Suzuka 1000km Entry Set for Boost From GTA Agreement

An agreement between the SRO and the SUPER GT organizer GTA that would allow GT300 teams to contest next year’s Suzuka 1000km appears set to provide a boost in entry numbers for the revived Intercontinental GT Challenge fixture.

The tie-up was revealed by GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh in his regular press conference ahead of last weekend’s penultimate round of the SUPER GT season at Motegi, and follows a meeting between Bandoh and SRO founder and CEO Stephane Ratel during last month’s FIA Motorsport Games at Valencia.

In the race’s previous Suzuka 10 Hours guise in 2018-19, the field was bolstered by a number of current participants in SUPER GT’s lower class such as Goodsmile Racing, Gainer, JLOC, Team UpGarage and LM Corsa, but such entries were expected to be absent when the race’s revival was announced earlier in the year.

Ratel told Sportscar365 at that time he was targeting a 25-car field for the Suzuka 1000km’s return, which was expected to be drawn from largely from full-season IGTC entrants and competitors from Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS.

SUPER GT’s regulations prohibit GT300 teams from using their cars in other series, but Bandoh revealed this will be waived for teams wishing to contest the 1000km next year.

“Up to now, GT300 teams could enter the race, but the cars themselves couldn’t,” he said. “But next year, SUPER GT will hold its Suzuka round on August 23-24, and we have agreed that those same cars can participate [in the Suzuka 1000km] three weeks later.”

The expectation from the SRO is that the extra cars drawn from SUPER GT could push the grid as high as 30-35 cars.

Bandoh specified that the agreement with the SRO for next year paves the way for GTA-GT300 cars to enter as well as FIA GT3s, although all cars will have to comply with the Balance of Performance set by the SRO and use control Pirelli tires.

The SRO is already involved in the BoP process for SUPER GT’s GT300 class as it is entrusted with setting the values for the FIA GT3s that make up the bulk of the field.

“Until now, GTA-GT300 vehicles were not allowed to participate [in the Suzuka 1000km], but we have agreed to let those vehicles to participate,” he said.

“The first step is to make them comply with [SRO] regulations, and then we will lay the groundwork for 2026. We will continue to work with SRO to create proper regulations, but first we agreed to let the vehicles participate, as there were several teams [in SUPER GT] that expressed an interest.”

Bandoh also didn’t rule out the prospect of the Suzuka 1000km becoming a points-paying race for SUPER GT’s GT300 class, potentially as soon as 2026.

Such a move would be something of a throwback to the 2013 season, when the Fuji round of the then-new Asian Le Mans Series was opened up to GT300 machinery and counted towards that year’s championship for the lower class.