2017 Super GT Series preview: 45 crews are ready for new season

Another great season of the sports car racing in the far East is in front of us. Forty-five crews announced their participation in the 2017 Autobacs Super GT Series, the premier Japanese sports car competition, which will start on April 9 at Okayama International Circuit.

This will be the 13th season under the name Super GT or 24th edition of the championship since the foundation of the Japanese Grand Touring Championship in 1993.

Eight races on seven race tracks

Same as the year before, the 2017 season features eight rounds at seven venues. All the locations are the same. After being canceled because of an earthquake, the Autopolis round is returning to the calendar. Buriram United Super GT race at Thailand’s Chang International Circuit remains the only race outside Japan.

This season will be historic because the famous Suzuka 1000 km race is included into a calendar for the last time. In 2018, it will be replaced by 10-hour race at Suzuka Circuit, reserved for GT3 and GT300 machinery.

2017 Super GT Series calendar

Fifteen GT500 and thirty GT300 cars on the grid

Forty-five cars are announced as full-time entries for the 2017 season –  15 in GT500 class and 30 in GT300 class. More than 90 drivers are on the entry list, with lots of changes in the line-ups.

Reigning GT500 champions Heikki Kovalainen and Kohei Hirate will drive the #1 Denso Kobelco SARD Lexus LC 500 for Lexus Team SARD. In the GT300 class, Takeshi Tsuchiya retired after winning his first title and he will focus on a role of the chief engineer for VivaC Team Tsuchiya. His championship-winning partner Takamitsu Matsui stayed with the team. His new co-driver in the #25 Toyota 86 MC would be Kenta Yamashita.

Super GT cars during the pre-season test event at Okayama

Significant changes on the GT500 grid

There are few significant changes on the GT500 grid. Toyota’s WEC driver Kazuki Nakajima returns to Super GT for the first time since 2014, pairing James Rossiter in the #36 Lexus Team au Tom’s car.

Nissan GT Academy graduate Jann Mardenborough, after spending one season in GT300 class, is progressing to GT500 class to drive Team Impul’s #12 Nissan GT-R. His partner will be Hironobu Yasuda. Brazilian driver Joao Paulo de Oliveira is moving from #12 Nissan to Kondo Racing’s #24 Nissan, to share a car with Daiki Sasaki.

Drago Modulo Honda Racing left the championship after two seasons. Honda will continue to run five teams, with revived Team Mugen replacing Drago Modulo on the grid. Hideki Mutoh and Daisuke Nakajima will drive Motul Mugen’s #16 Honda NSX-GT. Another Honda team, the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri, promoted Takashi Kobayashi from GT300 to GT500 class, to share the #8 car with Tomoki Nojiri.

Takeshi Tsuchiya will not defend his title in the #25 Toyota 86 MC

Porsche Supercup champion Sven Müller among rookies

In the GT300 class, there will be lots of rookies. One of them is the Porsche Supercup winner and Porsche factory driver Sven Müller, who joins D’Station Racing to drive the #33 Porsche 911 GT3 R. British driver Sean Walkinshaw is another rookie with lots of experience in other GT competitions. He will drive the #55 BMW M6 GT3 for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri.

From Australia is arriving Jake Parsons, who will have Super GT debut in the #26 Audi R8 LMS of Taisan Team SARD. Among Japanese rookies, there is former F4 champion Sho Tsuboi.

Lexus LC 500 is a new car in the Super GT Series

Lexus replaced RC F with LC 500

Among the manufacturers, the biggest novelty is a completely new Lexus in the GT500 class. The RC F is replaced by LC 500. Six Lexus LC 500s would be on the grid. Honda will continue to run five NSX-GT cars while Nissan will have four GT-Rs in the GT500 class.

In the GT300, Bentley Continental GT3 will make its debut in Japan with the new EIcars Bentley TTO team. Brand new car on the grid would be Toyota Mark X based on the MC (mother chassis) platform. Other cars in the MC sub-class are Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ or Lotus Evora. Among GT3 machines, the most represented are Nissan GT-R GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 with four cars on the grid.

2017 Super GT Series entry list

Photos: supergt.net,