The 2018 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-sixth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fourteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-sixth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 8 and ended on November 11, after 8 races.
In the GT500 class, Team Kunimitsu won their first-ever championship with the all-star lineup of series veteran Naoki Yamamoto and 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button, narrowly beating defending champions Ryō Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy at the final race in Motegi to clinch the title after both teams came in to the race tied in points. It was the first championship title for Honda in the GT500 class since 2010. Yamamoto, who had won the 2018 Super Formula title before the season finale, became just the fourth driver to win both the GT500 and Super Formula titles in the same year, while Button became the first rookie to win the GT500 title since Tora Takagi in 2005.
In the GT300 class, the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG fielded by K2 R&D LEON Racing won the championship in Motegi after overcoming a 12-point deficit over the then-points leader No. 55 ARTA BMW, giving series veteran Haruki Kurosawa and Naoya Gamou their first championship title in the series. The No. 55 ARTA team, despite winning two races in the season, were ultimately too inconsistent in their championship challenge, as two races without scoring a point coupled with poor performance in both Sugo and Motegi ultimately cost them the championship over the more consistent LEON AMG. The No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT of Koki Saga and Kohei Hirate would finish third, just one point behind the ARTA BMW, while defending champions Goodsmile Racing finished fourth after a poor start to the season and a tire issue in Autopolis ultimately cost them the chance to defend the title.
Schedule
Round Race Circuit Date 1 Okayama GT300 km Okayama International Circuit April 7–8 2 Fuji GT 500 km Fuji Speedway May 3–4 3 Suzuka GT 300 km Suzuka Circuit May 19–20 4 Buriram United Super GT Race300 km Chang International Circuit June 30 – July 1 5 Fuji GT 500 miles Fuji Speedway August 4–5 6 Sugo GT 300 km Sportsland Sugo September 15–16 7 Autopolis GT300 km Autopolis October 20–21 8 Motegi GT250 km Twin Ring Motegi November 10–11
Schedule changes On March 4, 2017, Suzuka Circuit, the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, and the GT Association announced that the Suzuka 1000km would become the Suzuka 10 Hours from 2018, and moves to the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The Super GT championship round at Suzuka moves to May 19–20 and will be a 300km race, as it was from 1995 to 2010. To replace the Suzuka 1000km as the series' endurance round, the Fuji GT 300km, held in early August, was lengthened to a 500 mile (804 kilometer) race. The Fuji 500 Mile Race was originally held from 1977 to 1992. The race at Buriram United International Circuit in Thailand was moved from the seventh to the fourth round of the championship, on June 30 – July 1. The race at Sportsland Sugo was moved from the fourth to the sixth round of the championship, on September 15–16. The race at Autopolis was moved from the third to the seventh round of the championship, on October 20–21.
Teams and drivers GT500 TeamCarEngineMakeDriversTyreRounds Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S Lexus Lexus LC500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 1 Ryō Hirakawa All Nick Cassidy Lexus Team au TOM'S 36 Kazuki Nakajima 1, 3–8 Yuhi Sekiguchi All James Rossiter 2 NDDP by B-Max Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 3 Satoshi Motoyama All Katsumasa Chiyo Lexus Team LeMans Wako's Lexus Lexus LC500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 6 Kazuya Oshima All Felix Rosenqvist1–2, 4–8 James Rossiter3 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda Honda NSX-GT Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 8 Tomoki Nojiri All Takuya Izawa Team Impul Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 12 Daiki Sasaki All Jann