All three Nissan Z NISMO GT500s score SUPER GT points at Suzuka
All three Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries scored championship points at Suzuka as the #23 car charged from eighth to fourth before a late Safety Car ended a podium bid.
- 3 of 3
- 8th to 4th
- 49°C
- 18th to 5th
What Happened
Round 5 of the 2026 SUPER GT Series at Suzuka Circuit was a strong race for Nissan and NISMO, with all three Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries scoring championship points in hot and humid conditions. The #23 MOTUL Niterra Z of Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi advanced from eighth on the grid to finish fourth, narrowly missing a podium when the race ended under Safety Car. The #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z of Kazuki Hiramine and Bertrand Baguette finished sixth, while the #24 Realize Corporation Z of Teppei Natori and Atsushi Miyake finished seventh.
34°C air, 49°C track; all three Zs hold starting positions.
Natori (#24) moves to ninth after a penalty for a car ahead, then passes Takaboshi (#23) for eighth.
#24 pits for its mandatory stop on lap 19; #12 and #23 pit on lap 25.
After all GT500 stops, #23 runs fourth, #12 sixth, #24 seventh.
Accident at 130R triggers Safety Car; race finishes under caution.
In the opening phase, Natori in the #24 gained ground: he was ninth on lap five, eighth after passing Takaboshi at Turn 1 on lap seven, and seventh three laps later. Baguette in the #12 stayed close behind the cars ahead and held fifth into the middle stages as lapped GT300 traffic made overtaking harder. GT500 pit stops began after lap 18, with the #24 stopping on lap 19 and the #12 and #23 on lap 25; a quick stop helped the #23 gain positions. By lap 35, after all mandatory stops, the #23 ran fourth, the #12 sixth, and the #24 seventh. In the final stages, Chiyo reduced the gap to third and Hiramine closed on fifth, but limited overtaking opportunities and traffic limited progress before a major accident at 130R on lap 47 brought out the Safety Car with five laps remaining, ending the race under caution.
“Unfortunately, the Safety Car came out just as we were getting into position to challenge the competition. That is part of racing, but I would have liked the opportunity to fight for the podium.”
Takaboshi said the team struggled to find the right feeling in qualifying, but the tires chosen for the hotter race conditions gave strong pace. Mitsunori Takaboshi added that it wasn't a perfect race, but onward progress showed competitive speed, and the team will keep working to challenge strong rivals. Nissan and NISMO will analyze lessons from Suzuka and implement improvements as they pursue their goal of winning the championship, targeting the next round at Sportsland SUGO.
In GT300, six Nissan entries competed: four Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s and two Fairlady Zs built to GTA GT300 regulations. The Fairlady Zs featured an updated front-end design, introduced with the production car's facelift, to enhance front downforce. The #56 Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R of Joao Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura started 18th and finished fifth, moving to the top of the championship standings. The #360 RUNUP × SOL GT-R of Rin Arakawa and Yu Kanamaru finished seventh, and the #11 GAINER TANAX Z of Ryuichiro Tomita and Kazuki Oki finished ninth, giving Nissan three point-scoring entries in the class.
Why this matters
All three Nissan Z NISMO GT500 crews earned valuable championship points, and the #56 GT-R now leads the GT300 standings after finishing fifth from 18th on the grid. The Suzuka result demonstrated NISMO's competitive pace, while the late Safety Car that prevented a possible podium shows how race circumstances can change outcomes. Nissan says it will apply the lessons learned at the next round at Sportsland SUGO.
Terms in This Story
- GT500
- The highest class in Japan's SUPER GT racing series.
- GT300
- The second class in SUPER GT, using lower-powered GT3 and custom-built race cars.
- Safety Car
- A control car deployed to slow the race field during caution periods, keeping cars in order until conditions are safe.
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