Towards the latter part of Golden Week, the FUJI GT 3 Hours RACE GW SPECIAL, Round 2 of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series will be held on May 3 (Sun, National holiday) and 4 (Mon, National holiday) at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture. This second round will be the first 3‑hour race of the season. Most rounds, including the season opener, are 300 km races, but this time it is a three-hour event. At Fuji, if the race runs the full three hours as scheduled, the total distance will exceed 500 km, and two mandatory pit stops will be required. That is why race strategy, such as driver stint order and pit timing, will be key to victory. The capability of team managers and engineers who direct the race from the pit wall will also be worth watching closely. With the option to field a third driver, the ability of that driver is another point of interest. In addition, cars that finished near the front in the previous round will carry Success Weight (SW), tightening the performance gaps and making the battle even more competitive. With even more highlights than usual, Round 2 at Fuji offers something for everyone, whether you follow your favorite team throughout the race, read the strategies unfolding across the field, or simply enjoy the hot on-track battles. Fans are encouraged to enjoy SUPER GT to the fullest at Fuji Speedway or via J SPORTS coverage.
*The top photo is from Round 2 at Fuji in 2025. The photos below were taken at the opening round in Okayama.
Fuji Speedway information ■Track details Length: 4,563m Width: 15 to 25m Elevation difference:40m
■Track records GT500 1’25.764 Kenta Yamashita / No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra 2021 Round 8 Qualifying – Q2 (Nov. 27) GT300 1’34.395 Hideki Yamauchi / No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT 2021 Round 8 Qualifying – Q2 (Nov. 27)
■The champion No.36 vs. No.38 heads into round two as well! At Toyota’s home circuit, Fuji, the GR Supra looks set to take center stage.
The season opener at Okayama developed into a head‑to‑head battle between the No.36 au TOM’S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita), the reigning three‑time champions, and the No.38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra (Toshiki Oyu / Rikuto Kobayashi), led by the rapidly improving Oyu. In qualifying, Oyu maximized the pace of the No.38 to claim pole position, with Tsuboi lining up second. During the opening phase of the race, Oyu’s speed kept Yamashita at bay and allowed the No.38 to lead. However, GT500 rookie Kobayashi was ultimately unable to hold off Tsuboi in the champion car No.36, and the victory fell in the hands of the No.36. With both cars having split the wins across last year’s two Fuji races (Round 2 went to the No.38, while the Round 4 Fuji race was won by the No.36), it is only natural that both will be targeting Fuji again. These two GR Supra GT500 entries are widely seen as the leading contenders, and the spotlight will be on Kobayashi, who will be determined to fight back after tasting frustration, and on the No.38 crew, who will expect Oyu to cover two stints in a 3‑hour race and arrive with the mindset of creating an even bigger gap this time. Also notable is the No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra (Nirei Fukuzumi / Kazuya Oshima). Fukuzumi, entrusted with the first-driver role this season, scored his first victory since joining TGR TEAM ENEOS ROOKIE in Fuji Round 4 Race 2 last year. Because he won that race while driving on his own, he will surely want to climb to the top step this time together with senior teammate Oshima as a two-driver pairing. And with Fuji being Toyota’s home circuit, every GR Supra squad will be aiming for nothing less than victory.
■PRELUDE GT crews head to round two armed with valuable race data. Attention on the No.16 led by a Fuji specialist ace.
Honda’s HRC PRELUDE‑GT contenders faced a challenging debut in Round 1 at Okayama. While the No.17 Astemo HRC PRELUDE‑GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Yuto Nomura) qualified fourth, the best race finish among the PRELUDE‑GT cars was seventh, achieved by the No.100 STANLEY HRC PRELUDE‑GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino). It was evident that overall setup refinement is still a work in progress. However, with valuable real-race data now in hand, the PRELUDE‑GT crews will be eager to take a step forward at Fuji. That puts the focus on teams and drivers who are strong at Fuji. At the top of the list is the No.16 #16 ARTA MUGEN HRC PRELUDE‑GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Ren Sato), with Nojiri, who is tied for the most Fuji wins at three wins among active drivers, as the ace. It was also Nojiri who secured the first win for the previous-generation CIVIC TYPE R‑GT at Fuji (Round 4 of 2024). The car number has changed, but it is still ARTA, and the aim will be to take the PRELUDE‑GT to its first victory as well. It was also at Fuji, in the second CIVIC TYPE R‑GT race there, that Astemo REAL RACING scored a second-place podium. This season the entry is the No.17 Astemo HRC PRELUDE‑GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Yuto Nomura). Tsukakoshi remains the team leader, but the machine is now the HRC PRELUDE‑GT and the partner is GT500 rookie Nomura. Still, Nomura showed encouraging promise with the PRELUDE‑GT both in pre-season testing and at the Okayama opener. If the team can put Nomura in clean air and allow him to run comfortably, a podium finish should be within reach.
