SUZUKA, Japan – Round 6 of the Autobacs Super GT 2016 season – the "45th International Suzuka 1000km" – will be held from August 27 to 28 at Suzuka Circuit in Japan. At 1000km, this race is over three times as long as the majority of rounds in the series and is often held under blistering summer heat, making it arguably the toughest race of the season. Series organizers held tests at Suzuka Circuit at the beginning of July, and preparations are all set for this red-hot, drawn out race.
In this, the third year since new regulations were introduced, the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 has been maintaining its formidable performance. Aiming for three consecutive series titles, the Michelin tire sporting #1 NISMO of Tsugio Matsuda/Ronnie Quintarelli achieved back-to-back victories in the opening round and round 2. Riding on Yokohama tires, the #24 Kondo Racing of Daiki Sasaki/Masataka Yanagida followed this up with a win in round 4, while Hironobu Yasuda/Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira's Bridgestone tire wearing #12 Team Impul took the top spot in round 5 held the other day. Having taken victory in every race since the opening round, the might of the GT-R has been reaffirmed once again (round 3 at Autopolis was cancelled).
The first day of testing in July was held under dry weather, while the second day was wet. The teams were able to attain a great deal of data under a variety of conditions. This is obviously not just the case for the four Nissan teams; their rivals were able to achieve the same. The Lexus RC F has taken victory here for the last two years, while the Honda NSX calls this course its home ground, so the rival camps will be hungry for glory going into this round and cannot be underestimated.
In the GT300 class, Kazuki Hoshino, who has experience taking victory in the Suzuka 1000km in the GT500 class, teams up with GT Academy graduate Jann Mardenborough in the #3 NDDP Racing. They will be battling alongside defending champion, #0 Gainer that won at last year's Suzuka 1000km, and all eyes will be on these two as they head up a group of four Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s. This is the fifth season for the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 since its debut.
NISMO Calendar
August 20-21
Japanese Formula 3, Motegi, Japan
August 27-28
European Le Mans Series, Paul Ricard, France
Blancpain GT Series, Sprint Cup, Hungaroring, Hungary
Super GT, Suzuka, Japan
Australian Supercars, Sydney Motorsports Park, Sydney, Australia
September 3-4
FIA WEC, Mexico City, Mexico
Micra Cup, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Canada
# # #
Contact
Jane Johnstone
Marketing Communications Director
Global Motorsport Communications
Nissan/NISMO
Phone: +44 7979 710646
Email: jane.johnstone@nissan.co.uk
Paul Ryan
Marketing and PR Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
Email: paul@nismosupport.com