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 (JGTC) era, and the eleventh season under the name Super GT. It marked the thirty-third season overall of a Japanese professional sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. 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.
Round Race Circuit Date 1 Okayama GT300 km Okayama International Circuit April 5 2 Fuji GT 500 km Fuji Speedway May 3 3 Buriram United Super GT Race300 km Chang International Circuit June 21 4 Fuji GT 300 km Fuji Speedway August 9 5 44th International Suzuka 1000km1000 km Suzuka Circuit August 30 6 Sugo GT300 km Sportsland SUGO September 20 7 Autopolis GT300 km Autopolis November 1 8 Motegi GT250 km Twin Ring Motegi November 15
Drivers and teams
GT500 Team Make Car Engine Drivers Tyre Rounds Nismo Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 1 Tsugio Matsuda All Ronnie QuintarelliAll Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus Lexus RC F GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 6 Yuji Kunimoto All Kazuya OshimaAll Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda Honda NSX Concept-GT Honda HR-414E 2.0 L Turbo I4 8 Kosuke Matsuura All Tomoki NojiriAll Team Impul Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 12 João Paulo de Oliveira All Hironobu YasudaAll Drago Modulo Honda Racing Honda Honda NSX Concept-GT Honda HR-414E 2.0 L Turbo I4 15 Takashi Kogure All Oliver TurveyAll Keihin REAL Racing Honda Honda NSX Concept-GT Honda HR-414E 2.0 L Turbo I4 17 Hideki Mutoh All Koudai TsukakoshiAll Lexus Team WedsSport BANDOH Lexus Lexus RC F GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 19 Yuhi Sekiguchi All Juichi WakisakaAll Kondō Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 24 Daiki Sasaki All Lucas Ordóñez1–3 Michael Krumm4–8 Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S Lexus Lexus RC F GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 36 Daisuke Ito All James RossiterAll Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S Lexus Lexus RC F GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 37 Andrea Caldarelli All Ryo HirakawaAll Lexus Team ZENT Cerumo Lexus Lexus RC F GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 38 Hiroaki Ishiura All Yuji TachikawaAll Lexus Team SARD Lexus Lexus RC F GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 39 Kohei Hirate All Heikki KovalainenAll Christian Klien5 MOLA Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 46 Satoshi Motoyama All Masataka YanagidaAll Nakajima Racing Honda Honda NSX Concept-GT Honda HR-414E 2.0 L Turbo I4 64 Bertrand Baguette All Daisuke NakajimaAll Team Kunimitsu Honda Honda NSX Concept-GT Honda HR-414E 2.0 L Turbo I4 100 Takuya Izawa All Naoki YamamotoAll
GT300 Team Make Car Engine Drivers Tyre Rounds Goodsmile Racing & Team Ukyo Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz M159 6.2 L V8 0 Tatsuya Kataoka All Nobuteru TaniguchiAll Cars Tokai Dream28 Lotus Lotus Evora MC GT300 GTA V8 4.5 L V8 2 Hiroki Katoh All Kazuho TakahashiAll Hiroshi Hamaguchi5 NDDP Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R GT3 Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 3 Kazuki Hoshino All Mitsunori TakaboshiAll Wolfgang Reip5 Team Mach Toyota Toyota 86 MC GT300 GTA V8 4.5 L V8 5 Shogo Mitsuyama 1–2, 4–8 Tetsuji Tamanaka1–2, 4–8 Junichiro Yamashita2 BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie BMW BMW Z4 GT3 BMW P65B44 4.4 L V8 7 Seiji Ara All Jörg MüllerAll Pacific Racing Team McLaren McLaren MP4-12C GT3 McLaren M838T 3.8 L Twin Turbo V8 9 Takuya Shirasaka 1–2, 4–8 Tohjiro Azuma1–2 Daisuke Yamawaki2, 5 Ryohei Sakaguchi4–8 GAINER Nissan Nissan GT-R GT3 Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 10 André Couto All Katsumasa Chiyo1–2, 4–5, 7–8 Ryuichiro Tomita2–3, 5–6 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz M159 6.2 L V8 11 Katsuyuki HiranakaAll Björn WirdheimAll Team Up Garage with Bandoh Toyota Toyota 86 MC GT300 GTA V8 4.5 L V8 1820 Yuhki Nakayama All Yuji Ide1–4, 7–8 Marko Asmer2, 5 Nick Cassidy5 Kota Sasaki6 Audi Team Hitotsuyama Audi Audi R8 LMS ultra Audi CJJ 5.2 L V10 21 Tomonobu Fujii All Richard LyonsAll Stéphane Ortelli2 R'Qs Motor Sports Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz M159 6.2 L V8 22 Masaki Jyonai 1, 3–8 Hisashi Wada1, 3–8 VivaC team Tsuchiya Toyota Toyota 86 MC GT300 GTA V8 4.5 L V8 25 Takeshi Tsuchiya All Takamitsu Matsui1–6 Tatsuya Tanigawa5, 7–8 Reiter Vattana Motorsport Lamborghini Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX Lamborghini CEH 5.2 L V10 28 Chonsawat Asavahame 3 Tomáš Enge3 apr Nissan Nissan GT-R GT3 Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 30 Yuki Iwasaki All Hiroshi KoizumiAll Masami Kageyama2 Toyota Toyota Prius apr GT Toyota RV8KLM 3.4 L Hybrid V8 31 Yuichi Nakayama All Koki SagaAll Kota Sasaki2, 5 Porsche Team KTR Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 Porsche M97/80 4.0 L F6 33 Kenta Yamashita All Alexandre Imperatori1–4 Yuya Sakamoto5–8 Dijon Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R