2018 Super GT World Awards: Shingo Tachi Memorial Award

Every year, Super GT World honours the most outstanding performers in the Autobacs Super GT Series with the Super GT World Awards.

The Shingo Tachi Memorial Award is given annually to the most outstanding rookie driver in Super GT across both GT500 and GT300 categories.

The award is named in honour of the late Shingo Tachi, who set numerous JGTC/Super GT records in his debut year in 1998, winning the GT300 Drivers’ Championship with Keiichi Suzuki, scoring five wins from six races and finishing with the first 100+ point season in series history. On March 11, 1999, Tachi passed away after injuries sustained in a pre-season testing crash at 21 years of age. This award is presented annually to honour the legacy of Shingo Tachi.

Kobayashi fastest in Super Formula tests; Chiyo lands B-Max Honda drive

On Monday and Tuesday, the Japanese Super Formula Championship ran two days of pre-season testing at Suzuka Circuit, in preparation for the 2018 season which starts at the same venue on April 21-22.

Kamui Kobayashi, driving for carrozeria Team KCMG/Toyota, recorded the fastest lap of the two-day test before departing for France to test in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing. Rookie Nobuharu Matsushita led the second day of testing for DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing/Honda.

During the test, one of the last two seats on the grid were filled, as B-Max Racing Team selected Katsumasa Chiyo to drive the #50 car, under the guidance of new team principal, and four-time Japanese Top Formula champion, Satoshi Motoyama.

Lexus flexes their muscle at Okayama manufacturer test

On Thursday, 9 GT500 teams and 3 GT300 teams travelled to Okayama International Circuit for the first day of a manufacturer shakedown test – which will precede the first official Super GT pre-season test on March 17 & 18.

Continuing with last winter’s theme of Lexus supremacy, their LC500s recorded the fastest times of both the morning and afternoon sessions, with the #38 ZENT Cerumo LC500 (Yuji Tachikawa/Hiroaki Ishiura) recording the fastest time of the day, and the GT300 class in both sessions being led by the #65 LEON Cvstos Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Haruki Kurosawa/Naoya Gamou).

Hirakawa, Rossiter return to Super Formula with Toyota

Catching up with the Japanese Super Formula Championship, as part of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s 2018 motorsport activities announcement, Toyota confirmed 10 of their 11 drivers for the upcoming Super Formula campaign.

Two-time and defending Super Formula champion Hiroaki Ishiura will lead the charge for Toyota in 2018, with Ryo Hirakawa returning to the series after a two-year absence for Itochu Enex Team Impul, and James Rossiter returning full-time to replace the retired André Lotterer at Vantelin Team TOM’s.