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Super GT Since 1993 · Japan

Super GT · Japan

Japan's
GT Battleground

Super GT is Japan's biggest motor race series. GT500 cars from Toyota, Nissan and Honda share the track with a huge GT300 field, and success ballast keeps the title fights close. The Fuji round in May regularly draws the biggest crowd of the season.

1993
Founded (as JGTC)
2
Classes: GT500 & GT300
3
GT500 Manufacturers
91K
Fuji Crowd, 2019
1993
The JGTC Is Born
The All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship starts with two classes racing together, today called GT500 and GT300. Nissan's Skyline GT-R, Toyota's Supra and later Honda's NSX begin a manufacturer rivalry that still drives the series.
2000
Honda's First Title
Ryo Michigami wins the GT500 title in the Mugen NSX, Honda's first championship in the series, without winning a single race. Four second places are enough.
2005
Super GT
The JGTC is renamed Super GT as it grows its international ambitions. Fans love the format: two classes, close racing, and success ballast that adds weight to the cars that score the most points.
2008
The GT-R Arrives
Nissan's new R35 GT-R wins seven of its first nine races and takes the title with Satoshi Motoyama and Benoît Tréluyer. It goes on to win 41 GT500 races, more than any other model.
2014
Turbo Four-Cylinders & Shared Rules
GT500 switches to 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engines and rules shared with Germany's DTM. The rules became fully identical as "Class One" in 2020, and in 2019 the two series raced each other in a Dream Race at Fuji.
2018
An F1 Champion Wins in Japan
2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button wins the GT500 title alongside Naoki Yamamoto in the Honda NSX-GT.
2023–2025
TOM'S Makes History
Toyota's TOM'S team becomes the first in GT500 history to win three championships in a row. Sho Tsuboi's 2025 title is his fourth, equalling Ronnie Quintarelli's record.

GT500 Champions

Ronnie Quintarelli
23
Ronnie Quintarelli
Italy
Nissan Legend

An Italian who became a superstar in Japan. Ronnie Quintarelli moved to Japanese racing early in his career and became Nissan's GT500 spearhead. He won back-to-back titles with Masataka Yanagida in 2011 and 2012, then two more with Tsugio Matsuda in 2014 and 2015, all in the GT-R.

4× GT500 Champion (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015)
Joint record for most GT500 titles
18 GT500 race wins
NISMO factory driver for over a decade
Sho Tsuboi
36
Sho Tsuboi
Japan
Modern Dominator

The man of the moment in Super GT. Sho Tsuboi won the GT500 title with TOM'S Toyota in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and helped TOM'S become the first team to win three in a row. He added the 2024 Super Formula title, making him one of the best all-round drivers in Japan today.

4× GT500 Champion (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025)
Joint record for most GT500 titles
First team to win 3 in a row (TOM'S)
2024 Super Formula Champion
Satoshi Motoyama
23
Satoshi Motoyama
Japan
Mr. Nissan

Japan's racing hero of the 2000s. Satoshi Motoyama spent almost his entire GT500 career with Nissan and won three titles, including the GT-R's first season in 2008. He also won four Formula Nippon single-seater championships and tested an F1 car for Jordan and Renault.

3× GT500 Champion (2003, 2004, 2008)
4× Formula Nippon Champion
16 GT500 race wins
Won both Japanese titles in the same year (2003)

GT500 Machines

Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500
NISMO

GT-R GT500

The most successful car in GT500 history. The R35 GT-R won seven of its first nine races in 2008 and claimed five drivers' titles. Its 41 wins are a GT500 record. From 2014 it used a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder producing about 640hp.

641 hp
Power (2014+)
2.0L
I4 Turbo
5
Drivers' Titles
41
GT500 Wins
Toyota GR Supra GT500 (TOM'S)
Toyota Gazoo Racing

GR Supra GT500

The car of the modern era. The GR Supra replaced the Lexus LC in 2020, bringing the famous Supra name back to GT500. In the hands of TOM'S and Sho Tsuboi it won the title in 2021 and then three years in a row from 2023 to 2025.

2.0L
I4 Turbo
2020
Debut
4
Titles 2021–25
3
In a Row
Honda NSX-GT
Honda

NSX-GT

Honda's mid-engined GT500 weapon. The NSX-GT carried Jenson Button and Naoki Yamamoto to the 2018 title, and Yamamoto won again in 2020. After 2023 it was replaced by the Civic Type R-GT.

2.0L
I4 Turbo
Mid
Engine
2018
Title (Button)
2020
Title

In Super GT, the more points a car scores, the more ballast weight it carries. That keeps the championship close until the very last round.

Success Ballast

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