The 2015 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-third season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the

All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car r ...

(JGTC) era, and the eleventh season under the name

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...

. It marked the thirty-third season overall of a Japanese professional sportscar championship dating back to the

All Japan Sports Prototype Championship The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japan Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing in its earlier yea ...

. The season began on April 5 and ended on November 15, after 8 races.

Schedule

A provisional calendar was released on August 8, 2014. An updated calendar was released on January 19, 2015, which saw the Autopolis race move from May to November, the Chang race move from October to June and SUGO from July to September.

Drivers and teams

GT500

GT300

Driver changes

Team transfers

* With the Weider Honda Racing Team leaving Super GT, Naoki Yamamoto moved to Team Kunimitsu to partner

Takuya Izawa is a Japanese racing driver. Racing record Complete Super GT results ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Rac ...

. * Lucas Ordonez moves from NDDP Racing to drive for Kondo Racing for the first three rounds.

Michael Krumm Michael Krumm (born 19 March 1970) is a German professional racing driver who won the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship driving for JR Motorsports. Biography Born in Reutlingen, Krumm married Japanese tennis player Kimiko Date on 1 December 2001 ...

will replace him to drive the remaining rounds. * Daisuke Ito will move from the KeePer

TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT, Super Formula and Super Formu ...

team to the

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...

team. *

Hiroaki Ishiura is a Japanese racing driver. He currently drives in the Super GT series for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Zent Cerumo. Born in Tokyo, Ishiura won the Super GT300 championship, in the APR MR-S with Kazuya Oshima is a Japanese racing driver, c ...

swapped seats with

Kohei Hirate is a Japanese race car driver. Hirate has won the Super GT series twice. Career Hirate began Kart racing, karting in 1999 when he was 13. After winning the All Japan Junior Kart Championship, coming third and fifth in the All Japan Kart Champio ...

at the Zent Cerumo Team, with Hirate now driving for

SARD is a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi, mainly competing in the Super GT series and specialising in Toyota tuning parts. History The company was formed in 1972 as Sigma Automotive Co., Ltd by Shin Kato to develop and ...

. * With Team Mugen leaving Super GT,

Tomoki Nojiri is a Japanese racing driver for the Honda Motor Company. He currently drives in the GT500 class of the Autobacs Super GT Series, and the Super Formula Championship, where he is the 2021 and 2022 series champion. Racing career Early career ...

will replace

Vitantonio Liuzzi Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in Formula One for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams. Karting Born in Locorotondo, BA, Apulia, Liuzzi, like many au ...

at the

ARTA Arta, ARTA, or Artà may refer to: Places Djibouti * Arta, Djibouti, a regional capital city in southeastern Djibouti * Arta Mountains, a mountain range in Djibouti * Arta Region, Djibouti Greece * Arta, Greece, a regional capital city in northwes ...

GT500 team. Former partner

Yuhki Nakayama in Kanazawa is a Japanese racing driver. He currently drives in the Super GT series in the GT300 category for Team Mugen and in Super Formula for Real Racing. Racing record Complete Super GT results * Season still in progress. Complete Form ...

will drive for the new UPGARAGE with BANDOH team. * Porsche Team KTR overhauled their driver line-up, recruiting

Rebellion Racing Rebellion Racing is a Swiss racing team that competes in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams' title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season. The team started as an association ...

driver

Alexandre Imperatori Alexandre Emmanuel Imperatori (born 19 April 1987 in Châtel-Saint-Denis) is a Swiss racing driver who lives in Shanghai, China. Career Karting Imperatori started kart racing at the age of four in Spain. He raced karting in Spain and Germany a ...

and

All-Japan Formula Three Championship was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series prom ...

driver

Kenta Yamashita is a Japanese racing driver, known for his successes in single-seater junior categories, including winning the 2013 Formula Challenge Japan and the 2012 Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ. He currently races in the Super Formula Championship, S ...

. * Hideki Yamauchi moved from Gainer to

R&D Sport R&D Sport is a Japanese racing team currently competing in the Super GT series. Racing history R&D Sport was created in 1991 as a race car management, maintenance, and manufacturing company and expanded to JGTC, racing under the company's own n ...

, replacing

Kota Sasaki , is a Japanese racing driver who was the 2005 Super GT champion for the GT300 category. He raced a Toyota MR-S with Tetsuya Yamano to win the 2005 title. 2008 Aston Martin Asia Cup season On 13–14 December, Kota Sasaki took the 2008 Aston ...

. * Morio Nitta, who drove for apr in the

Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...

, moved to LM Corsa to drive the #51

BMW Z4 GT3 The BMW Z4 (E89) is the second generation of the BMW Z4 range of two-door roadsters, and was produced from 2009 to 2016. The E89 replaced the E85/E86 Z4 and is the fourth model in the BMW Z Series. The E89 Z4 was the first Z Series model to u ...

Joining Super GT

Oliver Turvey Oliver Jonathan Turvey (born 1 April 1987) is a British professional racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula E, and is currently signed to McLaren as a test driver. He was a notable kart racer, with two national titles, and was the ...

joined Drago Modulo Honda Racing, partnering

Takashi Kogure is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes in Super GT driving the No. 88 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo for JLOC in the GT300 class. Career Formula Three Kogure made his single-seater début in 2001, driving a Dallara F300 in the ...

. *

Ryo Hirakawa Ryo may refer to: * Ryō, a gold currency unit in pre-Meiji Japan Shakkanhō system * Ryō (actress) (born 1973), Japanese model, actress, and singer * Ryō (given name), a unisex Japanese given name * Ryo, Georgia Ryo is an unincorporated communit ...

