8 |
| Andrea Caldarelli | 4 |
| EIcars Bentley[22] | Bentley | Bentley Continental GT3 | Bentley EA824 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 | 117 | Yuji Ide | | 1–3, 5–8 |
|---|
| Ryohei Sakaguchi |
| Jules Gounon | 5 |
| Tomei Sports | Nissan | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2017) | Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 | 360 | Yusaku Shibata[23] | | 1–2, 5–8 |
|---|
| Takayuki Aoki | 1–3, 6, 8 |
| Atsushi Tanaka | 3, 5, 7 |
| Masataka Yanagida | 5 |
| CarGuy Racing[24] | Honda | Honda NSX GT3 | Honda JNC1 3.5 L Twin Turbo V6 | 777 | Naoki Yokomizo | | 1–3, 5, 7–8 |
|---|
| Takeshi Kimura |
 Kei Cozzolino | 2 |
|
- Notes
Vehicle Changes
GT300
- Panther Team Thailand switched from the Dome-built Toyota 86 MC to the Lexus RC F GT3.
- GAINER switched to a full-on effort with Nissan, fielding two brand-new 2018 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s.
- Arnage Racing separated from INGING Motorsport after one season, and also switch vehicles to the Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Entrant changes
GT500
- Honda:
- Toyota:
- Nissan:
- Reigning All-Japan Formula 3 Champion Mitsunori Takaboshi steps up to GT500 full-time with Kondo Racing, replacing Daiki Sasaki, who moves over to Team Impul to drive the Calsonic GT-R.
- NDDP Racing moved up to the GT500 class for 2018, entering as NDDP Racing with B-Max. They take the place of MOLA, who withdrew from the series at the end of 2017. Satoshi Motoyama and Katsumasa Chiyo stays to the new team.
GT300
- Former GT500 driver Hironobu Yasuda and two-time GT300 champion Kazuki Hoshino move to Gainer, from Team Impul and NDDP Racing respectively, to drive their new Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s.
- Takashi Kobayashi moves to Team UpGarage, replacing Shintaro Kawabata.
- VivaC Team Tsuchiya reverted to their original name, Tsuchiya Engineering, following the withdrawal of their title sponsor VivaC. Toyota young driver Sho Tsuboi will replace Kenta Yamashita at Tsuchiya Engineering.
- Akira Iida will step away from full-time driving duties, and became team director of the #60 LM Corsa Lexus RC F GT3. Two-time FIA F4 Japanese Champion Ritomo Miyata makes his series debut with LM Corsa.
- The #51 LM Corsa Lexus RC F GT3 changes its number to #96, and has a new title sponsor in Okayama Toyopet / K-Tunes Racing. The team will be officially known as K-Tunes Racing LM Corsa from 2018. Three-time GT300 champion Morio Nitta moves to K-Tunes LM Corsa Lexus RC F GT3 to replace Sho Tsuboi.
- Jono Lester was released from Pacific with Gulf Racing after the 2017 season, and will not return to Super GT in 2018. Pacific with Gulf Racing recruit Rintaro Kubo from apr, and Keishi Ishikawa who moves from Rn-sports. Kyosuke Mineo become the third driver.
- Two-time GT500 champion Kohei Hirate moves out of GT500 to drive the #31 Toyota Prius for apr Racing. And two-time GT300 champion Manabu Orido joined apr Racing midseason to replace Kota Sasaki.
- Drago Corse, who competed from 2015 to 2016 as Drago Modulo Honda Racing, return to the series in GT300 with another Honda NSX GT3. They will be known as Modulo Drago Corse. 2000 GT500 Champion Ryo Michigami returns to the series as a full-time driver owner, after racing in the World Touring Car Championship in 2017. Former All-Japan Formula 3 race winner Hiroki Otsu makes his series debut with Modulo Drago Corse.
- FIA F4 Japanese graduate Yuya Hiraki makes his series debut with Team Mach, replacing Kiyoto Fujinami as Natsu Sakaguchi's co-driver.
- Audi Team Hitotsuyama recruit Ryuichiro Tomita to replace Masataka Yanagida
- Masaki Kano and Hideto Yasuoka both return to the series with Arnage Racing.
- CarGuy Racing makes their Super GT debut with the all-new Honda NSX GT3. They previously competed in the Super Taikyu Series and Blancpain GT Series Asia. Gentleman racer Takeshi Kimura makes his series debut with CarGuy Racing. Naoki Yokomizo, the 2012 GT300 Champion, returns after a year-long hiatus to drive for the new CarGuy Racing team.
