TGR Team TOM’S Tsuboi and Yamashita win Super GT opener at Okayama

TGR Team TOM’S drivers Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita started their 2026 Autobacs Super GT Series campaign in near-perfect fashion, driving their No. 36 Toyota GR Supra GT500 to a commanding victory in Sunday’s 300-kilometer opening round at Okayama International Circuit.

Sunday’s race marked the debut of Japan’s premier sports car racing championship on RACER Network and RACER+, but the outcome has become a very familiar one for long-time Super GT fans. Reigning GT500 champions Tsuboi and Yamashita have now won the last three season-opening races at Okayama, just as they did on their way to the 2024 and 2025 GT500 titles.

They led a 1–2 finish for Toyota, as Toshiki Oyu and rookie co-driver Rikuto Kobayashi finished second in the No. 38 Cerumo GR Supra.

Polesitter Oyu led the first 33 laps of the race ahead of Yamashita, but the leading Toyotas changed places shortly after making their routine pit stops. Kobayashi got held up by the sister No. 37 TOM’S Toyota, which was fighting to stay on the lead lap (and later retired from the race). Tsuboi capitalized on the moment – and Kobayashi’s relative inexperience – to take the net lead with a pass down the backstretch into turn five.

Tsuboi then drove away from Kobayashi and the rest of the field to take the win by a commanding 19.602s margin, but Kobayashi would still get to enjoy a podium finish in his GT500 class debut.

The No. 12 Team Impul Nissan Z NISMO GT500 of Kazuki Hiramine and Bertrand Baguette broke up a potential podium sweep for the GR Supras. Baguette’s great drive in the opening laps set the table for the blue Nissan to grab third place, ahead of the No. 14 Rookie Racing Toyota (Nirei Fukuzumi/Kazuya Oshima) and the No. 39 SARD Toyota (Yuhi Sekiguchi/Sacha Fenestraz), who were neck-and-neck for fourth and fifth, separated by only half a second.

Tomoki Nojiri and Ren Sato took top honors for Honda, finishing sixth in their No. 16 ARTA Mugen HRC Prelude-GT.

In GT300 it was an equally-impressive performance from the winners, Tomonobu Fujii and Charlie Fagg, who won from pole in their No. 777 D’station Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

The green Aston Martin only conceded the lead on track during the pit stop cycle, but never relinquished control of the race as they took a comfortable win over the No. 2 INGING Toyota GR86 of Yuui Tsutsumi and Kazuhisa Urabe by 7.325 seconds.

Meanwhile, a bit of history was made as the No. 31 apr Lexus LC500h of Kazuto Kotaka and Miki Koyama finished third in GT300. Koyama became the third woman to score a Super GT podium finish, joining June Okanoya (1995, Suzuka) and Lilou Wadoux (2024, Sugo).

Her co-driver Kotaka fended off a late-race charge from the No. 4 Goodsmile Racing & TeamUkyo Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO (Nobuteru Taniguchi/Tatsuya Kataoka) for the last podium spot.

Reigning GT300 class champions Naoya Gamou and Togo Suganami finished fifth in the No. 65 Leon Racing Mercedes-AMG, ahead of the No. 88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 (Takashi Kogure/Daniil Kvyat) in sixth place.

The 2026 Autobacs Super GT Series returns on Monday, May 4, where Fuji Speedway hosts the annual Golden Week holiday classic, and the first of two three-hour long-distance races.

All seven races of the Super GT season are live on RACER Network and on the RACER+ App.

GT500 RESULTS

GT300 RESULTS