Super GT announces schedule changes, tire contracts

The GT Association made a series of announcements before Sunday’s Super GT Series race at Fuji Speedway impacting next season and the end of the current campaign.

The first of these announcements was the long-awaited announcement of the series’ new exclusive tire suppliers. Beginning in 2027, Bridgestone will become the sole tire supplier to Super GT’s premier GT500 class, while Dunlop (Sumitomo Rubber) will supply tires to the GT300 class.

Both manufacturers agreed to three-year contracts which will run through 2029. They will each construct three different dry compounds which will be distinguished with color-coded sidewalls.

GT500 teams can bring all three Bridgestone compounds to a race meeting, but must use all the compounds they bring over the course of the weekend. Meanwhile, in GT300, Dunlop will select two of its three compounds in advance of each race meeting for its teams to use.

Testing of these tires will begin Monday at Fuji Speedway, with subsequent tests to be carried out after each remaining race meeting.

Bridgestone is the most successful tire manufacturer in GT500 history and currently supplies 12 of the 14 cars on this year’s grid, meaning its selection as the sole GT500 supplier was hardly a surprise. But the same could not be said in GT300, where Dunlop is reported to have put forth a more lucrative offer to outbid Yokohama, which has been the most successful tire in the history of GT300.

As it exits the Super GT Series after 2026, Yokohama will focus on other racing activities such as being the official tire supplier to the Super Formula Championship. Michelin will also exit the series, only three years after it stopped supplying tires to the GT500 class.

The second announcement impacts the 2026 season: Mobility Resort Motegi will now host a doubleheader season finale, with races on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7-8. The revised weekend format will consist of practice on Friday and qualifying sessions to be held on the morning of each race,with race distances to be confirmed later.

The first race at Motegi will serve as a replacement to the canceled race at Petronas Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. It will be run as a “half-ballast” race, as all cars will carry one kilogram of Success Ballast per championship point scored.

Meanwhile, the Oct. 18 Autopolis 3 Hour shifts up in the calendar and will be run as a “full ballast” race with teams carrying 2kg per point of Success Weight.

That race is expected to proceed as scheduled: Autopolis International Racing Course and its surrounding facilities suffered no significant damage following the July 28 earthquake which struck Kumamoto Prefecture, leading to 38 deaths and over 150 injuries in the region.

Finally, the GTA confirmed that next year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge Suzuka 1000km on Sept. 5, 2027, will count as a points-paying race for participating GT300 teams. However, entries for Super GT teams will be limited – with the top 18 teams in the 2026 championship receiving priority – so there will be at least one dropped score in the final 2027 GT300 championship standings.

The 2027 Suzuka 1000km, the 51st running of Japan’s oldest endurance sports car race, will be jointly organized by the Stephane Ratel Organization and GTA.

GT300 teams competing in next year’s Suzuka 1000km will be allowed to race with their regular Dunlop tires, against regular SRO competitors using Pirelli tires.

It has not yet been determined if there will be two dropped scores in the GT300 class next year: As Sepang returns to the calendar in 2027, GT300 entries for the Malaysian round are also expected to be limited to just the top 18 cars from the 2026 teams’ championship. These teams will receive priority “seed rights” for the following season and thus, guaranteed entry into all races.