2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Round 3 Race, the “MOTEGI GT 250 RACE took place on November 7th (Sat.) afternoon (4,801m x 53 laps), being blessed with fair weather, and the No. 12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette) that started from 6th position on the starting grid passed the cars in front of it to give the NISSAN Z NISMO GT500 is first win of the season. In the GT300 class, the No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Shinichi Takagi) that started from 2nd position on the grid went on to win its second consecutive race of the season. Tomorrow, November 8th (Sun.) the final race of the season will take place here at Motegi.
＜GT500＞ The official qualifying for the Round 3 race, the “MOTEGI GT 250km RACE” that was rescheduled after the cancellation of the race that was originally planned to take place in Malaysia June was held on Saturday morning, and the race was held in the afternoon. This day was blessed with fine weather and dry track conditions. It was Okusa in the No. 64 Modulo HRC PRELUDE-GT (Riki Okusa / Igor Omura Fraga) who won his third pole position in a row.
During the afternoon race there was a series of crashes by GT300 class cars that brought the Safety Car in to control the race, and when the race was restarted it was the No. 64 PRELUDE-GT that took the lead running strongly. However, coming up on it from behind after starting the race in 6th position was the No. 12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Bertrand Baguette) that had moved up to 3rd position after the first required pit stop. What’s more, it went on to pass car No. 64 to move into the lead.
Car No. 12 went on to run strongly at a high pace for lap after lap, and as the cars behind it got involved in tense battles, it continued to increase its lead until it opened up a lead of 20 seconds and went on to give the NISSAN Z NISMO GT500 its first win of the season.
＜GT300＞ In the GT300 class, the pole-starting No. 11 GAINER TANAX Z (Ryuichiro Tomita / Kazuki Oki) took the lead, but due to a penalty for a violation when the race resumed, it was given a drive-through penalty that dropped it back in the pack. In its place, Morio Nitta - the highly experienced veteran and record-holder for most race wins in the GT300 class, driving the No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 which qualified second – has moved into the lead. After that, the tentative leader after the first required pit stops were completed was Shinichi Takagi running away in the lead. This gave him the second consecutive win after the one at Autopolis. With this, Nitta expanded his record for most wins to 24.
*Spectators: November 7th (Round 3 Qualifying & Race: 24,000)
■Winner Comments
No.12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z Kazuki Hiramine ”It feels amazing—just the best possible! We have had a string of tough races lately, and since this was the final event of the year, I really wanted to showcase the kind of sharp, incisive driving that defines the IMPUL team. I’ve been putting myself through some grueling training, and seeing it finally pay off has really driven home to me the importance of hard work. I’m truly grateful to all our sponsors and everyone on the team.”
Bertrand Baguette “The early stages of the race were quite tough. At the previous round at Autopolis, we didn’t win – partly due to the misfortune of getting held up by other cars during the qualifying – but this time, Nissan and Bridgestone provided us with a great car and excellent tires, which I believe is what led us to this victory.”
No.96 K-tunes RC F GT3 Morio Nitta “(With this latest string of victories, you’ve climbed to second in the standings – you’re now in contention for the series title, aren’t you?) I had said that I would retire from SUPER GT racing after this year, but… well, what should I do now? Maybe I shouldn’t retire after all, but I might have to rethink that now! (laughs) The tires were fantastic, and thanks to the team preparing the car perfectly, I was able to maintain a strong pace from the very start. We also got a bit lucky, as our rivals ran into some trouble. In the second half, Shinichi (Takagi) did his job perfectly, as he always does. I didn’t expect to win again, so this is just incredible!”
Shinichi Takagi: “After taking the lead in the second half, I kept checking in over the team radio to monitor the pace of the cars behind me, and all the while I was managing my tires to avoid excessive wear… But, you know, when you win back-to-back, it’s hard to shed any tears – especially because in the next race, our only option is to become the champions. Maybe then I can get Nitta-san to take back that whole “thing” he said (about retiring)… (laughs)”