Mardenborough Team Mugen Honda Honda NSX-GT Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 16 Hideki Mutoh All Daisuke Nakajima REAL Racing Honda Honda NSX-GT Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 17 Koudai Tsukakoshi All Takashi Kogure Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh Lexus Lexus LC500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 19 Yuji Kunimoto All Kenta Yamashita NISMO Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 23 Tsugio Matsuda All Ronnie Quintarelli Kondo Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 24 João Paulo de Oliveira All Mitsunori Takaboshi Lexus Team ZENT Cerumo Lexus Lexus LC500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 38 Yuji Tachikawa All Hiroaki Ishiura Lexus Team SARD Lexus Lexus LC500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 39 Heikki Kovalainen All Kamui Kobayashi 1, 3–8 Sho Tsuboi 2 Nakajima Racing Honda Honda NSX-GT Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 64 Bertrand Baguette All Kosuke Matsuura Team Kunimitsu Honda Honda NSX-GT Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 100 Naoki Yamamoto All Jenson Button
GT300
TeamMakeCarEngineDriversTyreRounds Goodsmile Racing with Team Ukyo Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 0 Nobuteru Taniguchi All Tatsuya Kataoka Cars Tokai Dream28 Lotus Lotus Evora MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 2 Kazuho Takahashi All Hiroki Katoh Team Mach Toyota Toyota 86 MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 5 Natsu Sakaguchi 1–3, 5–8 Yuya Hiraki Tetsuji Tamanaka 2 Kiyoto Fujinami5 D'station Racing Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche M97/80 4.0 L F6 7 Tomonobu Fujii All Sven Müller Pacific with Gulf Racing Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche M97/80 4.0 L F6 9 Rintaro Kubo All Keishi Ishikawa Kyosuke Mineo5 GAINER Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2018) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 10 Kazuki Hoshino All Hiroki Yoshida 11 Katsuyuki Hiranaka All Hironobu Yasuda Team UpGarage Toyota Toyota 86 MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 18 Yuhki Nakayama All Takashi Kobayashi Audi Team Hitotsuyama Audi Audi R8 LMS Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 21 Richard Lyons All Ryuichiro Tomita Takuro Shinohara 2 R'Qs Motor Sports Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 22 Hisashi Wada 1–3, 5–8 Masaki Jyonai Masayuki Ueda5 Arnage Racing 50 Masaki Kano All Hideto Yasuoka Yūya Sakamoto 2 Tsuchiya Engineering Toyota Toyota 86 MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 25 Takamitsu Matsui All Sho Tsuboi 1, 3–8 Tsubasa Kondo 2, 5 Takeshi Tsuchiya 2 Team Taisan Audi Audi R8 LMS Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 26 Shinnosuke Yamada 1–3, 5–8 Shintarō Kawabata Shinji Nakano 2 apr Toyota Toyota Prius apr GT Toyota RV8KLM 3.4 L Hybrid V8 30 Hiroaki Nagai All Kota Sasaki1-5 Manabu Orido6-8 31 Koki Saga All Kohei Hirate est cola by AAS Motorsport Bentley Bentley Continental GT3 (2016) Bentley CND 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 32 Maxime Jousse 4 Kantadhee Kusiri Modulo Drago Corse Honda Honda NSX GT3 Honda JNC1 3.5 L Twin Turbo V6 34 Ryō Michigami All Hiroki Otsu Arto Panther Team Thailand Lexus Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 35 Nattavude Charoensukhawatana All Nattapong Horthongkum Koji Yamanishi5 Dijon Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2017) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 48 Masaki Tanaka 1–3, 5–8 Taiyō Iida 1–2, 5 Richard Bradley 2–3, 7–8 Hiroshi Takamori 6 Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave Toyota Toyota Mark X MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 52 Taku Bamba All Shigekazu Wakisaka Autobacs Racing Team Aguri BMW BMW M6 GT3 BMW P63 4.4 L Twin Turbo V8 55 Shinichi Takagi All Sean Walkinshaw LM Corsa Lexus Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 60 Hiroki Yoshimoto All Ritomo Miyata K-tunes Racing LM Corsa 96 Morio Nitta All Yuichi Nakayama R&D Sport Subaru Subaru BRZ R&D Sport Subaru EJ20 2.0 L Turbo F4 61 Takuto Iguchi All