ARTA takes double pole position at Fuji 300km

Quite simply, qualifying for the fifth round of the Autobacs Super GT Series at Fuji Speedway was a banner day for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri, who took pole position in both GT500 and GT300 classes.

Thanks to a last-gasp flying lap from Tomoki Nojiri in Q2, the #8 ARTA Honda NSX-GT of Nojiri and Takashi Kobayashi notched up their third pole position of the 2017 season, and completed ARTA’s historic double pole position – the first for a single team in nearly twelve years.

Day of mixed fortunes for Super GT stars at Spa 24 Hours

The 69th running of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps featured a handful of current and former star drivers from the Autobacs Super GT Series among its ranks, and there was a small Super GT presence on the top step of the podium at the end of the grueling race around the clock.

Christopher Haase, who drove for Audi Team Hitotsuyama as a third driver at the 2014 Suzuka 1000km, partnered second-generation drivers Marcus Winkelhock and Jules Gounon in the #25 Audi Sport Team Saintéloc R8 LMS as they took the overall victory by just eleven seconds, after completing 546 laps around the fabled 7 kilometer circuit in Belgium.

Amongst the Super GT regulars, GT500 star Katsumasa Chiyo scored a top-15 finish for Motul Team RJN in their #23 Nissan GT-R, while GT500 championship leader Andrea Caldarelli’s team crashed out while running at the front, and former GT300 champions Goodsmile Racing with Team UKYO fell just short of the halfway mark in their European racing debut.

Super GT’s finest stars set to tackle Spa 24 Hours

64 teams will make the annual late July venture to the Circuit du Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the 69th annual 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the crown jewel of global GT3 endurance racing, and the marquee event of the Blancpain GT Series – an event with a history dating back to 1923.

With a field loaded with the finest stars in global endurance racing, there are also 12 drivers representing the past, and the present of the Autobacs Super GT Series: From current GT500 stars such as Katsumasa Chiyo and Andrea Caldarelli, to Goodsmile Racing with Team UKYO making their one-off European debut, the Super GT contingent at Spa will be well represented in this race around the clock on July 29 & 30.

Nissan brings first GT500 engine update to Sugo

The four Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500s will be the first to trial the first of two engine updates this season at this weekend’s upcoming Sugo GT 300km Race at Sportsland SUGO.

Nissan executive director Toshikazu Tanaka expects the revised NR20A engine to feature “greater reliability, better performance, and to be more competitive” as NISMO, Calsonic Team Impul, Kondo Racing, and MOLA each bid for the GT-R’s first victory of the 2017 season.