The 2024 Super GT Series is an upcoming motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It is the thirty-first season of the JAF Super GT Championship, which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the nineteenth season under the Super GT name. It is also the forty-first overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.
TGR Team au TOM'S and driver Sho Tsuboi enter the upcoming season as the defending champions of the GT500 class. Green Brave, formerly known as Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave, and driver Hiroki Yoshida enter as the defending GT300 class champions.[1]
Teams and drivers
GT500
GT300
Vehicle changes
GT500
- Honda Racing Corporation introduced the new Civic Type R-GT in 2024, replacing the second-generation NSX-GT.[14][15][16]
GT300
- Team LeMans will enter a new Ferrari 296 GT3, replacing its previous Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II which had raced for three seasons.[6]
Entrant changes
GT500
- Toyota announced its driver line-ups on 12 December 2023.[3]
- Reigning GT500 champion Ritomo Miyata left the series after the 2023 season to compete overseas in Formula 2 and the European Le Mans Series.[17] 2019 GT500 champion Kenta Yamashita will join reigning champion team TGR Team au TOM'S to fill the seat vacated by Miyata. TOM'S elected not to use the GT500 champion's number "1" in 2024.
- Former Honda drivers Nirei Fukuzumi and Toshiki Oyu transferred to Toyota after the 2023 season.
- Fukuzumi will drive for TGR Team Eneos ROOKIE alongside 2019 GT500 champion, Kazuya Oshima.
- Oyu will drive alongside Hiroaki Ishiura at TGR Team KeePer Cerumo. Three-time GT500 champion Yuji Tachikawa retired from driving after the 2023 season and will become the team director at Cerumo for the second time.[18] Car care company KeePer has replaced ZENT as the title sponsor of Cerumo.
- Honda announced its driver line-ups on 12 December 2023.[2]
- To replace the departing Fukuzumi and Oyu, Nobuharu Matsushita and Ren Sato will both join ARTA. Matsushita, who spent the last two seasons with Astemo Real Racing, joins Tomoki Nojiri in the number 8 car. Sato, the 2022 Super Formula Rookie of the Year, will make his GT500 debut alongside Hiroki Otsu in the number 16 car.
- Kakunoshin Ohta will replace Matsushita at Astemo Real Racing, alongside Koudai Tsukakoshi, who will return for his 15th season with the team.
- Riki Okusa will step up from GT300 and make his GT500 debut with Modulo Nakajima Racing, replacing Ohta alongside Takuya Izawa.
GT300
- Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave changed its official name to Green Brave. Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) member Seita Nonaka replaces reigning GT300 champion Kohta Kawaai at Green Brave, after spending the last two seasons at Hoppy Team Tsuchiya and entering as the team's third driver last year in Autopolis.[4] Green Brave elected not to use the GT300 champion's number "0" in 2024.
- SHADE Racing changed tyre suppliers from Dunlop (Sumitomo Rubber) to Michelin.[4]
- Tsuchiya Engineering, entering as Hoppy Team Tsuchiya, and its Toyota GR Supra GT300 will return to the series after missing the last four rounds of the 2023 season following a fire in the August round at Fuji Speedway. 2016 GT300 champion Takamitsu Matsui returned to the team after spending the previous year at Team Mach.[4]
- 2023 FIA F4 Japanese Champion Rikuto Kobayashi and runner-up Jin Nakamura will make their full-time series debuts with apr. Kobayashi will drive the number 30 Toyota GR86 alongside Hiroaki Nagai, while two-time GT300 champion Manabu Orido will stay with the team as its third driver. Nakamura will drive the number 31 Lexus LC 500h alongside Kazuto Kotaka, replacing veteran driver Koki Saga, who had been with apr since 2010. Yuki Nemoto will continue as the third driver of the number 31 team.[4]
- D'station Racing will return to Super GT for the first time since 2020, fielding a new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, with Dunlop as its tyre supplier.[9] 2012 GT300 championship runner-up Tomonobu Fujii will also return to the series as one of its drivers.[20] Aston Martin factory driver Marco Sørensen will partner Fujii.[11]
- PONOS Racing will make its Super GT debut in 2024, entering the new Ferrari 296 GT3 with Michelin tyres.[12] The first-year team will be run by championship-winning GT300 organisation Gainer.[21] Kei Cozzolino will return to the series after a year's absence, while Ferrari GT factory driver Lilou Wadoux will make her series debut.
