Challenging race for Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries at Fuji Speedway

The 2026 SUPER GT Series Round 4 was held at Fuji Speedway on August 2. Following the postponement of Round 3 at Sepang, Malaysia, the event marked the first race in three months since Round 2 in May. Nissan/NISMO fielded three Nissan Z NISMO GT500s for the midsummer contest, but rapidly changing weather conditions, including heavy rain just before the start followed by a quick return to dry conditions, made it a challenging race for the Nissan contingent.

Detailed race report:

As the cars lined up on the grid under hot, humid cloud cover, heavy rain suddenly swept across the circuit. The rain stopped just before the formation lap began at 1:30 p.m. and as sunshine quickly returned, teams rushed to switch back to slick tires after having already fitted wet-weather tires.

With sections of the track still damp, the 300km, 66-lap race began behind the Safety Car (SC). With ambient temperatures reaching 34°C and track temperatures soon climbing to 47°C, the race got underway behind the Safety Car on a circuit that remained damp in places. The #23 MOTUL Niterra Z of Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi started 8th, the #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z of Kazuki Hiramine and Bertrand Baguette started 9th, while the #24 Realize Corporation Z of Teppei Natori and Atsushi Miyake lined up at 14th place.

The race resumed on lap 5 after four laps behind the Safety Car. Immediately after the restart, contact occurred between the #12 Z and the #23 Z on the main straight. Following the contact, the #23 Z lost control and made secondary contact with another competitor, resulting in a multi-car incident and a red flag period. The #23 Z sustained damage to its left-front and right-rear sections in the incident and was taken to the garage for extensive repairs.

The race resumed at 2:15 p.m. behind the Safety Car. During the stoppage the track had fully dried, resulting in completely dry conditions. Following another four laps of running with the Safety Car, the race restarted on lap 10. Shortly after the restart, the #12 Z, running 7th position at the time, was handed two penalties: a 90-second stop penalty for contact with another car under Safety Car conditions, and a drive-through penalty for an overtaking infringement during the Safety Car restart procedure. After serving both penalties, the #12 Z dropped to 12th place, one lap down.

Running 12th at the restart, Atsushi Miyake in the #24 Z steadily improved his pace. He moved up to 11th position on lap 10 and inherited 10th position on lap 12 when the #12 Z served its penalty. As pit stops began among the GT500 cars after lap 21, the #24 Z extended its first stint and climbed as high as 4th place before making its mandatory stop at the end of lap 29. Natori took over driving duties and rejoined the race in 10th position.

Just before the half distance mark, on lap 30, the #23 Z returned to the track after the team completed an impressive repair effort. However, after running 11 laps, the car developed vibrations, forcing it back into the pits. The team subsequently elected to retire from the race. Late in the race, around lap 50, Natori in the #24 Z struggled to maintain pace and slipped to 11th position. Despite continued efforts, he was unable to regain position before the finish.

The #12 Z, meanwhile continued in 12th place, one lap behind the leaders, before pitting at the end of lap 39 for Hiramine to take over. Although the car was unable to make significant progress in the classification, Hiramine delivered a series of strong laps in the closing stages, showing encouraging pace in the latter stages of the race.

Round 4, held after a three-month break in the championship, proved to be a far more challenging race than anticipated for the Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries. Nissan/NISMO will now turn its focus to the next round at Suzuka Circuit, where the team will look to build on the lessons learned at Fuji and challenge for a stronger result.