Round 2 of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, the “FUJI GT 3 Hours RACE GW Special” was held on May 4th (Sun./Holiday) at Fuji Speedway (one lap 4,563m × 3 hours) in Shizuoka Prefecture. At the start of the race the air temperature reached 24 degrees Celsius. In the GT500 class the winner of the opening round of the season, the No. 36 au TOM’S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita) starting from 2nd position on the grid came through to take its second win in a row this season. In the GT300 class, the No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira / Iori Kimura) started the race from 6th position on the grid and moved up to take the lead in the first half and go on to take its first win since 2023.
＜GT500＞ On this race day for the first 3-hour race of the season, the “FUJI GT 3 hours RACE GW SPECIAL”, the rain that had been feared never fell during the race. On this day, May 4th, some 50,000 spectators flocked to the circuit to witness this exciting 3-hour, 115 lap race.
Fukuzumi in the pole-starting No. 14 ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra (Nirei Fukuzumi / Kazuya Ohshima) took the lead in the early stages. By the 34th lap of the race Fukuzumi widened his lead over the No. 36 au TOM’S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita) that had started from 2nd position on the grid to more than 20 seconds before turning over the wheel to his teammate Oshima. The pursuing car No. 36 also made its pit stop on the same lap. Changing drivers from Yamashita to Tsuboi, and from there the 3-time consecutive champions began a desperate pursuit.
By the 65th lap of the race, the gap between the two leaders was down to less than 10 seconds, and by the 74th lap it was less than 4 seconds, and at this point No. 36 made its second pit stop first on the 76th lap prior to the leading car No. 14, and after completing its pit work and sent Tsuboi back into the race. As for car No. 14, it made its pit stop on the 78 lap and changed drivers from Oshima to Fukuzumi, and when it returned to the race on 79th lap, it was passed from behind by car No. 36, which then took the lead. Although No. 14 did its best to give chase to car No. 36, in the latter stages of the race No. 36 gradually increased its lead, and in the end it finished the 3-hour 115-lap race with a lead of 8.786 seconds to win its second consecutive victory of the season following the win in the opening round at Okayama.
Finishing in 3rd place was the No. 23 MOTUL Niterra Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi) that had started the race from 3rd position and following a collision with the No. 38 KeePer CERUMO GR Supra (Toshiki Oyu / Rikuto Kobayashi) had run off the track but succeeded in making a quick recovery, after which it held off the pursuing No. 24 REALIZE CORPORATION Z (Teppei Natori / Atsushi Miyake) and the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD GR Supra (Yuhi Sekiguchi / Sacha Fenestraz) to get its first podium finish of the season. Also, the fastest finisher among the Honda HRC PRELUDE-GT cars was the No. 16 #16 ARTA MUGEN HRC PRELUDE-GT（Tomoki Nojiri / Ren Sato） in 5th place.
＜GT300＞ In the GT300 class race, the pole-sitting No. 61 SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT (Takuto Iguchi / Hideki Yamauchi) led the race in the early stages but eventually lose ground due to tire trouble. After completing its first pit stop, the No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira / Iori Kimura) which had started the race from 6th position, steadily worked its way up through the field to emerge in the lead. After which it held off pursuers including the No. 666 seven x seven PORSCHE GT3R EVO (Sven Muller / Kiyoto Fujinami), the No. 65 LEON PYRAMID AMG (Naoya Gamou / Togo Suganami/Haruki Kurosawa) and the No. 31 apr LC500h GT (Kazuto Kotaka / Miki Koyama/ Charlie Wurz) to win its first race since the Round 2 at Fuji in 2023. Finishing in 2nd place was cat No. 65, while 3rd place went to car No. 31 that had also finished 3rd in the opening round.
※Spectators on May 4th (Race day/ fair weather) 50,300 ／ May 3rd (Qualifying day / cloudy): 33,300
■Winner Comments
No.36 au TOM’S GR Supra Sho Tsuboi:“After Yamashita-san ran strongly to get us in 2nd position in the qualifying sessions, I thought we would be able to compete well in the race. However, in the race car No. 14 was also strong, which made it a tough race, but I am glad that we were able to realize our goal of getting a second consecutive win. In the latter stages our rivals were the other GR Supra cars, so we had a good idea of what their tiers and other factors were, and I thought we would be stronger in the second half of the race, so I was able to push on with confidence.”
Kenta Yamashita:“In the first half, there were some difficulties that kept us from running at our usual pace. In the end, it was good the way（Tsuboi-san） performed. But since there was a gap to make up, it was good for me to see how Tsuboi-san and the team did. When I am asked why we are so strong…. It is thanks to Tsuboi-san and the team. I’ not so much…, just normal (wry smile).”
No.56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R Joao Paulo de Oliveira:“Since every year there are new cars entering in GT300, it is very competitive and winning is difficult, hard to win I believe. As for why it has taken us so long to get this win, I think we won because we have never given up. I am grateful for the presence of our Manager Kondo and Kimura-san, and for my wife came here today to support as well.”
Iori Kimura:“I am glad that I was able to show my gratitude for Manager Kondo having brought me to the team this year. As for the previous opening round…. When I get nervous, I am the type that ties up (wry smile), so this time I really tried to keep calm and be ready for my turn at the wheel and making sure to hand the car over properly to the next. I want to thank everyone.”
