The 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Round 8 (final round), the “MOTEGI GT 250km RACE GRAND FINAL” was held in the afternoon of November 8th (Sun.) at the Mobilityland Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture (on lap 4,801m x 53 laps). In the GT500class the No. 100 STANLEY HRC PRELUDE-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) achieved a perfect win from pole position to become the Champions for the first time since 2022 (3rd time overall). In the GT300 class the No. 88 VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure / Daniil Kvyat) scored a win from pole position. The GT300 class championship went to the No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira / Iori Kimura) that battled to finish 4th in the race.
＜GT500＞ On the day before this final race of the season, Round 8, the official qualifying was run in the morning as with the previous day, and the final race was run in the afternoon, on a day blessed with fair skies. In the official qualifying, the No. 100 STANLEY HRC PRELUDE-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) won pole position. Following in 2nd position was the No. 36 au TOM’S GR Supra (Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita).
After the start of the final race in the afternoon a fierce battle for the lead developed between two title contestants, cars No. 100 and No. 36. The two cars also made their first pit stop at the same time, after which No. 100 took the lead and held it into the final stages of the race.
When the second stint driver Makino took control of car No. 100, he ran away at a fast pace from his first lap out on the track to pull away from car No. 36. In contrast, Tsuboi in car No. 36, was passed in the hairpin turn by the No. 17 Astemo HRC PRELUDE-GT (Koudai Tsukakoshi / Yuto Nomura) that had finished its pit stop one lap earlier, and thus it fell back in the order. However, No. 36 chased No. 17 and finally tried to pass it, but No. 17 didn’t give it any ground. While this was happening, car No. 100 was gradually increasing its lead. Then, when two other cars collided, sending debris across the track a Full Course Yellow call was made, forcing all the cars to slow down. When that happened, car No. 36 collided with a car in front of it, causing damage to No. 36’s left front fender. Partly due to this, No. 36 returned to its pit and ended its race there, which meant giving up hopes of a 4th consecutive title.
Eventually the race ended with No. 100 leaving all the other cars behind it and taking its 3rd win of the season. With this results, the No. 100 driver pair of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino took their first drivers title since 2020. For Yamamoto and the team this was their third title, and for Makino it was his second title.
＜GT300＞ In the early stages of the GT300 class race, the pole-starting No. 88 VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 (Takashi Kogure) was chased by the No. 11 GAINER TANAX Z (Ryuichiro Tomita / Kazuki Oki) that had started from 2nd position on the grid. In the second half of the race, the No. 666 seven x seven PORSCHE GT3R EVO (Sven Müller / Taichi Watarai) that had taken the lead was being chased by the former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat in car No. 88. As No. 666’s pace slowed in the final stages of the race, it was eventually passed by car No. 88, leaving car No. 88 to take a win from pole position. Also, the No. 56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira / Iori Kimura) that was expected to be a difficult outlook after finishing 17th in the morning qualifying session, ended up showing its inherent speed and reliability, and aided by the team’s skillful strategy, managed to finish in 4th place. This was enough to win it this season’s championship title.
*Spectators November 8th (Round 8) 33,000 / Nov. 7th (Round 3) 24,000.
■GT500 Class: Comments from the Series Champions and Race Winners
No. 100 STANLEY HRC PRELUDE-GT Naoki Yamamoto “I think we had a good race today. We had struggled throughout the early part of the season, so I never imagined that we would achieve a result like this in the final round. It was particularly tough during the first two races, but thanks to everyone at Honda, HRC, and the entire team, as well as our engineer, Hoshi-san, we were able to develop a strong car. I’m also thrilled to have won the championship once again alongside Tadasuke (Makino). Thank you to everyone who supported us!”
Tadasuke Makino “As I crossed the finish line, a range of different emotions welled up inside me. I was absolutely determined to win the championship with this team, alongside Naoki-san (Yamamoto). I felt a great deal of pressure over these past two days and the two races, and I was quite nervous during the qualifying sessions. But the staff at HRC worked incredibly hard on the car’s development, while the team as a whole delivered a perfect car, and Bridgestone provided us with fantastic tires. We achieved the best possible outcome—winning the race and securing the championship. Honestly, it’s just the best feeling ever!”
■GT300 Class: Comments from the Series Champions
No.56 REALIZE NISSAN MECHANIC CHALLENGE GT-R Joao Paulo de Oliveira “I’m at a loss for words. We’ve been through so much this season to get to this point, but we’ve always focused on maximizing the potential of this car. I’m also thrilled that we were able to achieve this result in partnership with Yokohama Tire. SUPER GT is a truly fantastic series—one where you never know what might happen right up until the very end. I’m so happy to have won the title with such an incredible team and such wonderful partners.”
Iori Kimura “I’m still struggling to absorb it all – I don’t even know what to say. Throughout this past year, the entire team, JP (de Oliveira), and Yokohama Tire supported me from start to end. Leading up to this weekend at Motegi, I felt completely unsettled – I even made mistakes I’d never made before in my life, which caused some real trouble for the team. I knew I had to make amends through my performance. The team kept their faith in me, and their continued belief is what ultimately led us to the title. I’m just so relieved and happy. Thank you, everyone.”
■GT300 Class: Comments from Race Winners
No.88 VENTENY Lamborghini GT3 Takashi Kogure “I’m truly happy about this win. I really wanted to stand on the podium alongside Daniil (Kvyat). We finished third in yesterday’s Round 3 as well, but that was only after the podium ceremony had already taken place, so we missed out on the actual experience. It’s a shame that the No. 87 car – which also had a shot at a good result – didn’t fare as well, but overall, it was a great outcome. I want to thank everyone on the team.”
Daniil Kvyat “It was a great race (laughs) – thanks to the team! It turned out to be a challenging race, partly due to the strategies employed by our rivals. But Kogure-san secured pole position, our own strategy paid off, and we achieved a fantastic result. I’m so happy to have won the final round. It was an amazing race!”