, who previously drove for the

team, joined the KeePer

team. * Former F1 driver

Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and ...

joined the

team, replacing

Oliver Jarvis Oliver Jarvis (born 9 January 1984) is a British professional racing driver currently racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Mazda Team Joest. Jarvis won the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona with Meyer Shank Racing. Early life Bo ...

. * Shigekazu Wakisaka, Juichi Wakisaka's older brother, will join the LM Corsa team, driving the #51 JMS

. *

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

driver Takamitsu Matsui will drive for the new VivaC team Tsuchiya * Former

Sauber F1 Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it un ...

test driver

Marko Asmer Marko Asmer (born 30 July 1984) is an Estonian racing driver, who won the British Formula 3 Championship title in 2007. Asmer is also the first Estonian to test a Formula One car, having tested for the Williams BMW team in 2003, after just ha ...

will partner

in the UPGARAGE with BANDOH team. *

driver Mitsunori Takaboshi will drive for NDDP Racing with

Kazuki Hoshino Kazuki Hoshino may refer to: * Kazuki Hoshino (racing driver) (born 1977), Japanese racing driver * Kazuyoshi Hoshino is a Japanese former racing driver and businessman. Motorsport career Hoshino's nickname was . He won the Japanese motocros ...

in the Nissan GTR GT3.

Leaving Super GT

Frederic Makowiecki Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

will not return to drive this season, following Weider Honda Racing's withdrawal. *

left the series to drive for

Audi Sport Team Joest Joest Racing is a sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany. Early years As a combined driver/team owner, Reinhold Joest first began to ...

in the 2015 World Endurance Championship. *

driver

will be replaced by former

Mugen Mugen, a word of Japanese origin meaning "infinite", may refer to: * "Mugen" (Nana Mizuki song), 2009 * "Mugen" (Porno Graffitti song), 2002 *''M.U.G.E.N'', a freeware 2D fighting game engine *Mugen Motorsports, a Japanese automotive company *Muge ...

driver

after a disappointing season last year. * After years of being with Real Racing,

Toshihiro Kaneishi is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in such series as Formula Nippon and Super GT. Racing record Complete JGTC/Super GT results (key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that c ...

will not drive for this season, being replaced by former Team Kunimitsu driver

Hideki Mutoh is a Japanese race car driver from Tokyo currently racing in Super GT. Career History He began karting at age 12 in 1996 and quickly moved through the ranks, becoming a part of Honda's Formula Dream Project. He moved to Europe in 1998 to ...

. *

Kazuki Nakajima is a retired Japanese professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for the Williams-Toyota team from to . In 2012 and 2014, he won the Super Formula Championship driving for TOM'S. Racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing, he won the 2018, 2019 an ...

, like

, will not return to focus on his LMP1 drive in the 2015 World Endurance Championship.

Team changes

GT500

*Weider Honda Racing will leave the Super GT series, being replaced by the Drago Modulo Honda Racing Team. They will utilize

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

tyres.

GT300

Team Taisan Team Taisan (チーム・タイサン, stylized as Team TAISAN) is a Japanese auto racing team founded in 1983 by Yasutsune "Ricky" Chiba and owned by the Taisan Industrial Company. Most active in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All J ...

and Team Mugen withdrew from the series. * Cars Tokai Dream28 will switch to race a

Lotus Evora The Lotus Evora is a sports car produced by British car manufacturer Lotus. The car, which was developed under the project name ''Project Eagle'', was launched on 22 July 2008 at the British International Motor Show. The Evora S was launched in ...

mother chassis, replacing their McLaren MP4-12C GT3 from 2014 and 2013. * Gainer replaced their #10

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (C197 / R197) is a front mid-engine, 2-seater, limited production grand tourer developed by the Mercedes-AMG division of German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, with the assistance of David Coulthard. The car is ...

car with a Nissan GTR GT3, following Rn-SPORTS' split from the team. * Pacific Racing Team will replace their Porsche 911 GT3R with a McLaren MP4-12C GT3. * LM Corsa will expand to two cars, with their purchase of the new Lexus RCF GT3. * Team Mach will switch from a Nissan GTR GT3 to a

Toyota 86 The Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ are 2+2 sports cars jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru, manufactured at Subaru's Gunma assembly plant. The 2+2 fastback coupé has a naturally-aspirated boxer engine, front-engined, rear-wheel-drive conf ...

mother chassis. New teams VivaC team Tsuchiya and Team UPGARAGE with BANDOH will also field a

mother chassis. *

Goodsmile Racing is a Japanese manufacturer of hobby products such as the Nendoroid and figma product lines, as well as scale figures. In addition to production and manufacturing, its business includes design, marketing and distribution. Its products are usuall ...

will replace their

with a

. * Audi Team Racing Tech will join the series with an

Audi R8 LMS ultra The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006. The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufactu ...

. * Direction Racing replaced their Porsche 911 GT3R with a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. * Dijon Racing would field a second Nissan GTR GT3, car #47, for only rounds 4 and 8. *

will switch to

Dunlop tyres Dunlop Tyres is a brand of tyres which is managed by different companies around the world. It was founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Dublin, Ireland, in 1890. The brand is operated by Goodyear in North America (passenger c ...

. * Arnage Racing will replace their Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 with a

Mid-season changes

* From round 6 and up, Team UPGARAGE with BANDOH will change their racing number from 18 to 20. * Audi Team Racing Tech left the series after the Suzuka round due to a severe accident. They will return in 2016 with the upgraded

Calendar

Championship standings

;Scoring system

Drivers' championships

GT500

GT300

References

External links

* {{Super GT seasons

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...