With the opening round of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, the “OKAYAMA GT 300km RACE,” just around the corner, anticipation is building. The race will take place on April 11th (Sat) and 12th (Sun) at Okayama International Circuit in Okayama Prefecture, as it does every year. This season sees the debut of Honda’s new PRELUDE GT in the GT500 Class, raising questions about how it will perform on the technical Okayama circuit. In GT300, BMW returns to the series, while Ferrari introduces an EVO specification car. There are also notable driver line ups, including talented rookies and surprising transfers, all of which could reshape the competitive order in both classes. As the curtain rises on the 2026 SUPER GT season, the Okayama opener is not to be missed.

*The top photo is from the 2025 Okayama season opener. The photos below were taken during the Official Test Okayama and Fuji in March 2026.

Okayama International Circuit information
■Track details
Length: 3,703m
Width: 12 to 15m
Elevation difference: 29m

■Track records
GT500
1’16.441 Nirei Fukuzumi / No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra 2025 Round 1 Qualifying – Q2 (April 12)
GT300
1’24.286 Hideki Yamauchi / No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT　 2022 Round 1 Qualifying – Q2 (April 16)

■GR Supra strong at Okayama! Can No.36 and No.14 lead a clean sweep at the front?

　Last season, the No.1 au TOM’S GR Supra and Sho Tsuboi secured a third consecutive title, but the team has moved back to car number “36” with the pair of Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita. In 2023, the duo fought for the lead until the final stages before retiring, and without that setback they could have achieved three straight Okayama wins, underlining just how strong they have been at this circuit in recent years. They are once again among the top favorites.
Challenging the No.36 car during the recent official Okayama test were the No.14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra (Nirei Fukuzumi / Kazuya Oshima) and the No.38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra (Toshiki Oyu / Rikuto Kobayashi). The No.14 car won at Okayama in both 2022 and 2023 and finished second last year, fighting closely with the No.36 GR Supra for the top position. For No.38, Oyu steps up as the new ace driver, guiding GT500 rookie Kobayashi. The No.39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi / Sasha Fenestraz) has also finished on the Okayama podium in the past two seasons and will be aiming for victory.

■High expectations for the debut of the HRC PRELUDE‑GT!! Eyes on No.100 and No.8!

　Honda’s HRC PRELUDE GT makes its race debut at Okayama. While last year’s CIVIC TYPE R GT relied on straight line speed, the PRELUDE GT appears capable of generating strong downforce based on its silhouette, with some suggesting it may behave more like the former NSX GT as a cornering focused machine. The technical Okayama circuit should provide an ideal stage to assess this, and fans are encouraged to watch closely.
During the March official test, the focus was still on setup work rather than headline lap times, but the No.100 STANLEY HRC PRELUDE GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) showed promise when Makino set the second fastest time in the morning session of Day 2, just behind the No.38 GR Supra. Expectations among Honda fans are understandably high.
This year also sees the No.8 #8 ARTA MUGEN HRC PRELUDE GT (Kakunoshin Ohta / Hiroki Otsu) move to HRC maintenance. While the team did not feature prominently on the timesheets during the official test in Okayama, anticipation is building for Ohta’s sharp driving in race conditions following his return from overseas competition.

■All three Zs on Bridgestone. Can data sharing and aero gains bring back competitiveness?

　Nissan Z NISMO GT500 line up is reduced to three cars for 2026, with all three now running Bridgestone tires. This allows the teams to share baseline data more effectively, which should accelerate setup development. In recent seasons, the Z struggled when setup fell outside the ideal window, but aerodynamic development was unlocked over the off season, and countermeasures appear to be progressing.
Okayama has not been an unfavorable circuit for the Z, with one two finishes achieved by Car No.23 and 3 in 2023 and 2 cars finished on the podium in 2019 and 2016. For this year’s Okayama season opener, attention will be on the No.23 MOTUL Niterra Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi), which enters its third season running on Bridgestone tires with an increasingly refined tire car match up, as well as the No.12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette), a long time Bridgestone runner from whom strong performances are also expected.

■AMG advantage led by the five year podium streak of No.65? Or will a dark horse emerge?

　In GT300, the No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamo / Togo Suganami) won the 2025 Okayama opener and went on to secure its second class championship without handing over the leading position of point standing. With five consecutive podium finishes at Okayama, they once again enter as leading contenders.
It’s not only about No. 65 car, the Mercedes AMG GT3 machinery has generally performed well at Okayama. Last year’s pole position was claimed by the No.4 GOODSMILE Hatsune Miku AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka), while in 2024 and 2023 it was the No.65 car, testaments of superior pace of AMG GT3. At the March test, the No.32 ENEOS X PRIME AMG GT3 (Hiroaki Ishiura / Tokiya Suzuki) consistently set competitive times despite being a new entry this season. The No.18 UPGARAGE AMG GT3 (Takashi Kobayashi / Kotaro Shimbara), 2023-race winner, could also factor into the fight for victory or a position in the upper group.
The Nissan GT R NISMO GT3 has likewise proven strong at Okayama. The No.56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira / Iori Kimura) boasts sound records at the track, winning in 2022 en route to the title and finishing third last year. Kimura, coming off a final round victory with a Mother Chassis car, will be eager to continue that momentum.
Among the GT300 spec cars, the No.60 Syntium LMcorsa LC500 GT (Hiroki Yoshimoto / Shunsuke Kohno) topped the first day of testing, while the No.52 Green Brave GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshida / Seita Nonaka) led on day two. The No.2 HYPER WATER INGING GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi / Kazuhisa Urabe), winner here two years ago, also carries dark horse potential.
Among the GT300 spec cars, the No.60 Syntium LMcorsa LC500 GT (Hiroki Yoshimoto / Shunsuke Kohno) topped the first day of testing, while the No.52 Green Brave GR Supra GT (Hiroki Yoshida / Seita Nonaka) led on Day 2. The No.2 HYPER WATER INGING GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi / Kazuhisa Urabe), winner here two years ago, also carries dark horse potential.
Further intrigue comes from the No.88 VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Daniil Kvyat), with former F1 driver Kvyat joining the line up of the GT300 class champion team of 2 years ago. Local Okayama squads such as the No.96 K tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Shinichi Takagi) and the home-track No.6 UNI ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (Yoshiaki Katayama / Niklas Krütten) should not be underestimated either. In wet conditions, the No.666 seven x seven PORSCHE GT3R EVO (Sven Muller / Kiyoto Fujinami) could also capitalize from its rear-engined layout. Attention will also be on the No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) mounting a new 3-liter twin turbo engine and the returning BMW entry, the No.9 PACIFIC Umamusume NAC BMW (Yusuke Tomibayashi / Yuta Fujiwara), especially, on how the car will handle its first race.
With so many storylines converging, the 2026 Okayama season opener promises to offer early insight into the GT300 competitive landscape.