The 2025 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series awards ceremony “SUPER GT HEROES 2025” was held at a hotel in Tokyo on the night of December 5th, and following the opening ceremony, all of the drivers and team managers of all the participating teams gathered for the awards ceremonies, at which this season’s champions in the GT500 and GT300 classes and FIA-F4 championship received their awards. In this Part 2 we report primarily on the proceedings of the various award presentations.
*Click here to see the SUPER GT HEROES Part 1 “Ceremony” report
【FIA-F4 Championship 2025 Season Awards】
The FIA-F4 championship awards ceremony was held. This was the 11th year the series has been organized by GT Co., Ltd has been the organizer of the series. It is also the second season since the introduction of the “2nd generation” car package developed for improved safety with the combination of a “MCS4-24” chassis developed by Toray Carbon Magic Co., Ltd. and the “TMA43” engine developed and supplied by TOM’S, making for an even more exciting season. Again this year, the races are competed in two classes, including the Champion class for young drivers aiming to be top drivers in the future and the Independent class mainly for older “Gentleman drivers.” And this season 14 races were held as support races at six SUPER GT rounds.
The winner of the Champion class Drivers title was Tokiya Suzuki in car No. 29, while 2nd and 3rd places in the ranking went to Itsuki Sato in car No. 17 and Ryo Shirasaki in car No. 16 respectively. In the Independent class, the champion was Nobuhiro Imada in car No. 44, while 2nd and 3rd places went to KENTARO in car No. 55 and DRAGON in car No. 30 respectively. These winners were presented with their trophies by Chairman Bandoh of GTA and from the FIA-F4 series sponsors, OSAKA TOYOPET Corporation and Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. Also, as a GTA award, President & CEO Bandoh presented them with a placard and a gift of Ise lobster from the Shizuoka Prefecture Minamiizu Fisheries Association.
In addition, as the title winner, Suzuki received a scholarship (10 million yen) to be paid to the team he moves up to next season.
To the winners of the team category title in the Champion class, HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing (entrant representative Kunitoshi Nakagawa) received the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister’s Cup from Director Kazuko Koiso of the Logistics and Road Transport Bureau, Ministry of Land、Infrastructure and Transport (Vehicle Regulation and International Affairs Division). Also, the winner of the Champion class, Tokiya Suzuki, and the Independent class champion, Nobuhiro Imada, received the Toray Carbon Magic Award (consisting of prize money and a carrier case made by the British company Global-Trotter) from the Representative Director President Akiyoshi Oku of Toray Carbon Magic Co. Ltd. Also, the Champion class HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing and the Independent class team category title winner, B-MAX Racing TEAM (Ryuji Kumita entrant representative) were presented with the GTA Award placards and gifts of Ise lobster by President & CEO Bandoh of GTA.
【SUPER GT 2025 Teams Awards】
Then the award presentations moved on to the SUPER GT category. The first to go up on stage was Team Manager Daisuke Ito of the top team in the GT500 class Team standing, the No. 1 TGR TEAM au TOM’S team and Team Manager Haruki Kurosawa of the top ranked team in the GT300 class, the No. 65 K2 R&D LEON RACING, both to receive the AUTOBACS Prize trophy and 10 million yen in prize money presented by Representative Director & Chief Executive Officer Yugo Horii of AUTOBACS SEVEN Co., Ltd. Also, the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the GT500 class, namely the No. 100 TEAM KUNIMITSU team represented by Team Manager Kazuhiro Kojima and the No. 39 TGR TEAM SARD represented by Team Manager Juichi Wakisaka. followed by the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams of the GT300 class, the No. 56 KONDO RACING represented by Nobuyuki Adachi of the Motor Sports Division and the No. 4 GOODSMILE Racing & Team UKYO represented by Team Manager Ukyo Katayama, each of which received the AUTOBACS Award trophy.
The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Cup awarded to the top team in the GT300 class competing in the GT300 regulation Mother Chassis model, namely the No. 52 SAITAMA Green Brave team, was presented to Team Manager Keisuke Maruyama by Director Kazuko Koiso of the Ministry of Land、Infrastructure and Transport. And then the “GTA PRIZE” was awarded to the 2025 Season Champion teams. Consisting of a 2-dimension crystal plate for the car and the SUPER GT Cup and a supplementary gift of Ise Lobster, the prize was presented by President & CEO Bandoh of GTA to awarded to both the Team Manager Ito of TGR TEAM au TOM’S and Team Manager Kurosawa of K2 R&D LEON RACING.
