The 2025 AUTOBACS SUPER GT opening round “OKAYAMA GT 300km RACE” will be held on April 12th (Saturday) and 13th (Sunday) at Okayama International Circuit in Okayama Prefecture. In the GT500 class, the Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT, which debuted last year, has been further refined, and we can expect even more intense battles with the NISSAN Z NISMO GT500 and the TOYOTA GR Supra GT500, which produced last year’s champion car. GT300 class will see a total of 28 cars competing, one more than last year, by having a new car model and Porsche returning to the series. Together with the revision of points system, the intensity of battle could get higher even in the mid-field in the GT300 class. Enjoy the 2025 opening round at Okayama, where the fighting power of each car and the new power dynamics will be revealed.
※Top photo is from 2024 season opener in Okayama. *Photos below are from the official Okayama test.

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

■Track records
GT500
1’16.602 Ronnie Quintarelli / No.23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R 2019 Round 1 Qualifying – Q2 (April 13)
GT300
1’24.286 Hideki Yamauchi / No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT　 2022 Round 1 Qualifying – Q2 (April 16)

■Defending champion No.1 car is undisputed top favorite for back-to-back season opening race win!? Expectations are high for No.38 car with gained momentum.

au TOM’S GR Supra achieved consecutive championship last year by recording three wins in eight races for two consecutive seasons and, for this season, it will be bearing the champion number as No.1 au TOM’S GR Supra driven by Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita. Due to the regulations of the GT500 class, the basic development of any hardware-related part of the car is frozen this season which can give an advantage to the No. 1 car that is not changing the team organization structure. In fact, the champion car is already drawing attention as a top favorite for the opening round at Okayama, which it also won last year, as well as the title contention after recording good lap times at two official tests.

The rival for the No. 1 car among the teams running the same TOYOTA GR Supra GT500 is likely to be No. 38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra (Hiroaki Ishiura / Tsubasa Oyu). Last year, it finished fourth in the race at Okayama, which was the first race under the new team structure with team manager Yuji Tachikawa and the addition of Oyu and, although it did not win a race, produced three podium finishes and ranked third overall, the second-best result among the GR Supra teams after the No.1 car. They must be determined to fight with a clear focus on victories and the title for their second year. No.1 car will probably have No.38 car and No.37 Deloitte TOM’S GR Supra (Ukyo Sasahara / Giuliano Alesi), which won two races last year but had many missed opportunities, chasing its back throughout the season.

■The chance is here for matured CIVIC TYPE R-GT squad! Core force could be No.100 and 8 cars.

Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT made its debut at last year’s season opening round in Okayama. The inaugural event was embellished by a third place finish in both qualifying and the race by No.100 STANLEY CIVIC TYPE R-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino). No.100 car went on to compete against No.1 car for the title. It must had been a difficult task to execute considering it was the first year and the data from ancestor NSX-GT could not be utilized as much since the characteristics of aerodynamics was significantly different. Nevertheless, No. 8 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT #8 (Tomoki Nojiri / Nobuharu Matsushita) won one race, and No.100 car finished second in the rankings.

With the experience from last year’s races and off-season tests, the setup of the car should be well-refined. The real battle for the CIVIC TYPE R-GT squad starts from here. Okayama must be a favorable track especially for No. 100 and No. 8 cars that have scored four podium finishes in the last five races at Okayama, even with a different car. Can the squad achieve the second victory of CIVIC TYPE R-GT here?　Will that be done by No. 100 or No. 8, or perhaps another car? The upcoming race could become a key indicator of this season for the CIVIC TYPE R-GT squad.

■Former Car No. 3 duo challenges for long-awaited title in No.23 car!　Can No.3 car make a leap also?

Last year, the NISSAN Z NISMO GT500 fleet could not be in the the title contest at the final round. However, No.3 Niterra MOTUL Z made into the third position in the final rankings. The duo that was partnering for No.3 car that has always been at the highest position in the point rankings among the Z squad in three seasons since 2023 is now reunited at No.23 MOTUL AUTECH Z, Katsumasa Chiyo moving last year and Mitsunori Takaboshi joining this season, to share the wheel of No.23 car. It is noteworthy to see if renewed No.23 car can play the starring role of a story beginning from the season opening race in Okayama to crowning of the title.

