The 2017 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fifth 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 thirteenth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fifth overall season of a national JAF 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 y ...

. The season began on April 9 and ended on November 12, after 8 races. In the GT500 class, the No. 37 Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S duo of

Ryō Hirakawa is a Japanese racing driver who is currently competing for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and Japanese Super Formula Championship. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship ...

and

Nick Cassidy Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship in ...

won their first-ever championship, narrowly beating the

Nismo , abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departmen ...

duo of

Tsugio Matsuda is a Japanese professional racing driver. He has won the Formula Nippon series twice, in 2007 and 2008. He has also competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Matsuda has also become a regular participant in the Super GT series which ...

and

Ronnie Quintarelli Ronnie Quintarelli (born 9 August 1979) is an Italian racecar driver, currently competing in Super GT. A four-time champion, he holds the all-time record for the most drivers' championship titles won in the GT500 class of Super GT. Biography Qui ...

for the championship. It was the first championship title for TOM'S since

Juichi Wakisaka is a former Japanese racing driver who was a 2002, 2006 and 2009 champion in Japan's Super GT series in the GT500 category. Prior to the 1998 Formula One season he tested for the Jordan Grand Prix team. In 2002, Wakisaka raced the Toyota Sup ...

and André Lotterer's 2009 title win. In the GT300 class, in

Good Smile Company 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 usual ...

and Hatsune Miku's 10th season of involvement in Super GT,

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 ...

won their third GT300 title in just seven years after a closely fought championship battle between the No. 4 Hatsune Miku AMG and the No. 65 LEON CVSTOS AMG of K2 R&D LEON Racing. It was

Nobuteru Taniguchi is a Japanese racing driver and drifting driver who currently competes in Super GT and D1 Grand Prix. Taniguchi is commonly nicknamed "NOB" (first three letters from his name, meaning "No One Better") or "The Pimp" as a reference to his S15 Silv ...

and Tatsuya Kataoka's third title, as well as Mercedes' first championship title in Super GT.

Schedule

Calendar Changes

* The series returned to

Autopolis is a international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the Northeast of Kumamoto. Nippon Autopolis">F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis/ref> Tsurumaki ordered 30 Bui ...

for the first time since 2015. The race scheduled to be held there in 2016 was cancelled due to damage caused to the circuit and local infrastructure by the

2016 Kumamoto earthquakes The were a series of earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.0 mainshock which struck at 01:25 JST on April 16, 2016 (16:25 UTC on April 15) beneath Kumamoto City of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu Region, Japan, at a depth of ...

. * This was the last season that the Suzuka 1000km is included as a round of Super GT, as the current 1000 km format would be dropped in favour of a 10-hour timed race for 2018. The new race will be aimed primarily at FIA GT3 and GT300 machinery.

Drivers and Teams

GT500

GT300

Driver Changes

Team Transfers

* Lexus:

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 a ...

returns to Super GT for the first time since 2014, with Lexus Team au TOM's. He'll be joined by

James Rossiter James Rossiter (born 25 August 1983) is a former professional racing driver, British motorsport executive and Team Principal of Maserati MSG Racing in Formula E. He was a Test Driver for BAR, Honda, Super Aguri and Force India in Formula One an ...

, who swaps seats at TOM's with

. * Nissan:

Jann Mardenborough Jann Mardenborough (born 9 September 1991) is a British professional racing driver competing in the Japanese Super GT series. In 2011 he became the third (and youngest) winner of the GT Academy competition, beating 90,000 entrants. He was rewar ...

makes his GT500 debut with Team Impul, replacing

João Paulo de Oliveira João Paulo Lima de Oliveira (born 13 July 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver currently competing in the Japanese Super GT series. He won the Super GT GT300 class championship in both 2020 and 2022 and the Formula Nippon championship ...

, who moves to Kondo Racing to replace

Masataka Yanagida Masataka Yanagida (born 4 June 1979, in Tokyo) is a Japanese racing driver. Career The son of successful racing driver Haruhito Yanagida, a runner-up in the Japanese Touring Car Championship, Masataka began his career in karting in 1993. In 199 ...