- BMW Team Studie, the 2011 GT300 class Champion (by then co-joint with Goodsmile Racing) announced in January that they would switch to the Blancpain GT Series Asia GT4 category, and suspended operations in Super GT for the foreseeable future.
- Bentley factory driver Jules Gounon makes his Super GT debut in a one-off for EIcars Bentley at the Fuji 500-mile race.[25]
Results
Championship standings
Drivers' championships
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Pole |
|---|
| Points | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
|---|
| Fuji 500 mile | 25 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|
|
GT500
GT300
External links
Notes and References
- News: Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces Super GT Programmes For 2018. 8 February 2018. dailysportscar.com . 8 February 2018.
- News: Entry List Round 3 FUJI GT500. Super GT. June 6, 2018.
- News: Nissan & NISMO Announce 2018 Super GT Programmes. 12 February 2018. dailysportscar.com. 12 February 2018.
- News: Honda Confirm 2018 Super GT Plans In GT500 & GT300. 12 January 2018. dailysportscar.com . 12 January 2018.
- News: Button secures 2018 Super GT drive with Honda. Motorsport.com. 3 December 2017. 3 December 2017.
- Web site: 2018年、SUPER GT参戦体制のお知らせ GOODSMILE RACING. www.goodsmileracing.com. ja. 2018-01-14.
- News: Cars Tokai Dream28 returning for 2018 with “Version 2” Lotus. 2018-01-10. Super GT World. 2018-01-14. en-US.
- News: Yuya Hiraki to make Super GT debut for Team Mach. 2018-03-23. Super GT World. 2018-04-01. en-US.
- Web site: 2018 年 SUPER GT 参戦体制. 7 February 2018. D'station Racing (in Japanese).
- News: Kubo and Ishikawa join Pacific with Gulf Racing. 2018-02-01. Super GT World. 2018-02-01. en-US.
- Web site: MOTORSPORTS GARAGE 2018 Powered by UP GARAGE. d1ms.upgarage.com. ja. 2018-02-24.
- News: Tomita & Shinohara join Lyons at Audi Team Hitotsuyama. 2018-02-21. Super GT World. 2018-02-24. en-US.
- News: Team Taisan confirm Yamada, Kawabata for 2018. 2018-02-22. Super GT World. 2018-02-24. en-US.
- News: Honda Confirm 2018 Super GT Plans In GT500 & GT300. 12 January 2018. dailysportscar.com . 12 January 2018.
- News: Honda Teams Lock In Drivers For Suzuka 10 Hours. 22 June 2018. dailysportscar.com . 22 June 2018.
- News: Arnage Racing switches to Mercedes-AMG; Yasuoka & Kano return. 2018-02-15. Super GT World. 2018-02-16. en-US.
- Web site: TEAM KUNIMITSUにバトンが加入！Hondaが2018年体制を発表。ARTAやGT300新チームも登場 SUPER GT OFFICIAL WEBSITE. supergt.net. ja. 2018-01-14.
- News: Ritomo Miyata to drive for OTG LM Corsa; Akira Iida named team director. 2018-01-12. Super GT World. 2018-01-14. en-US.
- News: » 2018 SUBARU Motorsport Activities NewsRelease Subaru Corporation. Subaru Corporation. 2018-02-24. en-US.
- News: K2 R&D LEON Racing seek GT300 championship in 2018. 2018-02-22. Super GT World. 2018-02-24. en-US.
- News: JLOC adds Mapelli, Motojima for 2018. 2018-03-26. Super GT World. 2018-04-01. en-US.
- News: EIcars Bentley return with Ide & Sakaguchi. 2018-01-22. Super GT World. 2018-02-01. en-US.
- News: Yanagida joins 4-driver crew at Tomei Sports. 2018-02-24. Super GT World. 2018-02-24. en-US.
- News: CarGuy Racing Enters Super GT With Honda NSX GT3. 21 December 2017. dailysportscar.com . 21 December 2017.
- Web site: EIcars Bentley Continental GT3 returns to Super GT . endurance-info.com . 4 February 2019.
- Web site: Driver Ranking GT500 . 株式会社GTアソシエイション . 2017-04-13.
- Web site: Driver Ranking GT300 . 株式会社GTアソシエイション . 2017-04-18.
Sven Müller
