With the conclusion of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Official tests at Okayama and Fuji, the opening round of the season at Okayama is fast approaching (held on April 11th and 12th).
With this, we interviewed some of the drivers who will be the focus of special attention, as well as rookie drivers and newly added drivers. As we look forward to the start of the series we offer their messages to the SUPER GT fans.
In this 15th edition, we will be talking with Lee Jung woo, a native of Korea Republic who, thanks to GT Academy, was able to step up to FIA-F4 and Super Taikyu racing, and this season he was given a seat in GT300 driving the No. 26 ANEST IWATA GAINER Z.
* Interviewed at the Official tests at Fuji
Lee Jung woo No. 26 ANEST IWATA GAINER Z (GT300 class rookie)
—Welcome to SUPER GT ! Your Japanese is very good, could you please tell us about your racing career up until now. In 2015, I was chosen as a finalist in the GT Academy* JAPAN FINAL, and I started competing in Super Taikyu from 2018. From 2020 I was unable to come to Japan due to the Corona pandemic, and around the time that the pandemic was ending, I had to do my required military service in Korea. During that period I also competed in Korea’s SUPER 6000. This blank period continued for a year and a half, but during this time I took a good look at myself, and I feel this made me a lot stronger mentally. And as I became an adult in the process, I felt that it contributed to my race activities as well. After that, I was able to return to Super Taikyu racing from 2024, and I was able to win the ST-TCR class championship title in 2024 and 2025.
This year I will take on the new challenge of participating in SUPER GT. Since I don’t think it will be easy, I want to study well and from the middle stages into the final stages of the season I want to be able to achieve good results and leave the impression that I am a good driver.
* GT Academy is a program launched as a combination of the GRAN TURISMO simulation software along with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. to find and train real racing drivers. The program’s activities have since been terminated.
—What was it then that enabled you to join the ANEST IWATA Racing team? At the Fuji 24 Hour Race (Round 3 of the Super Taikyu series) Hironobu Yasuda-san (First driver of the No. 26 ANEST IWATA GAINER Z) joined the team as a support, and it was through him that I got the introduction. As for my actual participation, it was due to the support of Katsumasa Chiyo-san (driving the No. 23 MOTUL Niterra Z in SUPER GT and had been his teammate in Super Taikyu).
—What was your impression of driving the ANEST IWATA GAINER Z? Although there is talk about how the down-force of this year’s car has been improved, and this was actually the first time I was driving a car with a high level of down-force and the (degree of that) was quite a shock for me. Due to that, I got the impression that it was a good car. And because of the great power of the engine, I thought that if I could make good use of that we could probably be able to compete at the top level. I have experience competing in Super FJ and FIA-F4, but the level of down-force (in a GT300 car) is completely different. I had a sense that is what down-force would be in a Hakosha (not a formula car or prototype racing car but a mass-production based racing car). Since the weight of a formula car is lighter, regardless of the down-force, the response itself is impressive, and since driving a car with a weight of over one ton was really a first experience for me, I felt that it took me some time to get used to that. But by now I have gotten used to it a bit, so now I am able to run like the other drivers.
—Finally this will be your debut race at Okayama, won’t it. Will you please tell us about your goals for the opening round at Okayama and the coming season. I feel that I would be happy if I could get some series points at Okayama, The truth is that I would like to get a podium finish, but I think that would be very difficult right from the start, so first of all I want to get some series points and become a driver who can perform with steady consistency, and the next step after that will be to get a podium finish.
In the next interview we will talk with Charlie Wurz, who is the son of Alexander Wurz, a driver who has performed well in F1 and WEC with TOYOTA, and this year Charlie will come to Japan as his base of activities and drive the No. 31 apr LC500h GT. We hope you will look forward to it.