. * Honda:

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 t ...

and

Daisuke Nakajima is a retired Japanese racing driver; the son of Satoru Nakajima and the younger brother of Kazuki Nakajima, both of whom have driven in Formula One. Career Having started his career in go-karts on the Japanese circuit, Nakajima moved into singl ...

will drive for the revived Team Mugen in 2017.

Kosuke Matsuura is a Japanese race car driver currently competing in the Super GT series. He previously competed in the Formula Nippon and IRL IndyCar Series. Early career After winning the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2001, Kosuke attracted the att ...

moves to Nakajima Racing from ARTA, who promote Takashi Kobayashi from their GT300 team back to GT500 for the first time since 2012. * Masataka Yanagida will move down to GT300 with Audi Team Hitotsuyama, replacing

Tomonobu Fujii is a Japanese racing driver. Racing Kart / Formula race Tomonobu Fujii entered the second-hand Racing Kart in 1994 and made his debut in local races when he was 13 years old. He won the championship right away and continued to display his ta ...

, who will drive for the newly christened D'Station Racing. *

Yuichi Nakayama is a Japanese racing driver, best known for winning the 2013 All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Career Karting Born in Tokyo, Nakayama began his racing career in karting at the age of six and raced in various local championships, progressin ...

moves from apr Racing to LM Corsa and the new Lexus RC F GT3, and sophomore driver Rintaro Kubo will replace him in the #31 apr Toyota Prius. * Hiroki Yoshida replaces former GT300 champion

André Couto André Couto (; born 14 December 1976) is a MacaneseSven Müller during Round 3. * Shinnosuke Yamada will join

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 ...

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 ...

after spending one season at Team Upgarage with Bandoh. * Both Akihiro Tsuzuki and three-time GT300 champion Morio Nitta leave LM Corsa to join the newly unified INGING and Arnage Racing team.

Entering Super GT

* At the Suzuka 1000 km, former Formula 1 driver

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and ...

will make his Super GT debut in a one-off for Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh. * At the Suzuka 1000 km, 2009 Formula 1 champion

Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super G ...

will make his Super GT debut in a one-off for Team Mugen. * Reigning

Porsche Supercup The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007) is an international one-make sports car racing series supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship organized by Porsche ...

and

Porsche Carrera Cup Germany The Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, also known as Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, between 1986-1989 as Porsche 944 Turbo Cup; is a one-make racing series by Porsche based in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, ...

champion Sven Müller joined D'Station Racing as a Porsche factory driver. However, he would not drive between Rounds 3 and 5 due to his involvement in the ADAC GT Masters, during which André Couto and Yuya Motojima would substitute for him. * Former FIA F4 Japanese Champion Sho Tsuboi makes his Super GT debut with LM Corsa. * Takayuki Hiranuma will make his Super GT debut with Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave. Hiranuma has previously driven in Super Taikyu. * Shintaro Kawabata graduates from the FIA F4 Japanese Championship to Super GT with Team Upgarage with Bandoh. * Sean Walkinshaw, son of legendary racing driver and team executive

Tom Walkinshaw Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw (14 August 1946 – 12 December 2010) was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of ...

, will make his Super GT debut with Autobacs Racing Team Aguri in their BMW M6 GT3. * Former Pro Mazda Championship driver Jake Parsons of Australia joins

for his first season in Super GT. * Keishi Ishikawa and Ryosei Yamashita will each make their Super GT debuts with Rn-sports. Ishikawa graduates from All-Japan Formula Three, whilst Yamashita steps up from Super Taikyu and the Toyota 86/BRZ Race. * Former Honda Formula Dream Project driver Natsu Sakaguchi, and former Nissan Driver Development Programme driver Kiyoto Fujinami will make their Super GT debuts for Team Mach. * Nattavude Charoensukhawatana and Nattapong Horthongkum will run their first full seasons in Super GT in 2017 for Panther Team Thailand. Charoensukhawatana has run two races as a local wildcard driver, while Horthongkum is making his series debut.

