Nissan left round five of the 2026 SUPER GT Series with all three of its Z NISMO GT500 entries in the points, despite searing summer conditions at Suzuka Circuit. The #23 MOTUL Niterra Z came closest to the rostrum, climbing from eighth on the grid to fourth before a late Safety Car froze the order. Nissan also put three cars in the points in the GT300 class, where the #56 GT-R moved to the head of the championship standings.

Round five of the 2026 SUPER GT Series at Suzuka Circuit delivered a solid, if slightly frustrating, afternoon for Nissan and NISMO. All three Nissan Z NISMO GT500 cars finished inside the points, but the best of them was left waiting for a podium fight that never came.

Race day on 23 August was hot and humid. The formation lap got under way at 1:30 p.m. with an air temperature of 34°C (93°F), and the track surface climbed to 49°C (120°F) — conditions that put tyre choice at the centre of every team’s strategy.

An early charge from the #24 Z

The three Nissans held their grid slots through the opening exchanges, with Teppei Natori in the #24 Realize Corporation Z the first to make ground. A penalty pit stop for a car ahead moved him up to ninth on lap five, and on lap seven he took eighth by passing Mitsunori Takaboshi’s #23 Z at Turn 1. Three laps later he was seventh.

Further up the order, Bertrand Baguette kept the #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z within striking distance of the group in front while he looked for a way past. As lapped GT300 traffic came into play, clean overtaking chances dried up and he settled into fifth through the middle stint.

Pit stops shuffle the order

GT500 stops opened after lap 18. The #24 Z took its mandatory driver change at the end of lap 19, while the #12 and #23 cars both came in at the end of lap 25. A sharp stop for the #23 Z paid off: once the class had cycled through by lap 35, Katsumasa Chiyo held fourth, Kazuki Hiramine was sixth in the #12 and Atsushi Miyake seventh in the #24.

Chiyo then began reeling in third place, while the #12 closed on fifth and looked ready to attack. Nissan says both cars had a pace advantage at that stage, but Suzuka’s limited passing places and backmarker traffic made the final step difficult.

A Safety Car settles it

The decisive moment came on lap 47, when a major accident at 130R brought out the Safety Car. The race stayed neutralised to the chequered flag, ending the #23 Z’s charge in fourth — just short of the podium. The #12 Z took sixth and the #24 Z seventh.

“After that, the car felt well balanced and we had the pace to close the gap to the #8 car. Unfortunately, the Safety Car came out just as we were getting into position to challenge the competition. That is part of racing, but I would have liked the opportunity to fight for the podium.”

Chiyo added that the team now needs “to turn this pace into a stronger result”, saying they will “prepare thoroughly for the next round and go to SUGO determined to fight for the win”.

Takaboshi pointed to the tyre call as the turning point after a difficult Saturday. “We struggled to find the right feeling in qualifying, but the tires we chose for the hotter race conditions worked well and gave us strong pace,” he said, while warning that “our rivals are very strong, so we need to keep improving if we want to challenge them consistently”.

Championship lead in GT300

Nissan fielded six cars in the GT300 class: four Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s and two Fairlady Zs built to GTA GT300 regulations. The Fairlady Zs ran an updated front-end design introduced alongside the road car’s facelift, aimed at increasing front downforce.

The standout drive came from the #56 Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R of Joao Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura, which started 18th and finished fifth — enough to take the top of the championship standings. The #360 RUNUP × SOL GT-R of Rin Arakawa and Yu Kanamaru was seventh and the #11 GAINER TANAX Z of Ryuichiro Tomita and Kazuki Oki ninth, putting three Nissans in the GT300 points.

What it means

Fourth, sixth and seventh is a respectable haul rather than a breakthrough, but the more useful takeaway for Nissan is that its race pace at a demanding, high-temperature circuit was competitive without being converted into track position. The manufacturer says it will keep working through the lessons from Suzuka in pursuit of the title.

Suzuka results: Nissan Z NISMO GT500

  • #23 MOTUL Niterra Z (Katsumasa Chiyo / Mitsunori Takaboshi) — 4th, from 8th on the grid
  • #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette) — 6th
  • #24 Realize Corporation Z (Teppei Natori / Atsushi Miyake) — 7th
  • Conditions: 34°C (93°F) air, 49°C (120°F) track
  • Race ended: under Safety Car after an accident at 130R on lap 47

The SUPER GT season continues at Sportsland SUGO.

Source: global.nissannews.com