The 2019 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-seventh season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fifteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-seventh overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 14 and ended on November 24, after 8 championship races & 2 non-championship races.
As the culmination of a unified set of technical regulations adopted by Super GT and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), the two series staged a joint-promotion race, the Super GT x DTM Dream Race at Fuji Speedway.
Calendar
Round Race Circuit Date 1 Okayama GT 300 km Race Okayama International Circuit April 13–14 2 Fuji GT 500 km Race Fuji Speedway May 3–4 3 Suzuka GT 300 km Race Suzuka Circuit May 25–26 4 Chang Super GT Race Chang International Circuit June 29–30 5 Fuji GT 500 Mile Race Fuji Speedway August 3–4 6 Autopolis GT 300 km Race Autopolis September 7–8 7 Sugo GT 300 km Race Sportsland SUGO September 21–22 8 Motegi GT 250 km Race Twin Ring Motegi November 2–3 NC Super GT × DTM Dream Race Fuji Speedway November 23–24 auto sport Web Sprint Cup
Calendar changes In light of the series' partnership with the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, two races featured entries from both Super GT and DTM. The first was the DTM season finale at the Hockenheimring, where one team from each GT500 manufacturer was invited to take part as a wildcard entry.Super GT x DTM at Hockenheim Final!| DTM Youtube Channel The second event was the Super GT x DTM Dream Race at Fuji Speedway, featuring all GT500 teams and seven teams representing DTM manufacturers Audi and BMW. A balance of performance formula was applied to ensure parity between DTM and GT500 cars, as Super GT would not adopt Class One regulations in their entirety until 2020. And for both joint-promoted events, all teams used Hankook tyres. The auto sport Web Sprint Cup, a non-championship event for GT3 and GT300 competitors, was held at Fuji Speedway as a supporting event of the Super GT x DTM Dream Race. The Autopolis GT 300 km Race moved forward in the calendar to September 8, to the sixth round of the championship. The Sportsland Sugo round moved to the penultimate round of the season. The final round at Motegi was moved forward a week to avoid clashes with the FIA World Endurance Championship and Super Taikyu Series.
Teams and drivers GT500 TeamMakeCarEngineDriversTyreRounds BMW Team RBM BMW BMW M4 Turbo DTM BMW P48 Turbo 2.0 L Turbo I4 00 Kamui Kobayashi NC 4 Alex Zanardi NC 11 Marco Wittmann NC Team Kunimitsu Honda Honda NSX-GT GT500 Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 1 Naoki Yamamoto All, NC Jenson Button All NDDP Racing with B-Max Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 3 Frederic Makowiecki All, Kohei Hirate All, Lexus Team LeMans Wako's Lexus Lexus LC 500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 6 Kenta Yamashita All, Kazuya Oshima All, ARTA Honda Honda NSX-GT GT500 Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 8 Takuya Izawa All, Tomoki Nojiri All, Team Impul Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 12 Daiki Sasaki All, James Rossiter 1–5, 7–8, Katsumasa Chiyo 6 Team Mugen Honda Honda NSX-GT GT500 Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 16 Daisuke Nakajima All, Hideki Mutoh All, Keihin REAL Racing Honda Honda NSX-GT GT500 Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 17 Koudai Tsukakoshi All, NC Bertrand Baguette All Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh Lexus Lexus LC 500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 19 Yuji Kunimoto All, Shō Tsuboi All, Audi Sport Team WRT Hitotsuyama Audi Audi RS5 Turbo DTM Audi RC8 2.0 L Turbo I4 21 Benoît Tréluyer NC NISMO Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 23 Tsugio Matsuda All, Ronnie Quintarelli All, Kondo Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 Nissan NR20A 2.0 L Turbo I4 24 Mitsunori Takaboshi All, Jann Mardenborough All, Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi Audi RS5 Turbo DTM Audi RC8 2.0 L Turbo I4 28 Loïc Duval