Returning to Super GT

returns to Super GT for the first time since 2014, driving for Lexus Team au TOM's. * Reigning All-Japan Formula Three champion

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, ...

will return to Super GT full-time in 2017, replacing Takeshi Tsuchiya at VivaC Team Tsuchiya. * Mitsunori Takaboshi returns to Super GT full-time with NDDP Racing. *

Yuji Ide (born 21 January 1975) is a Japanese racing driver. He is the 2005 Formula Nippon runner-up and the 2010 Suzuka 1000km winner. He competed in Formula One with the Super Aguri team in 2006, but was demoted to third driver after four races and s ...

returns to Super GT for the first time since 2015 with EIcars Bentley TTO. * 2011 GT300 champion Taku Bamba will return to Super GT for the first time since 2012, driving for Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave.

Leaving Super GT

* Daisuke Ito will not drive full-time in Super GT this season, and will serve as the team director of Lexus Team au

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 Form ...

. He would only drive at the second round of the championship at Fuji Speedway, replacing Kazuki Nakajima, who would instead compete in the

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. History The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races fo ...

. *

Tadasuke Makino is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in a range of motorsport disciplines, including Super GT and European Formula 3. In 2018, Makino joined the FIA Formula 2 Championship with the series' defending champions Russian Time. Currently, Ma ...

will move to the FIA European Formula 3 Championship with HitechGP. * After winning his first Super GT championship in 2016, Takeshi Tsuchiya retired from full-time driving. He will focus primarily on his role as chief engineer for VivaC Team Tsuchiya. *

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 t ...

left Drago Modulo Honda Racing after five races in 2016, and will not return to Super GT in 2017.

Mid-season changes

* After

André Couto André Couto (; born 14 December 1976) is a MacaneseZhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pear ...

, D'Station Racing announced Yuya Motojima would replace Couto as substitute driver for Sven Muller, driving in Rounds 4 and 5.

Team Changes

GT500

* Lexus teams will race the new LC 500 machine, replacing the

Lexus RC F The Lexus RC (Japanese: レクサス・RC, ''Rekusasu RC'') is a compact executive two-door coupé manufactured by Lexus, Toyota's luxury division. The RC which according to Lexus stands for "Radical Coupe" is a two-door coupé version of the L ...

which debuted in 2014. Nissan and Honda will continue to run the

Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alt ...

and Honda NSX-GT, modified to updated aerodynamic regulations. The updated NSX-GT will be based upon its newly launched production counterpart. * Drago Modulo Honda Racing announced their withdrawal from the series on 8 November 2016, after just two seasons. * Intent on continuing to field five teams, Honda announced on 14 November 2016 that Team Mugen would return to the GT500 category for the first time since 2003. The team will run using Yokohama tyres.

GT300

* Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave announced that they will enter the Super GT Series for the first time in 2017, fielding a brand new

Toyota Mark X The is a mid-size car manufactured by Toyota between 2004 and 2019, and was primarily aimed at the Japanese market. In Japan, it was the top-level car, sold only new at ''Toyopet Store'' locations. The Mark X was introduced in 2004 and is th ...

based on the Mother Chassis platform. * LM Corsa will field two 2017 specification Lexus RC F GT3s, replacing both their older model RC F GT3, and their

Ferrari 488 GT3 The Ferrari 488 (Type F142M) is a mid-engine sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The car replaced the 458, being the first mid-engine Ferrari to use a turbocharged V8 since the F40. It was succeeded by the Ferra ...

, used in 2016. * K2 R&D LEON Racing will switch from Yokohama to Bridgestone tyres in 2017. * Excellence Porsche Team KTR changed their name to D'Station Racing following a change of ownership and title sponsors. Former baseball pitcher

Kazuhiro Sasaki Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木主浩 ''Sasaki Kazuhiro'', born February 22, 1968) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo W ...

will serve as the team's general representative. * Bentley and their Continental GT3 race car will make their Super GT debut with the new EIcars Bentley TTO (Teramoto Technical Office) team. * INGING Motorsport and Arnage Racing will enter under a unified banner in 2017, with the ex-LM Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 used last season. * Lamborghini Team Direction have suspended activities in Super GT for the 2017 season, leaving JLOC as the sole representative for Lamborghini in Super GT.

Results

Championship Standings

Drivers' championships

;Scoring system

GT500

GT300

Teams' championships

;Scoring system

GT500

GT300

References

External links

Official website
{{Super GT seasons

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Super GT