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Super GT Okayama
Okayama SUPER GT – schedule, how to watch, entry list
SUPER GT will kick off its hotly-anticipated 2023 season to former Pacific Grand Prix venue Okayama International Circuit this weekend. Here's how you can follow all the action.
Edited: Apr 13, 2023, 6:49 AM
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A total of 42 cars, 15 in GT500 and 27 in GT300, are slated to do battle in Sunday's 300km opener, the first of eight races on the 2023 SUPER GT schedule.
While there may be an aero freeze in the top GT500 class ahead of the introduction of all-new machines, the development war between the 'big three' manufacturers remains as intense as ever, with new aero pieces appearing on both the Honda NSX-GT and Toyota GR Supra in pre-season testing.
Meanwhile, the introduction of carbon-neutral fuel (currently limited to the GT500 class only) promises to add another variable into the mix to shake up the order.
After winning its first GT500 title since 2015 last season, Nissan goes into 2023 defending the title, with the Team Impul Z of Bertrand Baguette and Kazuki Hiramine carrying the coveted number one plate.
Nissan has made no changes to its four-car GT500 driver line-up for this season, but Honda and Toyota have both made some significant alterations as they try and win back the crown.
At Honda, a second car for ARTA as part of a tie-up with dominant Super Formula team Mugen has been one of the big hot topics of the off-season, with Tomoki Nojiri and Toshiki Oyu sure to be one of the combinations to watch in their first race together in the #8 NSX-GT at Okayama.
Kakunoshin Ota will also be hoping to make a splash on his GT500 debut at Nakajima Racing after an impressive rookie season in GT300 last year.
Meanwhile, at Toyota, Honda convert Ukyo Sasahara will make his debut at the wheel of a GR Supra alongside Giuliano Alesi in the #37 TOM'S car, but it's Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata in the sister #36 machine that looks like the manufacturer's biggest threat at the moment.
In the GT300 class, a wide of variety of machines are set to do battle as ever in one of worldwide motorsport's most diverse category.
One car to watch out for in particular will be the all-new Lexus LC500h campaign by apr, replacing the fan favourite Toyota Prius this year, while DTM champion Bruno Spengler will be making his debut for BMW Team Studie.
SUPER GT time schedule for Okayama, Round 1
Times are Local/UK time (GMT+1)/EDT/PDT
Saturday April 15
Free practice (1h45 minutes) – 9.10am/1.10am/8.10pm (Friday)/5.10pm (Friday)
Qualifying – 2pm/6am/1am/10pm (Friday)
Sunday April 16
Warm-up – 12pm/4am/11pm (Saturday)/8pm (Saturday)
Race (82 laps) – 1.30pm/5.30am/12.30am/9.30pm (Saturday)
Don't see your timezone listed? Check out our SUPER GT schedule page to see the session times in your local timezone
How can I watch SUPER GT at Okayama?
Motorsport.tv will once again be offering full coverage of both qualifying and the race for every round of the 2023 SUPER GT season (subscription required, available worldwide except Japan).
Commentary will be provided by Jake Sanson and Motorsport.com’s own expert Japanese racing analyst Jamie Klein.
Click here for further information, and to get your subscription now
SUPER GT entry list for Okayama, Round 1
GT500 class:
Manufacturer
Team
Tyre
No.
Drivers
Nissan
Z GT500
Team Impul
Bridgestone
1
Bertrand Baguette
Kazuki Hiramine
NDDP Racing
Michelin
3
Katsumasa Chiyo
Mitsunori Takaboshi
NISMO
Michelin
23
Ronnie Quintarelli
Tsugio Matsuda
Kondo Racing
Yokohama
24
Kohei Hirate
Daiki Sasaki
Toyota
GR Supra
Rookie Racing
Bridgestone
14
Kazuya Oshima
Kenta Yamashita
Racing Project Bandoh
Yokohama
19
Yuji Kunimoto
Sena Sakaguchi
TOM’S
Bridgestone
36
Sho Tsuboi
Ritomo Miyata
37
Ukyo Sasahara
Giuliano Alesi
Cerumo
Bridgestone
38
Hiroaki Ishiura
Yuji Tachikawa
SARD
Bridgestone
39
Yuhi Sekiguchi
Yuichi Nakayama
Honda
NSX-GT (Type S)
ARTA
Bridgestone
8
Tomoki Nojiri
Toshiki Oyu
16
Nirei Fukuzumi
Hiroki Otsu
Real Racing
Bridgestone
17
Koudai Tsukakoshi
Nobuharu Matsushita
Nakajima Racing
Dunlop
64
Takuya Izawa
Kakunoshin Ota
Team Kunimitsu
Bridgestone
100
Naoki Yamamoto
Tadasuke Makino
GT300 class:
No. Team Car Tyre Drivers 2 Muta Racing Inging Toyota GR86 GT Bridgestone
Yuui Tsutsumi
Hibiki Taira
4 Goodsmile Racing & Team Ukyo Mercedes-AMG GT3 Yokohama
Nobuteru Taniguchi
Tatsuya Kataoka
5 Team Mach Toyota 86 MC Yokohama
Yusuke Tomibayashi
Takamitsu Matsui
6 Team LeMans Audi R8 LMS GT3 Yokohama
Roberto Merhi
Yoshiaki Katayama
7 BMW Team Studie BMW M4 GT3 Michelin
Seiji Ara
Bruno Spengler
9 Pacific Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Yokohama
Ryohei Sakaguchi
Liang Jiatong
10 Gainer Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Dunlop
Hironobu Yasuda
Riki Okusa
11 Gainer Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Dunlop
Ryuichiro Tomita
Keishi Ishikawa
18 Team UpGarage Honda NSX GT3 Yokohama
Takashi Kobayashi
Shun Koide
20 Shade Racing Toyota GR86 GT Dunlop
Katsuyuki Hiranaka
Eijiro Shimizu
22 R'Qs Motor Sports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Yokohama
Hisashi Wada
Masaki Jyonai
25 Hoppy Team Tsuchiya Toyota GR Supra GT300 Yokohama
Togo Suganami
Seita Nonaka
27 Yogibo Racing Honda NSX GT3 Yokohama
Reimei Ito
Yugo Iwasawa
30 apr Toyota GR86 GT Yokohama
Yuta Kamimura
Manabu Orido
31 apr Lexus LC500h GT Bridgestone
Koki Saga
Kazuto Kotaka
48 NILZZ Racing Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Yokohama
Taiyou Ida
Yuki Tanaka
50 Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage Lexus RC F GT3 Yokohama
Igor Fraga
Yuga Furutani
52 Saitama Toyopet Green Brave Toyota GR Supra GT300 Bridgestone
Hiroki Yoshida
Kohta Kawaai
56 Kondo Racing Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Yokohama
JP de Oliveira
Teppei Natori
60 LM Corsa Toyota GR Supra GT300 Dunlop
Hiroki Yoshimoto
Shunsuke Kohno
61 R&D Sport Subaru BRZ Dunlop
Takuto Iguchi
Hideki Yamauchi
65 K2 R&D LEON Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Bridgestone
Naoya Gamou
Takuro Shinohara
87 JLOC Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Yokohama
Kosuke Matsuura
Natsu Sakaguchi
88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Yokohama
Takashi Kogure
Yuya Motojima
96 K-tunes Racing Lexus RC F GT3 Dunlop
Morio Nitta
Shinichi Takagi
244 Max Racing Toyota GR Supra GT300 Yokohama
Kimiya Sato
Atsushi Miyake
360 Tomei Sports Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Yokohama
Takayuki Aoki
Atsushi Tanaka
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