NC Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi Audi RS5 Turbo DTM Audi RC8 2.0 L Turbo I4 33 René Rast NC Lexus Team au TOM'S Lexus Lexus LC 500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 36 Yuhi Sekiguchi All, Kazuki Nakajima 1, 3–8, Ritomo Miyata 2 Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S 37 Nick Cassidy All, Ryō Hirakawa All, Lexus Team ZENT Cerumo Lexus Lexus LC 500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 38 Yuji Tachikawa All, Hiroaki Ishiura All, Lexus Team SARD Lexus Lexus LC 500 GT500 Lexus RI4AG 2.0 L Turbo I4 39 Yuichi Nakayama All, Heikki Kovalainen All, Modulo Nakajima Racing Honda Honda NSX-GT GT500 Honda HR-417E 2.0 L Turbo I4 64 Tadasuke Makino All, Narain Karthikeyan All, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline Audi Audi RS5 Turbo DTM Audi RC8 2.0 L Turbo I4 99 Mike Rockenfeller NC
GT300 TeamMakeCarEngineDriversTyreRounds Cars Tokai Dream28 Lotus Lotus Evora MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 2 Kazuho Takahashi All Hiroki Katoh Hiroshi Hamaguchi 5 Goodsmile Racing with Team UKYO Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 4 Nobuteru Taniguchi All Tatsuya Kataoka Team Mach Toyota Toyota 86 MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 5 Natsu Sakaguchi 1–3, 5–8 Yuya Hiraki Tetsuji Tamanaka 2 Ryōhei Sakaguchi 5 D'station Racing AMR Aston Martin Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Aston Martin M177 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 7 Tomonobu Fujii All João Paulo de Oliveira Darren Turner 5 Pacific Racing with Good Speed Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche M97/80 4.2 L F6 9 Naoki Yokomizo All Kyosuke Mineo Akihiro Tsuzuki 5 Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2017) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 9 "" NC Keiichi Inoue NILZZ Racing 48 Masaki Tanaka 1–3, 5–8, NC Taiyō Iida Teruhiko Hamano 2, 5 GAINER Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2018) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 10 Kazuki Hoshino All Keishi Ishikawa 11 Katsuyuki Hiranaka All Hironobu Yasuda Hanashima Racing McLaren McLaren 720S GT3 McLaren M840T 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 11 Katsuaki Kubota NC Kazuto Kotaka Team UpGarage Honda Honda NSX GT3 Evo Honda JNC1 3.5 L Twin Turbo V6 18 Takashi Kobayashi All Kosuke Matsuura Shinnosuke Yamada 2, 5 ARTA 55 Shinichi Takagi All Nirei Fukuzumi Audi Team Hitotsuyama Audi Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 21 Richard Lyons All Ryuichiro Tomita Alessio Picariello 2, 5 R'Qs Motor Sports Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 22 Hisashi Wada 1–3, 5–6, 8 Masaki Jyonai Björn Wirdheim 5 Arnage Racing 50 Masaki Kano All Ryōsei Yamashita Yuya Tezuka 2, 5Tsuchiya EngineeringMax Racing Toyota Toyota 86 MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 25 Takamitsu Matsui All, NC Kimiya Sato Takeshi Tsuchiya 2, 5 Lexus Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 244 NC "" NC apr Toyota Toyota GR Sport Prius PHV apr GT Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 30 Hiroaki Nagai All, NC Manabu Orido Kazuto Kotaka 2, 5 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.4 L Hybrid V8 31 Koki Saga All, NC Yuhki Nakayama X Works Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2018) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 33 Shaun Thong All Marchy Lee 1–5 Shinya Michimi 2, 5–8 Modulo Drago Corse Honda Honda NSX GT3 Evo Honda JNC1 3.5 L Twin Turbo V6 34 Ryō Michigami All Hiroki Otsu Panther arto Team Thailand Lexus Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 35 Nattapong Horthongkum All Sean Walkinshaw Nattavude Charoensukhawatana 2 BH Auction Bingo Racing Callaway Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R Callaway LT1 6.2 L V8 37 Shinji Takei NC Ukyō Sasahara Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave Toyota Toyota Mark X MC GTA V8 4.5 L V8 52 Hiroki Yoshida All, NC Shigekazu Wakisaka Kondo Racing Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2018) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 56 Kazuki Hiramine All