With the conclusion of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Official tests at Okayama and Fuji, with 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 fifth edition, we present an interview with driver Kakunoshin Ohta, who chose not to compete in the GT500 class last season and for this season comes to the No. 8 #8 ARTA MUGEN HRC PRELUDE-GT as its first driver.
* Interviewed at the Official tests Okayama
Kakunoshin Ohta No. 8 #8 ARTA MUGEN HRC PRELUDE-GT
− Last year you competed in IMSA series in the U.S. and this year you will be competing in SUPER GT as a new member of the ARTA team. Would you tell us how this came about? Near the end of last season, I was offered the opportunity to compete in SUPER GT again and I accepted the offer. Last year, I participated in the IMSA series as a driver for the semi-works team of HRC US, and I got the impression that my speed as a driver had been accepted. So, it turned out that once again I would make Japan my base this season, and since I was fortunate to get the support of HRC, I joined the ARTA team (which has joined together with HRC this season).
− ARTA is known as a popular and strong team that was created by the SUPER GT title sponsor “AUTOBACS” and team manager Aguri Suzuki, isn’t it. Now that you have joined it, how do you feel about it? It is very professional and its organization is a good example of “How a winning team should be”, so I feel that it is really a wonderful team. But, it also has a good number of young mechanics, and the feeling of that young atmosphere that produces new ideas, etc., where it seems like everyone is moving together. It is a team that very active with a good atmosphere and in the field of engineering, etc., they do everything for us. In that respect I don’t feel even the smallest bit of worry.
− The Honda camp has changed this season to the HRC PRELUDE-GT car. Although it is still in the testing stage, do you feel good about it? As you can see from the shape of the car, the aerodynamics are very different from the previous car (CIVIC TYPE R-GT) and there are many other positive differences. Personally, I think it looks cool, and the overall performance is good enough that I think everyone can look forward to it. And when I drive it, I can feel that the performance is good.
− The opening round at Okayama is getting close (April 11th and 12th). In closing, will you tell us about your expectations for the opening round and the season as a whole? Seeing how much effort HRC and Honda are putting into this season, I believe that the expectations for performance as Honda drivers will be higher than in other years. I will be approaching this season not simply with a desire to get good results, but with a strong feeling that “I must achieve good results.”
For the next interview we will be talking with Yuto Nomura, a driver who ran a pole-to-win race in the GT300 class last year and this year has stepped up to the GT500 class as a member of the No.17 Astemo HRC PRELUDE-GT team. We hope you will look forward to his interview.
