A total of 40 cars, 15 in GT500 and 25 in GT300, are entered for the grand finale, which begins at 1pm local time on Sunday (GMT +9).
After last month's thrilling Autopolis round, just three cars are left in contention for the GT500 title, with each of three marques, Toyota, Nissan and Honda, fittingly having one crew each in the running.
Leading the standings heading into the finale is the #36 TOM'S Toyota GR Supra of Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata after a blistering charge from 12th to grab the victory at Autopolis. Miyata is arriving at Motegi this weekend fresh from being crowned the Super Formula champion, and as such has a huge opportunity to become only the fifth driver in history to achieve the coveted 'double' in Japan's top two categories.
Their closest pursuers are the NDDP Racing Nissan pairing of Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi, who head to Motegi seven points down on their main rivals. After the frustration of losing last year's championship at the final race, both Chiyo and Takaboshi will be utterly determined to make it back-to-back titles for the Nissan Z, especially in tyre supplier Michelin's final outing in the GT500 category.
And then there's the #16 ARTA Honda of Nirei Fukuzumi and Hiroki Otsu, who are 16 points down on the leaders with 21 points left on offer. Nothing less than a win would be good enough, but Fukuzumi and Otsu can take heart in the fact that two years ago, the TOM'S Toyota team overturned a similar margin to snatch an unlikely title from Honda. Could it be payback time for the Sakura marque?
There's an additional incentive for the ARTA crew as the iconic NSX-GT makes its final race appearance before it is replaced by the new Civic Type R-GT for 2024. Adding to the 'end of an era' feeling is the fact that SUPER GT legend Yuji Tachikawa is set for his final race before retirement. Tachikawa will be determined to bag a podium finish alongside Cerumo Toyota team-mate Hiroaki Ishiura before he hangs up his helmet.
In the GT300 class, the Saitama Toyopet Toyota squad is within touching distance of the title following victory last time out at Autopolis for Hiroki Yoshida and Kohta Kawaai, who are a commanding 20 points clear in the title race and need just a single point from the Motegi weekend to guarantee themselves championship honours.
Only Inging Toyota pairing Yuui Tsutsumi and Hibiki Taira can deny Yoshida and Kawaai, but the duo have to score the point on offer for pole position on Saturday and go on to win the race, while hoping their rivals don't score. If they don't manage to get the pole, then Saitama Toyopet will be crowned champions on Saturday afternoon.
SUPER GT time schedule for Motegi Round 8
Times are Local/UK time (GMT)/EDT/PDT
Saturday November 4
Free practice (1h45 minutes) – 9.25am/0.25am/8.25pm (Friday)/5.25pm (Friday)
Qualifying – 2.20pm/5.20am/1.20am/10.20pm (Friday)
Sunday November 5
Warm-up – 11.30am/2.30am/10.30pm (Saturday)/7.30pm (Saturday)
Race (63 laps) – 1pm/4am/12am/9pm (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 Motegi?
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 Motegi Round 8
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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 360 | Tomei Sports | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
|
Roberto Merhi
Bruno Spengler
Liang Jiatong
Igor Fraga
