With the start of the Official Tests of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT season, it is just about one month until the opening round of the series at Okayama (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 fourth edition, we present an interview with driver Togo Suganami, who returned last season to K2 R&D LEON RACING, and with Naoya Gamou won the GT300 class Championship title.
* Interviewed at the Official tests Okayama
Togo Suganami No. 65 LEON PYRAMID AMG（2025 GT300 class Champion）
− In the 2026 season that you go into as Champion, have you gained confidence now that you have run in the tests here? Because we didn’t take part in the GTE tests, we brought the new car, which we’re introducing this year, in a state where it had only undergone a shakedown test. Therefore, these Official Tests at Okayama have been the first serious runs for us in the car. In Session 1 (morning of Day 1) we did primarily tire tests, etc., run by Gamou-san, and since we got times that will make us competitive again this year, that in itself is a very positive indicator. But I believe that the other teams have been through a lot of trial and error to prepare for this season. Because we believe that it will thus be difficult to get a second consecutive title running on last year’s level of performance, we have been using the off-season to work on improving our level of performance as much as we can.
− I believe that your goal is to win a second consecutive series title, so would you tell us about the energy and ambition you are putting into this challenge. This is a team that Gamou-san has been leading as the ace driver, and since it has been left up to him to work on the car setup and the choice of tires, I believe I have only the important task of running as fast as I can and contribute as much as possible to the team with what he gives us. Certainly, our team is aiming for a second consecutive title, but in order to do that if we only maintain our present level of performance our rivals will leave us behind. Last season there were many races where we struggled in terms of our speed, but it was important that there wasn’t a single race that ended without scoring any points. Although it is a problem many would not complain about, I had a bit of an impression that we had not won on our own strength alone. Even though there were other teams that had plenty of strength, I think that it was due to their accidents or mechanical trouble that they lost the points they needed. For that reason, this year, regardless of the condition of the other teams, I believe we have to keep increasing the overall strength of our team where we can.
− In closing, would you give us a message to the fans of car No. 65’s Gamou and Suganami driver pair! We will be doing our best to show you an interesting race, so we hope as many of you as possible will come to the circuit to see us close up in person. If you, the fans, can come to cheer us on, we will run as fast as we can to answer the enthusiasm you bring. And since we believe that the total effect of this is good for the sport, we will be very happy if you come and cheer for us and continue to support us.
For the next interview, we will be talking with one of the most highly regarded drivers to be coming to the GT500 class. After competing in overseas race series last season, this driver, Kakunoshin Ohta, will be coming in as the first driver for the No. 8 #8 ARTA MUGEN HRC PRELUDE-GT team. We hope you will look forward to his interview.