■A strong third-place opening-round result puts the No.12 on course again at Fuji! High expectations also for the No.23 under new team manager Matsuda.
Among the Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries at the Okayama opener, the No.12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette) stood out. While it qualified seventh and was outpaced by two rival manufacturers, it was the quickest Z. In the race, Baguette gained positions at the start, and Hiramine surged in the second half, passing GR Supra cars on the way to a third-place podium. The No.12 also has strong Fuji credentials, having scored consecutive podiums there in 2022 and banking major points toward a title run. With a return to championship contention in mind, the team will want to secure another podium at Fuji following Okayama. Meanwhile, the centerpiece of Nissan’s Z effort, the No.23 MOTUL Niterra Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi), will also be targeting victory at Fuji. The team struggled at Okayama after misreading tire choice in unexpectedly high temperatures, and the speed of the No.12 should be a positive reference point. With Round 2 being a long 3‑hour race, attention will also be on the experience and decision-making of new team manager Tsugio Matsuda, who was known as a Fuji specialist during his driving career, and how that leadership can guide the No.23 toward victory.
■Another dramatic GT300 battle expected at Fuji. Ferrari vs. Aston Martin, and can the BRZ take its revenge?
Last year’s Fuji Round 2 GT300 race delivered a dramatic three hours. Early on, the pole-sitting No.777 Aston Martin led, with the No.61 BRZ and the two Ferraris (No.7 and No.45) giving chase. After that, Full Course Yellows (FCY) and differing pit strategies repeatedly reshuffled the lead. In the latter stages, the quicker No.777 returned to the front, with the No.61 closing in, and then the No.6 Ferrari, forced to start from the back after Q1 trouble, charged forward into the fight. The No.777 then pitted with tire trouble. The No.61 took the lead, only to stop with heartbreaking engine trouble just after the final half-lap began. The No.6 capitalized, completing a stunning comeback from last to claim its first victory. Even recalling that race, the benchmark for Fuji pace appears to be the No.777 D’station Vantage GT3 (Tomonobu Fujii / Charlie Fagg). After that Round 2, the No.777 also won both Fuji races in Round 4 last year (Race 1 and Race 2), and it opened the current season by winning at Okayama, making it a clear favorite. Closing in will be the three Ferrari entries: No.6 UNI‑ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (Yoshiaki Katayama / Niklas Krütten), No.7 CARGUY Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (Zak O’Sullivan / Kiyoshi Umegaki / Reimei Ito), and No.45 PONOS FERRARI 296 EVO (Kei Cozzolino / Takuro Shinohara). The No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi), which lost out to trouble last year, will surely be hungry for revenge, especially with a new 3.0‑liter engine this season, which could become a strength over the long 3‑hour distance. High-speed specialists such as the No.60 Syntium LMcorsa LC500 GT (Hiroki Yoshimoto / Shunsuke Kohno) and the No.31 apr LC500h GT (Kazuto Kotaka / Miki Koyama / Charlie Wurz) also look likely to join the fight at the front. In addition, recent champions, last year and 2 years ago, respectively, such as the No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamo / Togo Suganami / Haruki Kurosawa) and the No.88 VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Daniil Kvyat / Natsu Sakaguchi) will be aiming for their first win of the season. With two pit stops in a 3‑hour race, some teams may also attempt strategies to recover pace differences, such as skipping a tire change or reducing the number of tire sets used. With not only a diverse range of cars but also a wide variety of strategies, the GT300 class promises a thrilling three-hour race at Fuji, one that could keep fans watching right through to the checkered flag.