Next, as the first team in history to become GT500 class Team Champion three years in a row, Team Manager Daisuke Ito of the No. 36 TGR TEAM au TOM’S team was presented with the glittering large Economy, Trade and Industry Minister CUP trophy by Kazunari Tanaka of the Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
This season a new “Seven x Seven Prize was established by the new series partner “Seven x Seven” (Kasumigaseki Capital Co., Ltd.). As a company, Kasumigaseki Capital Co., Ltd. has established a chain of the world’s first self-hospitality hotels names “seven x seven”. The prize of 3-night, 4-day reservations at the “Seven x Seven Ishigaki” hotel and a free ticket for a round trip to Ishigaki Island by private jet. Also, for the Series Champion teams in the two classes, the No. 1 TGR TEAM au TOM’S and K2 R&D LEON RACING, a prize board was presented by Chief Creative Director David Miskin of Kasumigaseki Capital Co., Ltd.
【SUPER GT 2025 Drivers Awards】
Entering the final stages of the awards ceremonies, the awards ceremony for SUPER GT drivers was held. First to appear were the top three ranked driver pairs in the GT500 class, No. 1 driver pair of Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita (au TOM’S GR Supra), the No. 100 pair of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino (STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT0) and the No. 38 pair of Horoaki Ishiura and Toshiki Oyu (KeePer CERUMO GR Supra). They were followed by the top three ranked driver pairs of the GT300 class, the No. 65 pair of Naoya Gamou and Takuro Shinohara (LEON PYRAMID AMG), the No. 56 driver Kohei Hirate (REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT – R), and the No. 7 driver ZAK O’Sullivan (not present) and Rikuto Kobayashi (CARGUY FERRARI & GT3). These drivers were presented the AUTOBACS Prize trophy by Representative Director & Chief Executive Officer Yugo Horii of AUTOBACS SEVEN CO., Ltd.
Next the Champion drivers of each class were presented with the “CVSTOS Prize”. Presenting this prize was CEO Toshiya Kawai of WORLD COMMERCE CORPORATION. The prize was a high quality CVSTOS watch designated the “Challenge Chronograph 2025 SUPER GT Champion Watch” engraved with the names of the respective champions. This was followed by the presentation of the “GTA PRIZE” by President & CEO Bandoh of GTA, to the GT300 class champion drivers Naoya Gamou and Togo Suganami of the No. 65 LEON PYRAMID AMG and the GT500 class champion drivers Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita. The prize took the form of a 2D crystal form engraved with the names of their respective cars, the No. 65 LEON PYRAMID AMG and the No. 1 au TOM’S GR SUPRA and the, as well as a gift of Ise lobster.
【SUPER GT Driver & Entrant Representative Speech】
After the SUPER GT awards, the representative of the season’s participating teams (Entrants) took to the stage. As representative and chairman of the GT Entrant Association, the apr Team Manager Hiroto Kaneso addressed the audience with the following words. “I want to thank everyone that has contributed to the smooth management of SUPER GT throughout this year. As representative of the Entrant Association, I want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to circuit organizations, the car and tire makers, the media, the series promoter GTA, and of course the fans. To tell the truth, what I would like to talk about now is not something I planned in advance but something that came to me just now as I climbed up on stage. SUPER GT consists of teams and drivers, as well as the engineers of the car makers and the tire makers. They all work to achieve new levels of speed and as a result they come up against barriers and struggle to overcome them. And as a result, I believe the level of professional expertise in SUPER GT rises. Now, I believe SUPER GT is one of the leading race series in the world, competed at a very high level. But what remains frustrating is the fact that level of recognition that SUPER GT and other sport receive is still lacking. For example, this fact is clear when we compare the level of recognition or Major League Baseball and Japanese pro baseball. For that reason, I want to adopt an attitude not of doing one good deed a day but of doing something really special to make a difference each day. If the task is giving signatures, we should keep signing down to the very last person. When shaking hands with the fans, it should be shaking with both hands. If we can add that special something, it should be felt not only the other person but also bring new satisfaction ourselves as well. I believe that will help to raise the level of recognition of motor sports. So I would like to ask everyone here to adopt an attitude of doing something special each day in the coming year to raise the level of recognition of SUPER GT and motor sports in general.” In this way, Kaneso talked about the meaning of the SUPER GT challenge and his hopes for next season.
Next to go on stage were the participating drivers. As representatives of the participating drivers, the champions of the two classes in 2025 then addressed the crowd.
First to speak was Gamou, who this year won his second GT300 championship since 2018. “I owe (the results of) this season to everyone on our team. And thanks to my dependable teammate Suganami-san, we were able to win the championship. Also, next season I will be looking forward to competing again with all our rival teams to make it a great season, and working hard to make it a season that will please all the SUPER GT fans. So, I ask for everyone’s continued support.” With these words he expressed his gratitude for the team and Suginami. Next to speak was Suginami. “This was a season where we were able to win the championship thanks to the winning potential of the K2 R&D LEON RACING team and the people at Mercedes and Bridgestone, as well as my genius of a teammate Naoya Gamou with his incredible speed. Despite not being a driver raised in a maker program, I was given the chance to continue racing (in a SUPER GT machine), So I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported me.” In this way his expressed his gratitude to everyone who supported this title win.
