Strong race at Suzuka sees all three Nissan Z NISMO GT500s score points

Three Nissan entries also scored championship points in the GT300 class

Round 5 of the 2026 SUPER GT Series at Suzuka Circuit proved to be a strong race for Nissan and NISMO, with all three Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries scoring valuable championship points in challenging summer conditions.

The #23 MOTUL Niterra Z, driven by Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi, advanced from eighth place on the grid and closed in on third place in the final stages of the race. However, a Safety Car was deployed with five laps remaining and the race finished under Safety Car conditions, leaving the #23 Z just short of the podium in fourth place. 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 in seventh place.

Detailed race report

Race day on August 23 brought hot and humid conditions at Suzuka Circuit. The formation lap began at 1:30 p.m., with an air temperature of 34°C and the track temperature reached 49°C.

All three Nissan Z NISMO GT500s maintained their starting positions through the opening phase of the race. Among them, Teppei Natori in the #24 Z began to make early progress. Benefiting from a penalty pit stop for a car ahead, he moved up to ninth place on lap five before passing Mitsunori Takaboshi in the #23 Z at Turn 1 on lap seven to take eighth place. Three laps later, he overtook another rival to move into seventh place.

Meanwhile, Bertrand Baguette in the #12 Z remained close behind the cars ahead, waiting for an opportunity to attack. As lapped GT300 traffic began to come into play, overtaking became increasingly difficult, and he held fifth position as the race entered its middle stages.

Pit stops for the GT500 class began after lap 18. The #24 Z came in at the end of lap 19 for its mandatory driver change, while both the #12 Z and #23 Z pitted at the end of lap 25.

A quick and well-executed pit stop helped the #23 Z gain positions. Once all GT500 cars had completed their mandatory stops by lap 35, Katsumasa Chiyo in the #23 Z was running fourth, Kazuki Hiramine in the #12 Z was running sixth, and Atsushi Miyake in the #24 Z was running seventh.

As the race entered its final stages, battles throughout the field intensified. The #23 Z steadily reduced the gap to the car in third place as Chiyo pushed for a podium finish. The #12 Z also closed in on fifth position and appeared ready to launch an overtaking move. Although both Nissan entries had a pace advantage, Suzuka’s limited overtaking opportunities, and the presence of lapped traffic made further progress difficult.

Just as the race appeared set for a dramatic finish, a major accident occurred at 130R on lap 47, prompting the deployment of the Safety Car. The race remained under Safety Car conditions until the checkered flag.

The #23 Z finished in fourth place after its strong charge through the field, narrowly missing out on a podium result. The #12 Z finished sixth, while the #24 Z finished in seventh place, ensuring all three Nissan Z NISMO GT500 entries scored championship points.

Looking ahead to the second half of the season, Nissan and NISMO will continue to analyze the lessons learned from Suzuka and implement further improvements as they pursue their goal of winning the championship. The teams intend to give it their all in the next round at Sportsland SUGO.

Driver comments:

Katsumasa Chiyo - #23 MOTUL Niterra Z
“Takaboshi-san drove a strong opening stint, and I took over around the halfway point. A rival was closing in on my out lap, so I had to push immediately on cold tires, but I was able to hold the position.”

“After that, the car felt well balanced and we had the pace to close the gap to the #8 car. 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.”

“We need to turn this pace into a stronger result. We will prepare thoroughly for the next round and go to SUGO determined to fight for the win.”

Mitsunori Takaboshi - #23 MOTUL Niterra Z
“We struggled to find the right feeling in qualifying, but the tires we chose for the hotter race conditions worked well and gave us strong pace.”

“It wasn’t a perfect race, but we were able to move forward and showed that we had competitive speed, which is encouraging.”

“At the same time, we know our rivals are very strong, so we need to keep improving if we want to challenge them consistently. We will continue working with the team, keep pushing and go into the next race focused on fighting for victory.”

GT300 class

Six Nissan entries competed in the GT300 class, including four Nissan GT‑R NISMO GT3s and two Fairlady Zs built to GTA GT300 regulations. The Fairlady Zs incorporated an updated front-end design, introduced alongside the production car's facelift, to enhance front downforce. Starting from 18th position on the grid, the #56 Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT‑R of Joao Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura fought through the field to finish in fifth place, moving to the top of the championship standings.

The #360 RUNUP × SOL GT‑R of Rin Arakawa and Yu Kanamaru finished seventh, while the #11 GAINER TANAX Z of Ryuichiro Tomita and Kazuki Oki finished in ninth place.

In total, three Nissan entries scored championship points in the GT300 class.