Toyota Dominates Qualifying for 2026 SUPER GT Season Opener at Okayama
Okayama, Japan – Toyota teams secured the top three starting positions in Qualifying for the inaugural round of the 2026 Autobacs SUPER GT Series at Okayama International Circuit. TGR Team KeePer Cerumo’s Toshiki Oyu and Rikuto Kobayashi claimed pole position in their #38 Toyota GR Supra with a blistering time of 1:17.352.
Reigning GT500 champions Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita, driving the #36 au TOM’S GR Supra, qualified second with a time of 1:17.417. The top three was rounded out by Nirei Fukuzumi and Kazuya Oshima in the #14 ENEOS X Prime GR Supra, who recorded a time of 1:17.481. The three Toyotas finished within just 0.129 seconds of each other.
In a two-stage knockout qualifying session, Kobayashi’s impressive Q1 performance set the stage for Oyu to clinch pole in Q2, where he narrowly edged out Tsuboi. Yuhi Sekiguchi and Sacha Fenestraz in the #39 Denso Kobelco SARD GR Supra finished fourth, marking a strong showing for Toyota’s GT500 division.
Honda’s best effort came from the #17 Astemo Prelude-GT of Koudai Tsukakoshi and Yuto Nomura, qualifying fourth at 1:17.697. The session’s drama unfolded for Honda as the #8 ARTA Mugen Prelude-GT, driven by Hiroki Otsu, crashed into the tire barrier and will start from 14th position.
Nissan’s representation was led by the #12 TRS Impul Z, which qualified seventh. The #24 Realize Corporation Z and the #23 Motul Niterra Z claimed ninth and tenth, respectively.
In GT300, D’station Racing’s #777 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo secured pole position with Tomonobu Fujii and Charlie Fagg, who clocked a combined 1:24.561, almost breaking the qualifying lap record. The #2 Hyper Water INGING Toyota GR86 and #31 apr Lexus LC500h will start second and third, following a track limits violation for Kotaka in Q2.
The grid for tomorrow’s 82-lap race features a diverse mix of manufacturers, with a total of nine unique models represented in the top ten of GT300. Notably, reigning champions Naoya Gamou and Togo Suganami qualified 11th.
The race is scheduled to commence at 13:20 JST. Fans outside Japan face significant challenges in accessing live coverage, prompting calls from industry insiders for improved international broadcasting solutions.
Results will follow.