Sacha Fenestraz LM Corsa Lexus Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 60 Hiroki Yoshimoto All, NC Ritomo Miyata 1, 3–8, NC Dominik Farnbacher 2 Ferrari Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Twin Turbo V8 70 Shunsuke Kohno NC Togo Suganami R&D Sport Subaru Subaru BRZ R&D Sport Subaru EJ20 2.0 L Turbo F4 61 Takuto Iguchi All Hideki Yamauchi K2 R&D LEON Racing Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 65 Haruki Kurosawa 1–5 Naoya Gamou All Togo Suganami 6–8 JLOC Lamborghini Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini DGF 5.2 L V10 87 Tsubasa Takahashi All André Couto Kiyoto Fujinami 2, 5 88 Takashi Kogure All Yuya Motojima K-tunes Racing Lexus Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 96 Morio Nitta All Sena Sakaguchi Tomei Sports Nissan Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2018) Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Twin Turbo V6 360 Takayuki Aoki 1–3, 5–8, NC Atsushi Tanaka1–2, 5–6, NC Yusaku Shibata2, 3, 5, 7–8 McLaren Customer Racing Japan McLaren McLaren 720S GT3 McLaren M840T 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 720 Seiji Ara 1–3, 5–8 Álex Palou
Vehicle changes
GT500
Toyota announced that the fifth-generation GR Supra would replace the Lexus LC 500 as the company's GT500 vehicle beginning in 2020. This was the final season for the Lexus marque in GT500, which had first appeared in 2006.
GT300
apr Racing launched an all-new version of their Toyota Prius GT, based on the fourth-generation Prius PHV. This new Prius, with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive configuration, replaced their previous mid-engined Prius GT - which was ruled out of competition due to a regulation change stating that GT300 cars must have their engines located in the same position as their production counterparts. ARTA and Team UPGarage changed vehicles to the Honda NSX GT3, replacing their previous BMW M6 GT3 and Toyota MC86, respectively. The second-generation Aston Martin Vantage GT3 made its Super GT debut via D'station Racing AMR, who replaced their previous Porsche 911 GT3-R. The McLaren 720S GT3 made its Japanese racing debut via McLaren Customer Racing Japan.
Entrant changes
GT500
Honda: Honda announced their GT500 lineups on 11 January. Modulo became the new title sponsor for Nakajima Racing, who formed an all-new driver lineup featuring ex-Super Formula driver Narain Karthikeyan, and Tadasuke Makino, who returned to Japan after racing in Europe for two seasons. Bertrand Baguette transferred to Keihin Real Racing, where he partnered Koudai Tsukakoshi. Former F1 and GT500 driver Shinji Nakano became the new team director of Team Mugen. Lexus: Toyota Gazoo Racing announced the Lexus GT500 lineups on 7 February. Kenta Yamashita transferred to Lexus Team Wako's LeMans, replacing Felix Rosenqvist, who left Super GT to compete in the IndyCar Series. Sho Tsuboi and Yuichi Nakayama moved up to GT500 on a full-time basis, with Tsuboi joining Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh, and Nakayama joining Lexus Team SARD to take the place of Kamui Kobayashi, who left Super GT to focus on the WEC. Yuji Tachikawa was named the team director of Lexus Team ZENT Cerumo, along with his duties as lead driver. Nissan: Nissan announced their GT500 lineups on 7 February. NDDP Racing with B-Max formed an all-new driver lineup: Kohei Hirate transferred to Nissan and secured his return to GT500 after a seventeen-year association with Toyota, while former Honda GT500 driver Frédéric Makowiecki returned to the series for the first time since 2014. They replaced Satoshi Motoyama, who had retired from GT500 driving, and Katsumasa Chiyo, who accepted a new assignment in the SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge. Masahiro Hasemi also retired as team director of NDDP Racing with B-Max, and was replaced by Toshikazu Tanaka. James Rossiter rejoined Super GT on a full-time basis and completed a transfer from Toyota to Nissan, joining Team Impul. Jann Mardenborough transferred to Kondo Racing, where he replaced the departing João Paulo de Oliveira.
GT300