The No. 36 au TOM’S GR Supra crossed the line with nearly 20 seconds in hand. That’s not a race. That’s a statement.
Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita, the defending GT500 champions, dismantled the field in Sunday’s 2026 Super GT opener at Okayama International Circuit, converting a second-place grid slot into a runaway victory that looked almost clinical. Three straight title campaigns now open with a win. The rest of the paddock should be taking notes.
Yamashita held station behind pole-sitter Toshiki Oyu’s Cerumo Toyota through the first stint, patient as a surgeon. The real move came after the pit cycle. Oyu handed off to GT500 debutant Rikuto Kobayashi, who held the net lead briefly but couldn’t keep Tsuboi behind once the tires came up to temperature.
Tsuboi set up the pass around the outside of Attwood Curve on lap 38 — decisive, clean, final. By lap 46 he had six seconds. By the flag, it was nearly 20.
Kobayashi held on for second, giving Toyota a 1-2 that underlined the GR Supra’s continuing stranglehold on the GT500 class.
Nissan showed life, though. Bertrand Baguette, starting seventh in the No. 12 TRS IMPUL Z NISMO, carved through traffic immediately, reaching third by lap seven with a gutsy outside pass at the Hairpin. Co-driver Kazuki Hiramine kept the pressure on in the second stint, closing to within 2.4 seconds of Kobayashi at the finish but never finding a way past.
All three Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries scored points. The No. 23 MOTUL Niterra Z, now under the direction of retired legend Tsugio Matsuda, fought from 10th to eighth. The No. 24 Realize Corporation Z, running on Bridgestone rubber for the first time, grabbed ninth. Points across the board, but none of the three challenged for the win.
New regulations loom over the 2026 season. Each GT500 car gets a single engine allocation for the entire eight-round calendar — a dramatic cost-control measure that will punish anyone who pushes too hard, too early. The mandated switch to E10 bioethanol fuel adds another variable. Whether these rules tighten the field or further reward the best-resourced operations remains to be seen.
Track temperatures hit 39 degrees Celsius at race start, an unusually punishing surface for April at Okayama, making tire management the invisible battle all afternoon. The conditions tested everyone, yet the TOM’S crew executed flawlessly.
In GT300, the No. 777 D’station Vantage GT3 of Tomonobu Fujii and Charlie Fagg delivered a pole-to-flag clinic, building an 11-second lead in the closing stages and never looking remotely troubled. It was Fujii’s 11th career Super GT victory and the team’s first-ever win at Okayama. The No. 2 INGING GR86 GT and No. 31 apr LC500h GT completed the podium after a race-long scrap that never quite reached the leader.
Former Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat, piloting the No. 88 Lamborghini GT3, used a two-tire strategy to claw into the top six — a curiosity worth watching as the season develops.
The race ran green from start to finish. No safety cars, no full-course yellows, no drama beyond what drivers created on track. That’s rare at Okayama, where the tight, technical layout usually generates contact.
Round two moves to Fuji Speedway on May 3-4, a high-speed circuit that will tell a very different story about engine performance and straight-line speed. Tsuboi and Yamashita will arrive carrying success ballast and the confidence of a team that looks every bit the class of the field. Everyone else arrives carrying questions.
Share this Story