- Super Taikyu Series champion team HELM Motorsports will make its Super GT debut in 2024.[13]
- 2008 GT300 champion Hironobu Yasuda announced that he would be leaving Nissan as a works driver after 2023, ending a 17-year affiliation with the company. He also announced his departure from Gainer after six seasons.[22]
Calendar
A confirmed eight round provisional 2024 calendar was announced on 3 August 2023.[23] On 3 October 2023, it was announced that the seventh round at Autopolis would be moved back two weeks to 19–20 October, in order to eliminate a clash of dates with the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix.[24]
| Round | Circuit | Location | Dates | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Okayama International Circuit |
Mimasaka-shi, Okayama-ken | 13–14 April | |
| 2 |  Fuji Speedway |
Oyama-chō, Shizuoka-ken | 3–4 May | |
| 3 |  Suzuka Circuit |
Suzuka-shi, Mie-ken | 1–2 June | |
| 4 | Fuji Speedway |
Oyama-chō, Shizuoka-ken | 3–4 August | |
| 5 | Suzuka Circuit |
Suzuka-shi, Mie-ken | 31 August—1 September | |
| 6 |  Sportsland Sugo |
Murata-machi, Miyagi-ken | 21–22 September | |
| 7 |  Autopolis |
Hita-shi, Ōita-ken | 19–20 October | |
| 8 |  Mobility Resort Motegi |
Motegi-machi, Tochigi-ken | 2–3 November |
NOTE: Race dates and names are preliminary and subject to change.
Notes
- ↑ Tentative entrant name as of 10 January 2024.
References
- ↑ "2023 AUTOBACS SUPER GT シリーズチャンピオン会見 | SUPER GT OFFICIAL WEBSITE". supergt.net. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 O’Connell, RJ (12 December 2023). "Honda Announces 2024 GT500 Drivers". dailysportscar.com. Dailysportscar. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 O’Connell, RJ (12 December 2023). "Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces 2024 SUPER GT & Super Taikyu Drivers". dailysportscar.com. Dailysportscar. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 "Saitama Toyopet Gets New Lineup Amid Toyota Reshuffle". sportscar365.com. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- 1 2 3 "DSC's Daily Notebook (21/12/2023)". dailysportscar.com. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Team LeMans Reveals Switch to Ferrari 296 GT3". sportscar365.com. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- 1 2 3 "TEAM UPGARAGE、2024年のGT300クラス参戦体制を発表。小林＆小出のコンビ継続で王座目指す". as-web.jp. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- 1 2 3 "Subaru Announces Unchanged GT300 Effort". sportscar365.com. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- 1 2 "D'station Racing Confirms Plan To Return To SUPER GT In 2024". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
- ↑ "Fujii to Share D'station Entry with Factory Aston Driver". sportscar365. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- 1 2 "Sorensen Joins D'Station for GT300 Campaign". sportscar365.com. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 "PONOS Racing Introduces 296 GT3 To GT300 With Cozzolino & Wadoux". dailysportscar.com. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- 1 2 "Helm Motorsports Announces 2024 GT300 Entry". sportscar365. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
- ↑ "Honda Reveals New SUPER GT Civic Type R-GT Concept | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ↑ "Honda To Begin Track Testing Of New Civic Type R-GT | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
- ↑ "Honda reveals Civic Type R GT500 car ahead of shakedown test". motorsport.com. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ↑ "Toyota star Miyata gets dual F2, ELMS programme in 2024". www.motorsport.com. 2023-11-20. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
- ↑ "Toyota stalwart Tachikawa announces SUPER GT retirement". motorsport.com. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ↑ "Michelin to end SUPER GT GT500 tyre supply after 2023 season". motorsport.com. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ↑ Klein, Jamie (2023-12-29). "Fujii to Share D'station Entry With Factory Aston Driver – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ↑ Euwema, Davey (2023-11-30). "Wadoux to Pilot PONOS 296 GT3 in GT300 Class – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ↑ Klein, Jamie (30 December 2023). "Yasuda Parts Ways with Nissan After 17 Years".
- ↑ "SUPER GT reveals eight-round calendar for 2024". motorsport.com. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ↑ "Autopolis SUPER GT Round Gets New Date In Revised Calendar". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
External links
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