GT3 Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 47 Yusaku Shibata 4, 8 Shohei Yuzawa4, 8 48 Hiroshi Takamori1–2, 4–8 Masaki Tanaka1–2, 4–8 Yusaku Shibata2, 5 Arnage Racing Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz M159 6.2 L V8 50 Masaki Kano All Hideto Yasuoka1–2, 5–7 Nanin Indra-Payoong2–5, 8 LM corsa BMW BMW Z4 GT3 BMW P65B44 4.4 L V8 51 Morio Nitta 1–2, 4–8 Shigekazu Wakisaka1–2, 4–8 Lexus Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.3 L V8 60 Akira IidaAll Hiroki YoshimotoAll Dominik Farnbacher5 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda Honda CR-Z GT Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Twin Turbo Hybrid V6 55 Takashi Kobayashi All Shinichi TakagiAll Nirei Fukuzumi5 R&D Sport Subaru Subaru BRZ GT300 Subaru EJ20 2.0 L Turbo F4 61 Takuto Iguchi All Hideki YamauchiAll LEON Racing Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz M159 6.2 L V8 65 Naoya Gamou All Haruki KurosawaAll Direction Racing Ferrari Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Ferrari F136F 4.5 L V8 77 Kyosuke Mineo All Naoki Yokomizo1–3, 5–8 Taiyo Iida2, 4–5 Audi Team Racing Tech Audi Audi R8 LMS ultra Audi CJJ 5.2 L V10 86 Shinya Hosokawa 1–5 Christian Mamerow1–2, 4–5 Yoshitaka Kuroda2 Masanobu Kato3, 5 JLOC Lamborghini Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Lamborghini CEH 5.2 L V10 87 Takayuki Aoki All Koji Yamanishi1–5, 7 Yoshitaka Kuroda5 Kimiya Sato6, 8 88 Manabu OridoAll Kazuki Hiramine1–2, 5–8 Kimiya Sato2–5 Rn-sports Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz M159 6.2 L V8 111 Kazuya Tsuruta 1–2, 4–8 Masayuki Ueda1–2, 4–8 Shin Ikegami2, 5 Tomei Sports Nissan Nissan GT-R GT3 Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 360 Hiroki Yoshida 1–2, 4–8 Atsushi Tanaka1–2, 4–5, 7–8 Masato Narisawa2, 5–6
Vehicle changes Cars Tokai Dream28 switched to race a Lotus Evora mother chassis, replacing their McLaren MP4-12C GT3 from 2014 and 2013. GAINER replaced their #10 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 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 mother chassis. New teams VivaC team Tsuchiya and Team UPGARAGE with BANDOH will also field a Toyota 86 mother chassis. Goodsmile Racing will replace their BMW Z4 GT3 with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. 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. Arnage Racing will replace their Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.
Entrant changes GT500 Honda: With the Weider Honda Racing Team leaving Super GT, Naoki Yamamoto moved to Team Kunimitsu to partner Takuya Izawa. Frederic Makowiecki will not return to the series. After years of being with Real Racing, Toshihiro Kaneishi will not drive for this season, being replaced by former Team Kunimitsu driver Hideki Mutoh. Weider Honda Racing leave the Super GT series, and the entrant replaced by the Drago Modulo Honda Racing Team. They utilize Bridgestone tyres. Oliver Turvey joined Drago Modulo Honda Racing, partnering Takashi Kogure.Team information Team Mugen withdrew from the series. ARTA driver Vitantonio Liuzzi will be replaced by former Mugen driver Tomoki Nojiri after a disappointing season last year. Nakajima Racing changed the car number from 32 to 64. Toyota: Kazuki Nakajima, like Oliver Jarvis, will not return to focus on his LMP1 drive in the 2015 World Endurance Championship.Daisuke Ito will move from the KeePer TOM'S team to the Petronas TOM'S team. Ryo Hirakawa, who previously drove for the Petronas TOM'S team, joined the KeePer TOM'S team. Oliver Jarvis left the series to drive for Audi Sport Team Joest in the 2015 World Endurance Championship. Former F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen joined the SARD team, replacing Oliver Jarvis.Hiroaki Ishiura swapped seats with Kohei Hirate at the Zent Cerumo Team, while Hirate for SARD. Nissan: Lucas Ordonez moves from NDDP Racing to drive for Kondo Racing for the first three rounds. Michael Krumm replaces him to drive the remaining rounds.
GT300 Yuhki Nakayama dropped to GT300, and drive for the new UPGARAGE with BANDOH team. Former Sauber F1 test driver Marko Asmer partner Yuhki Nakayama in the UPGARAGE with BANDOH team. Porsche Team KTR overhauled their driver line-up, recruiting Rebellion Racing driver Alexandre Imperatori and All-Japan Formula Three Championship driver Kenta Yamashita. Hideki Yamauchi moved from GAINER to R&D Sport, replacing Kota Sasaki. Morio Nitta, who drove for apr in the Toyota Prius, moved to LM Corsa to drive the #51 BMW Z4 GT3, along with Shigekazu Wakisaka. Asian Le Mans Series driver Takamitsu Matsui drive for the new VivaC team Tsuchiya. All-Japan Formula Three Championship driver Mitsunori Takaboshi will drive for NDDP Racing with Kazuki Hoshino in the Nissan GTR GT3. Team Taisan withdrew from the series. Audi Team Racing Tech join the series with an Audi R8 LMS ultra. R&D Sport will switch to Dunlop tyres.
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 Audi R8 LMS ultra.
Calendar