Competed over 8 rounds, only 2 more races remain in the calendar of 2025 AUTOBACS SUPER GT. The series will reach what can be regarded as a climax at the Round 7 Autopolis GT 3 Hours RACE hosted by Autopolis in Oita Prefecture on October 18th (Sat) and 19th (Sun). With the race duration continues to be same as last year, 3 hours, it will be a long battle like Round 2 Fuji. The track is known to be harsh on tires that both of the two drivers’ skills and the highly competitive strategy would be required to succeed in the race. The contest for this season’s championship is expected to get even fiercer at upcoming event since it is the penultimate race. Some teams may get closer to the title and some others may drop out before reaching the final round depending on the outcome of upcoming Autopolis race. Looking back in history, there were more than a few teams that had to choose between a big point or no points at Autopolis. Round 7 Autopolis can become a crucial battlefield you must survive to be a champion.

※Above photo is last year’s Round 7 Autopolis race start.

■Autopolis information
◎Track details
Length: 4,674m
Width: 12 to 15m
Elevation difference:52m

◎Track records
GT500
1’31.131 Nirei Fukuzumi / No. 16 ARTA MUGEN NSX-GT
2023 Round 7 Qualifying – Q1 (October 14)
GT300
1’41.016 Yuui Tsutsumi / No. 2 muta Racing GR86 GT
2023 Round 7 Qualifying – Q2 (October 14)

■GR Supra squad is in a winning streak at Autopolis. ’24/’23 winners No.39 and No.1 could take center role again this year!?

　With an aim for back-to-back title, No.1 au TOM’S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita) is keeping the leading position of driver standing since it won the season opening race at Okayama. In 5 races held in the first half of this season (Round 4 Fuji had 2 sprint races), No.1 car won twice and No.38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra (Hiroaki Ishiura / Toshiki Oyu), No.37 Deloitte TOM’S GR Supra (Ukyo Sasahara / Giuliano Alesi), and No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra (Kazuya Oshima / Nirei Fukuzumi) each scored a win, giving the GR Supra squad 5 consecutive victories. They missed the win in recent 2 races as the success weight (SW) on each car increased significantly, but with SW becoming the points x 1kg for Round 7, GR Supras could regain its competitiveness.
　No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (with driver combination of Yuhi Sekiguchi / Sacha Fenestraz this season) advanced significantly towards the crown last year after winning here, and No.36 car (No.1 car of this season) marched on a similar path in 2023. Autopolis appears to be favorable to GR Supra. No.39 and No.1 cars with winning experience as well as No.19 WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra (Yuji Kunimoto / Sena Sakaguchi / Kazuto Kotaka) with light SW could be igniting the fans on the stands by their performance on the track.

■Win to salute CIVIC retiring this season! Hope is on No.100 and No.16 with notable records at Autopolis.

　6 races have been completed so far this season, and the CIVIC TYPE R-GT fleet is yet to produce an outcome they would want, the second-place finish at the Round 3 Malaysia by No.8 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #8 being the best result for the fleet. Still, No.100 STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) is holding the 6th position in the driver standing right behind the GR Supra squad.
　In fact, No.100 car captured the highest position among the CIVIC fleet at last year’s Autopolis race, 4th place. In 2023, No.16 car (No.16 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #16 (Hiroki Otsu / Ren Sato) of this season) left a decent record of 2nd-place finish after starting from pole position. HRC/Honda announced recently that CIVIC TYPE R-GT will retire after this season and Prelude-GT will be introduced as a new GT500 race car next season. The fleet must be determined to fight hard in remaining 2 races with a chant, “Victory for CIVIC TYPE R-GT!”

■Z squad having momentum going from back-to-back wins. Autopolis meister No.23 and last year’s pole-sitter No.24 could be victorious candidates?

　The first half of this season was a rough road for the NISMO GT500 squad, but No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi) brought in a win after qualifying in second place at Round 5 Suzuka. At Round 6 SUGO, No.24 Realize Corporation ADVAN Z (Tsugio Matsuda / Teppei Natori), starting from the 5th position on the grid, fought its way up to be in the battle for the lead and dramatically captured the win after overtaking the top position in the last lap. The momentum is surely with the Z squad from the consecutive wins in recent 2 races. In the history of Nissan cars at Autopolis, NISMO’s success is prominent with 6 wins by No.23 (No.1) car, in addition to the 2nd and 3rd places on the podium last year by No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi duo this season) and No.3 Niterra MOTUL Z (Daiki Sasaki / Atsushi Miyake combination this season), respectively.
　No.23 car’s natural target would be, then, a podium finish, or a win to claim the title at the final race. They, anyways, have to score the maximum point. Previous race winner No.24 car also has a recognizable record at Autopolis, pole position last year and 3rd podium finish in 2022. These 2 cars will be the leading force of the Z squad for the podium, or for the victory, again this year at Autopolis.

■Eyes must be kept on upper rankers in GT300 too! No.0 Huracan, No.2 GR86, and No.52 GR Supra complete victorious candidate list?

　With 2 races remaining this season, the driver standing of GT300 class is led by No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Togo Suganami / Haruki Kurosawa). Hirate of No.56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira / Kohei Hirate) follows with 4.5 points behind. The gap from the No.65 duo is a bit larger for No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka) and No.777 D’station Vantage (Tomonobu Fujii/ Charlie Fagg) standing at 8.5 and 12.5 point deficits, respectively.
　No.65 car cruises at the top position this season, however, they must not be feeling comfortable yet. Last year after getting the gap reduced by No.88 car (this year’s No.0 car with Takashi Kogure and Yuya Motojima) and No.2 car (HYPER WATER INGING GR86 GT with Yuui Tsutsumi / Hibiki Taira / Kazuhisa Urabe this season) from these cars taking the win and second position at Autopolis race, although No.65 car also capturing a decent result of 6th place finish, the team eventually had the title stolen away by the Kogure / Motojima duo in No.88 car through the remaining 2 races of the season (there were Round 8 Motegi as well as postponed Round 5 Suzuka after the Autopolis round). The team has to aim for a podium finish at this season’s Autopolis even with a heavy 69kg success weight (SW) on their back. No.56, 4, and 777 cars with a large gap would want a podium finish at least to stack a big point regardless of No.65 car and take it to the final round for the title decision.
　　Unlike others, the defending champion No.8 VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Yuya Motojima) is in a must-win situation. The team won 4 times, including Autopolis, and claimed the title last year, but their best result this season so far is 4th place and they have not even reached the podium. They are not in a position to even mention consecutive titles considering the current points, so, for their dignity, the team would want to seal the first win of the season at their favorite circuit they won last year, Autopolis. No.2 car also boasts a good record at Autopolis, pole position in 2023 as well as achieving 2nd-place finish 2 years in a row last year. It’s about time for them to take the highest position this year and capture the long-awaited title at the final race. No.52 Green Brave GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshida / Seita Nonaka) is also a legitimate candidate for win from their consecutive wins in 2022 and 2023.
　No.6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (Yoshiaki Katayama / Roberto Merhi Muntan) captured pole position in last year’s qualifying on wet track surface, so there is a chance for the car to be in the battle for the podium depending on the weather. Considering the qualifying results of 2nd and 3rd places in 2014, we may see No.56 and 777 cars outrunning other cars regardless of their heavy SW (loaded 50kg last year) and take the win if indeed it becomes a wet race.