2021 Super GT World Awards: Shingo Tachi Memorial Award (GT500)

Nobuharu Matsushita is the recipient of the 2021 Super GT World Awards Shingo Tachi Memorial Award for the GT500 class Rookie of the Year, given to the most outstanding eligible driver in their first season competing in the top flight.

The Shingo Tachi Memorial Award is named in honour of the late 1998 GT300 champion Shingo Tachi, who died in a GT500 testing accident on 11 March, 1999, before he was set to make his premier class debut. From 2020, separate awards for GT500 and GT300 class Rookie of the Year would be given if three or more eligible rookie drivers raced in GT500 that season. This season, exactly three drivers ran enough races to be eligible for GT500 Rookie of the Year.

2021 Super GT World Awards: Shingo Tachi Memorial Award (GT300)

Teppei Natori of Team UPGarage is the recepient of the 2021 Super GT World Awards Shingo Tachi Memorial Award for the GT300 Rookie of the Year, given to the most outstanding eligible driver in their first full season of Super GT competition in the secondary category.

The award is fittingly named in honour of the late second generation driver Shingo Tachi, who set an unprecedented standard of excellence in the 1998 All-Japan GT Championship season. Tachi won a record five races en route to the GT300 Drivers’ Championship, in his debut year. Sadly, while testing in preparation for a step up to GT500, Tachi lost his life in an accident at Okayama International Circuit on 11 March, 1999.

2021 Super GT World Awards Finalists

2021年スーパーGT世界賞の決勝出場者

We would like to thank the panel of five accredited motorsports journalists who took part in selecting the finalists for each award (including, of course, myself).

All finalists listed in alphabetical order

GT500 Driver of the Year: Tomoki Nojiri (#8 ARTA NSX), Yuhi Sekiguchi (#36 au Supra), Naoki Yamamoto (#1 Stanley NSX)

GT300 Driver of the Year: Takuto Iguchi (#61 Subaru BRZ), João Paulo de Oliveira (#56 Realize GT-R GT3), Hideki Yamauchi (#61 Subaru BRZ)

Team Director of the Year: Kazuhiro Kojima (#1 Stanley NSX), Masahiro Ozawa (#61 Subaru BRZ), Aguri Suzuki (#8 ARTA NSX)

International Driver of the Year: Bertrand Baguette (#17 Astemo NSX), João Paulo de Oliveira (#56 Realize GT-R GT3), Ronnie Quintarelli (#23 Motul GT-R)

Shingo Tachi Memorial Award / GT500 Rookie of the Year: Nobuharu Matsushita (#12 Calsonic GT-R), Toshiki Oyu (#16 Red Bull NSX), Sena Sakaguchi (#37 KeePer Supra)

Shingo Tachi Memorial Award / GT300 Rookie of the Year: Teppei Natori (#18 UPGarage NSX), Ren Sato (#55 ARTA NSX GT3), Takuro Shinohara (#21 Hitotsuyama R8)

Shinichi Yamaji Memorial Award / Comeback Driver of the Year: Sacha Fenestraz (#37 KeePer Supra), Tadasuke Makino (#1 Stanley NSX), Hiroki Yoshimoto (#60 Syntium Supra)

Most Improved Driver of the Year: Katsumasa Chiyo (#3 CraftSports GT-R), Kazuki Hiramine (#12 Calsonic GT-R), Shunsuke Kohno (#60 Syntium Supra)

Clubman Driver of the Year: Takeshi Kimura (#9 CarGuy Ferrari), Hiroaki Nagai (#30 Toyota Prius), Tomohide Yamaguchi (#7 Studie M6)

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GT500クラス最優秀選手: 関口雄飛 (36番), 野尻智紀 (8番), 山本尚貴 (1番)

GT300クラス最優秀選手: 井口卓人 (61番), ジョアオ・パオロ・デ・オリベイラ (56番), 山内英輝 (61番)

最優秀チーム監督: 小澤正弘 (61番), 小島一浩 (1番), 鈴木亜久里 (8番)

最優秀国際ドライバー: ロニー・クインタレッリ(23番), ジョアオ・パオロ・デ・オリベイラ (56番), ベルトラン・バゲット (17番)

舘信吾記念賞 (GT500最優秀新人): 大湯都史樹 (16番), 阪口晴南 (37番), 松下信治 (12番)

舘信吾記念賞 (GT300最優秀新人): 佐藤蓮 (55番), 篠原拓朗 (21番), 名取鉄平 (18番)

山路慎一記念賞 (カムバック賞): サッシャ・フェネストラズ (37番), 牧野任祐 (1番), 吉本大樹 (60番)

最成長選手賞: 河野駿佑 (60番), 千代勝正 (3番), 平峰一貴 (12番)

最優秀クラブマンドライバー: 木村武史 (9番), 永井宏明 (30番), 山口智英 (7番)

The 2020 Super GT World Awards Winners

It occurred to us that we never made a proper post for last year’s Super GT World Award winners, so for the sake of posterity, here are the 2020 winners of the Super GT World Awards as selected by both the public, and by a select panel of media members.

Every year, Super GT World honours the finest performances in the Autobacs Super GT Series with the annual Super GT World Awards.