A total of 42 cars, 15 in GT500 and 27 in GT300, are entered for Sunday's 450km (100 lap) race.
With three races down and five to go, it's TOM'S Toyota pair Ritomo Miyata and Sho Tsuboi that hold the lead of the standings in GT500, having won on the championship's previous visit to Fuji in May. They backed that up with a strong run to second last time out at Suzuka.
However, Miyata and Tsuboi face a tough challenge to make it three podium finishes on the bounce as they will be laden with a nominal 72kg of success ballast, making them the only crew in the GT500 field to carry the stage two fuel flow restrictor.
NDDP Nissan drivers Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi sit second in the championship, seven points behind the leaders, and will be saddled by a stage one fuel flow restrictor (58kg).
Conversely, many other cars arrive at Fuji still running light on ballast after a disappointing start to the year.
One of the favourites for victory will be the Kondo Racing Nissan of Daiki Sasaki and Kohei Hirate (6kg), who scored pole at Suzuka only to be penalised for a rare fuel tank infraction. Yokohama finally ended its seven-year win drought that weekend courtesy of the Racing Project Bandoh Toyota team, so there are no doubts that the tyres are up to the job.
Likewise, the two ARTA Mugen NSX-GTs are still relatively light, and could offer Honda the best chance of opening its win account for 2023. Particular attention will be paid to the #8 car of Tomoki Nojiri and Toshiki Oyu (22kg), which has Iori Kimura registered as a third driver in case Oyu cannot race due to the collarbone injury he sustained last month.
Toyota veteran Yuji Tachikawa will also be keen to score a strong result alongside Cerumo team-mate Hiroaki Ishiura on his final visit to Fuji, having announced his retirement last week.
In the GT300 class, both the Kondo Racing Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 (Joao Paulo de Oliveira/Teppei Natori) and Inging Toyota GR86 GT (Hibiki Taira/Yuui Tsutsumi/Hiroki Katoh), which jointly-lead the points, arrive at Fuji laden with 90kg of success ballast.
The complexion of the battle between the GT3s and lighter JAF-GT300 cars will be changed by a new rule that dictates that mandatory pitstops can only be made from lap five onwards. The podium at Suzuka was filled by cars that made their first stops within the first two laps.
A new GT3 car arrives on the grid in the form of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, which will be driven by JLOC pairing Takashi Kogure and Yuya Motojima this weekend after a successful shakedown last week.
SUPER GT time schedule for Fuji Round 4
Times are Local/UK time (GMT+1)/EDT/PDT
Saturday August 5
Free practice (1h45 minutes) – 9am/1am/8pm (Friday)/5pm (Friday)
Qualifying – 3.20pm/7.20am/2.20am/11.20pm (Friday)
Sunday August 6
Warm-up – 12.15pm/4.15am/11.15pm (Saturday)/8.1pm (Saturday)
Race (100 laps) – 1.45pm/5.45am/12.45am/9.45pm (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 Fuji?
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 Fuji Round 4
GT500 class:
|
Manufacturer |
Team |
Tyre |
No. |
Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nissan Z GT500
|
Team Impul |
Bridgestone |
1 |
|
|
NDDP Racing |
Michelin |
3 |
|
|
|
NISMO |
Michelin |
23 |
|
|
|
Kondo Racing |
Yokohama |
24 |
|
|
|
Toyota GR Supra
|
Rookie Racing |
Bridgestone |
14 |
|
|
Racing Project Bandoh |
Yokohama |
19 |
|
|
|
TOM’S
|
Bridgestone
|
36
|
|
|
|
37 |
|
|||
|
Cerumo |
Bridgestone |
38 |
|
|
|
SARD |
Bridgestone |
39 |
|
|
|
Honda NSX-GT (Type S)
|
ARTA
|
Bridgestone
|
8 |
|
|
16 |
|
|||
|
Real Racing |
Bridgestone |
17 |
|
|
|
Nakajima Racing |
Dunlop |
64 |
|
|
|
Team Kunimitsu |
Bridgestone |
100 |
|
Bertrand Baguette
Kazuki Hiramine
Ronnie Quintarelli
Giuliano AlesiGT300 class:
| No. | Team | Car | Tyre | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Muta Racing Inging | Toyota GR86 GT | Bridgestone |
|
| 4 | Goodsmile Racing & Team Ukyo | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 5 | Team Mach | Toyota 86 MC | Yokohama |
|
| 6 | Team LeMans | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 7 | BMW Team Studie | BMW M4 GT3 | Michelin |
|
| 9 |
Pacific Racing
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 10 | Gainer | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Dunlop |
|
| 11 | Gainer | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Dunlop |
|
| 18 | Team UpGarage | Honda NSX GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 20 | Shade Racing | Toyota GR86 GT | Dunlop |
|
| 22 | R'Qs Motor Sports | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 25 | Hoppy Team Tsuchiya | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Yokohama |
|
| 27 | Yogibo Racing | Honda NSX GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 30 | apr | Toyota GR86 GT | Yokohama |
|
| 31 | apr | Lexus LC500h GT | Bridgestone |
|
| 48 | NILZZ Racing | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 50 | Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage | Lexus RC F GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 52 | Saitama Toyopet Green Brave | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Bridgestone |
|
| 56 | Kondo Racing | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 60 | LM Corsa | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Dunlop |
|
| 61 | R&D Sport | Subaru BRZ | Dunlop |
|
| 65 | K2 R&D LEON Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Bridgestone |
|
| 87 | JLOC | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 88 | JLOC | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | Yokohama |
|
| 96 | K-tunes Racing | Lexus RC F GT3 | Dunlop |
|
| 244 | Max Racing | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Yokohama |
|
| 360 | Tomei Sports | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
Roberto Merhi
Liang Jiatong
Igor Fraga