No.3 car added Daiki Sasaki to team up with Atsushi Miyake. With winning experience in GT500, there should not be any doubt on Sasaki’s capability. Mitsuyama, who was promoted from GT300 to No.3 car last year, showed speed in the mid-season and competed strongly against No.1 car in the final race. It will be an interesting second year for him as he teams up with Sasaki, who was a senior teammate as well as a mentor in their karting days, this year.

■Can No.0 car maintain its dominant force from late last year? Eyes should be on No.2, 65, and 6 cars at Okayama.

VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Yuya Motojima), which dominated the GT300 class last season with four wins in eight races, including three consecutive wins in the latter half, will compete this season bearing No.0, the champion number of GT300. With their basic structure remaining unchanged with the driver combination of Kogure and Motojima, Huracan GT3 EVO2, and Yokohama tires, the team is receiving a recognition as a strong contender for the title again this season, which was enhanced even more by their performance of marking the top time on dry track surface at the official tests held at Okayama and Fuji. Although Huracan GT3 has not produced satisfying results at the season opening races in Okayama, the track layout should not be problematic to the car, therefore, the team should have a quite good chance for battling in the upper positions at this year’s season opener.

Contrastingly, No.65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Togo Suganami) has always been successful at Okayama. The team captured pole position and second place in the race last year, making their record of consecutive podium finishes to four. The car that crossed the finish line before No.65 car last year was No.2 HYPER WATER INGING GR86 GT (Yuui Tsutsumi / Hibiki Taira). The team is continuing with the same organization this year. With the frustration they must have from missing the title in two consecutive years, they should be determined to clinch back-to-back win at Okayama. No.0, 65, and 2 cars are the top favorites for winning the Okayama season opener of this season.

No.6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (Yoshiaki Katayama / Roberto Merhi Muntan) could be a dark horse. It will be their second year under the core team structure, which achieved a podium finish but not a win. The speed the car showed during the official test at Okayama appeared to be sufficient for victory. Furthermore, Okayama is a circuit which both the team and Katayama have run extensively so that it can even be considered as their home. The possibility is quite high for accomplishing the first win under the current team organization at Okayama.
FIA GT3 cars have been fast on the track of Okayama, and, thus, No.56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira / Kohei Hirate) with a record of consecutive wins, No. 96 K-tunes RC F GT3 (Morio Nitta / Shinichi Takagi), a team based in Okayama, No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG (Nobuteru Taniguchi / Tatsuya Kataoka), and No.61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) possibly with enhanced fighting force by introduction of a new car this season cannot be underestimated. If it rains, then No.45 PONOS FERRARI 296 (Kei Cozzolino / Lilou Wadoux) that showed pretty good speed at the test at Okayama and No.20 SHADE RACING GR86 GT (Katsuyuki Hiranaka / Eijiro Shimizu) wearing Michelin tires that perform superbly in rain could be contending strongly for podium.

The season opening event in Okayama also provides the first look into eye-catching rookies, youngsters, and new teams, like last year’s FIA-F4 champion Yuto Nomura (Takashi Kobayashi / Yuto Nomura), Hironobu Yasuda who is returning with No.26 ANEST IWATA RC F GT3 that is having a new team organization, the driver lineup of Zak O Sullivan and Rikuto Kobayashi that was selected to drive with new team No.7 CARGUY FERRARI 296 GT3, and No.666 seven × seven PORSCHE GT3R (Kiyoto Fujinami / Tsubasa Kondo), a new team that is drawing attention overwhelmingly.

Additionally, with the increased points for victory to 25 points and points awarded up to 15th place in the race from this season, the GT300 competition is expected to be fiercer than ever. Try to look more closely at the GT300 class than previous years at the first event of the season at Okayama International Circuit, you will sure enjoy the battle.