Next to speak was Tsuboi, who contributed to the first-ever 3rd consecutive title in the GT500 class while also winning his fourth career title. “For the TGR TEAM au TOM’S it was the first case of a third consecutive title win, which I believe makes it a year that our names will go down in SUPER GT history. I want to work now toward the goal of a fourth consecutive title next year. Some people may say it is boring to see the au TOM’S GR Supra win all the time (wry smile), but I intend to try to keep winning!” In these words, he expressed his intention to go for another title next season. The final speaker was Yamashita, the other winner of the 3rd consecutive title. “Earlier we heard the talk by Kaneso-san about “doing something special” and it made me think about what I can do. And I decided that I could “try now to keep my talk short (laughs). This year I am so grateful to have driven with a strong team that was able to win a 3rd consecutive title. Next season I want to work hard to help us win a 4th straight title.” In this way he spoke about what a wonderful team he had and his goal for next season.
This season will see the retirement of two drivers from SUPER GT as of the final round at Motegi. They are the GT500 record holder for most wins Tsugio Matsuda of the No. 24 REALIZE CORPORATION ADVAN Z team with 25 wins and Takuya Izawa of the No. 64 MODULO CIVIC TYPE R – GT. Competing since 2000 until this season, Matsuda has compile the record of most wins in the GT500 class with 25 wins, and he is also one of the GT500 class’s leading drivers who contributed to the winning of three consecutive titles. Izawa has also been a leading GT500 class drivers competing since 2007 for Honda / HRC. This time, both drivers have received a crystal trophy and flowers as an expression of appreciation from President & CEO Bandoh of GTA. Matsuda spoke. “I have competed in 203 rounds of SUPER GT. Driving in my first Honda car, I was helped so much by Satoru Nakajima-san, who trained me to be a strong driver on a winning team. Then, with TEAM IMPUL, Kazuyoshi Hoshino told me to “Be a bad guy”, but I wasn’t able to do that (wry smile), so I just concentrated on being a strong driver. After that, I served as a NISMO works driver for 10 years, from which I learned about machine development, which led to a big record of accomplishments. Finally, I came to drive under Team Manager Masahiko Kondo, with whom I came to score my 25th win and also to fulfill my dream of helping to give the team its first win in nine years. These are the kinds of great teams I was lucky to have worked with. A racing driver can never win on his own, it has only happened with the support of many people. So, I want to add an expression of gratitude. Thanks so much to everyone.” In these words, he spoke of his memories in SUPER GT and expressed his gratitude to the teams he drove for until now. As for Izawa, he had the following to say. “I didn’t come here with any preparation, so I don’t know what I should talk about (laughs). I want to say congratulations to the two au drivers (Tsuboi and Yamashita) for winning the championship title. Every year at the HEROES event I listened to the champions speak and I always hoped that I could come back and do the same, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t make it happen. Still, I am glad that I was able to race with all the drivers, teams and makers that gathered here. Thank you everyone. I pray that this SUPRT GT will continue successfully for a long time to come.” With these words he expressed his gratitude to everyone in the gathering.
【Ending】
In this way, the “SUPER GT HEROES 2025” event came to an end. And to end it all, President & CEO Bandoh of GTA spoke once again with words of appreciation for this season and the outlook for the future. “At present the popularity of Japan’s motor sports as a whole is growing. In the midst of this, GTA has become one of the members of the Automobile Business & Culture Association of Japan newly established Motorsports Committee, where we are involved in activities aimed at firmly establishing motor sports culture in Japan. These activities are also connected to the “SUPER GT Philosophy” (refer to the URL link below). Under this Philosophy, in order to ensure that SUPER GT continues to be a motor sport that children continue to look up to, we are working to communicate the interest, awesome power, excitement and the dreams that SUPER GT is full of to more people. This is the goal that all of us at GTA and all of the people involved in SUPER GT race management are working hard to realize. If everyone is able to spread the word about SUPER GT to our family and friends, all the people in our society and companies, and encourage them to come circuit to watch it, we will surely be able to get more people to know about SUPER GT. So, let’s all work together to get people to know about SUPER GT and to build on its value. We hope you will strive for this together with us. The Race Ambassadors that we weren’t able to bring here this time and circuit officials are also important people for us. Next year, I hope to meet all of you, with the increased content value of SUPER GT. Thank you all for gathering with us today.” The SUPER GT HEROES 2025 came to an end with these words about everyone helping to build recognition of SUPER GT.
* Download the Philosophy of SUPER GT
*Click here to see the SUPER GT HEROES Part 1 report