Hideki Yamauchi K2 R&D LEON Racing Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 65 Haruki Kurosawa All Naoya Gamou JLOC Lamborghini Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Lamborghini DFJ 5.2 L V10 87 Kimiya Sato All Yuya Motojima Tsubasa Takahashi2 88 Kazuki Hiramine All Marco Mapelli 1–3, 6–8 Andrea Caldarelli 4 EIcars Bentley Bentley Bentley Continental GT3 Bentley CND 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 117 Yuji Ide 1–3, 5–8 Ryohei Sakaguchi Jules Gounon5 Tomei Sports Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2017) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 360 Yusaku Shibata 1–2, 5–8 Takayuki Aoki 1–3, 6, 8 Atsushi Tanaka 3, 5, 7 Masataka Yanagida 5 CarGuy Racing Honda Honda NSX GT3 Honda JNC1 3.5 L Twin Turbo V6 777 Naoki Yokomizo 1–3, 5, 7–8 Takeshi Kimura Kei Cozzolino 2
Notes
Vehicle Changes GT300 Panther Team Thailand switched from the Dome-built Toyota 86 MC to the Lexus RC F GT3. GAINER switched to a full-on effort with Nissan, fielding two brand-new 2018 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s. Arnage Racing separated from INGING Motorsport after one season, and also switch vehicles to the Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Entrant changes GT500 Honda: 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, who made his series debut with Team Mugen at the 2017 Suzuka 1000km, will run full-time with Honda and Team Kunimitsu in 2018. Takuya Izawa moves from Team Kunimitsu to Autobacs Racing Team Aguri, replacing Takashi Kobayashi. Toyota: Former F1, and current WEC and Super Formula driver Kamui Kobayashi will make his full-time GT500 debut with Lexus Team SARD James Rossiter stepped away from full-time Super GT racing in 2018, but will continue to race in Japan in the Super Formula championship. Yuhi Sekiguchi replaces Rossiter at Lexus Team au TOM's Toyota young driver Kenta Yamashita moves up to GT500 full-time with Lexus Team WedsSport BANDOH, replacing Sekiguchi. Formula E standout Felix Rosenqvist will make his Super GT debut in the GT500 class for Lexus Team Wako's LeMans. Replaces Andrea Caldarelli who confirmed that he would leave Toyota and Super GT this season, focusing solely on his commitments as a factory driver at Lamborghini Squadra Corse. Nissan: Reigning All-Japan Formula 3 Champion Mitsunori Takaboshi steps up to GT500 full-time with Kondo Racing, replacing Daiki Sasaki, who moves over to Team Impul to drive the Calsonic GT-R. NDDP Racing moved up to the GT500 class for 2018, entering as NDDP Racing with B-Max. They take the place of MOLA, who withdrew from the series at the end of 2017. Satoshi Motoyama and Katsumasa Chiyo stays to the new team.
GT300 Former GT500 driver Hironobu Yasuda and two-time GT300 champion Kazuki Hoshino move to Gainer, from Team Impul and NDDP Racing respectively, to drive their new Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s. Takashi Kobayashi moves to Team UpGarage, replacing Shintaro Kawabata. VivaC Team Tsuchiya reverted to their original name, Tsuchiya Engineering, following the withdrawal of their title sponsor VivaC. Toyota young driver Sho Tsuboi will replace Kenta Yamashita at Tsuchiya Engineering. Akira Iida will step away from full-time driving duties, and became team director of the #60 LM Corsa Lexus RC F GT3. Two-time FIA F4 Japanese Champion Ritomo Miyata makes his series debut with LM Corsa. The #51 LM Corsa Lexus RC F GT3 changes its number to #96, and has a new title sponsor in Okayama Toyopet / K-Tunes Racing. The team will be officially known as K-Tunes Racing LM Corsa from 2018. Three-time GT300 champion Morio Nitta moves to K-Tunes LM Corsa Lexus RC F GT3 to replace Sho Tsuboi. Jono Lester was released from Pacific with Gulf Racing after the 2017 season, and will not return to Super GT in 2018. Pacific with Gulf Racing recruit Rintaro Kubo from apr, and Keishi Ishikawa who moves from Rn-sports. Kyosuke Mineo become the third driver. Two-time GT500 champion Kohei Hirate moves out of GT500 to drive the #31 Toyota Prius for apr Racing. And two-time GT300 champion Manabu Orido joined apr Racing midseason to replace Kota Sasaki.