2021 Super GT Series


The 2021 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation and run by the GT Association. It was the twenty-ninth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the seventeenth season under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-ninth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship, dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.
TGR Team au TOM'S and drivers Yuhi Sekiguchi and Sho Tsuboi won the GT500 class championships, driving the Toyota Supra, after overcoming a 16-point deficit in the final round of the season. The titles were secured in controversial circumstances as championship leader Naoki Yamamoto of Team Kunimitsu was taken out from a title-clinching position by GT300 class driver Ren Sato with 15 laps remaining in the final race of the season. Driving the new Subaru BRZ, Takuto Iguchi and Hideki Yamauchi won the GT300 class championships for R&D Sport, giving Subaru their first-ever title in Super GT competition. It was also the first drivers' title for both Iguchi and Yamauchi, and the first for the R&D Sport team.

Calendar

A provisional eight-round 2021 calendar was announced on 7 August 2020. Autopolis, Okayama International Circuit, and Sportsland Sugo returned to the calendar after a year's absence. The Fuji GT 500km Race also returned to its traditional calendar slot on the Golden Week holiday of 3-4 May.
On 9 February 2021, the planned rounds at Chang International Circuit in Thailand and Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia were cancelled due to travel restrictions. A revised schedule was released on the same day with all eight rounds being held in Japan, and with the addition of an additional round at Fuji Speedway in November and Twin Ring Motegi in July. On 11 May 2021, the third round at Suzuka International Racing Course, which had been set to take place on 30 May as the third round of the championship, was postponed indefinitely due to a renewed wave of COVID-19 cases in Japan. The race was subsequently rescheduled to 22 August.

Teams and drivers

Vehicle changes

GT300 Class

  • INGING Motorsport and Cars Tokai Dream28 merged into a collaborative entry in 2021, known as muta Racing INGING. The team retained the Lotus Evora MC GT300 vehicle, driver Hiroki Katoh, chief engineer Shintaro Watanabe, and the number 2 plate of Cars Tokai Dream28's entry. INGING brought on their Bridgestone tyre contract, title sponsor muta, and driver Ryohei Sakaguchi.
  • Both LM Corsa and Max Racing switched from the FIA-GT3 specification Lexus RC F GT3 to the GT300 specification fifth-generation Toyota GR Supra for the 2021 season.
  • Team LeMans returned to Super GT after a one-year absence, fielding an Audi R8 LMS Evo under the 'Team LeMans with Motoyama Racing' banner while also transfer from the GT500 to GT300 class.
  • R&D Sport changed from the first-generation Subaru BRZ to the new second-generation BRZ for the 2021 season.
  • Car Guy Racing returned to Super GT after a two-year absence, partnering with Pacific Racing Team to field a Ferrari 488 GT3 under the Pacific CarGuy Racing banner.

Entrant changes

GT500 Class

Honda: Honda announced their Super GT driver line-up on On 15 January 2020.

GT300 Class

Mid-season changes

GT500 Class

  • Sacha Fenestraz missed the first five races of the season due to difficulties acquiring a Japanese visa. Sena Sakaguchi replaced him at TGR Team KeePer TOM's for these five races, before Fenestraz returned for the sixth round at Autopolis.
  • Tadasuke Makino missed the first race of the season due to meningitis. Hideki Mutoh replaced him at Team Kunimitsu for the first race at Okayama. Makino returned for the Fuji 500km in May, entered as a third driver alongside Yamamoto and Mutoh. From the following round at Motegi, Makino returned to the cockpit on a full-time basis.
  • From the third race of the season at Motegi, TGR Team ZENT Cerumo chief engineer Kotaro Tanaka had taken over as team director from ace driver Yuji Tachikawa.

GT300 Class

  • With Sena Sakaguchi driving in GT500, reigning FIA F4 Japanese Champion Hibiki Taira was called up to replace Sakaguchi at K-Tunes Racing. Taira drove in the first three races of the season.
  • Before the fourth race at Suzuka, Taira was replaced at K-tunes Racing by Kazuto Kotaka, due to an undisclosed illness, which was later revealed to be a COVID-19 infection. Kotaka also drove in the fifth race at Sugo.
  • Kohta Kawaai missed the fourth race of the season at Suzuka due to a positive COVID-19 test. 2011 GT300 champion Taku Bamba replaced Kawaai at Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave.
  • 2012 GT300 champion Naoki Yokomizo replaced Takeshi Kimura at Pacific CarGuy Racing for rounds three, four, and seven due to Kimura's driving commitments in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
  • arto Ping An Team Thailand changed its entry name back to arto Team Thailand after the first two races of the season, after Ping An Insurance abruptly ended its sponsorship of the team.
  • R'Qs Motor Sports withdrew from the final two rounds after their car was heavily damaged in an accident during the sixth round at Autopolis.

Results

The race at Suzuka Circuit was still promoted as the third round of the season, despite taking place after the July race at Twin Ring Motegi and being the fourth race of the season chronologically. Likewise, the July race at Motegi was still promoted as the fourth round of the championship, even though it was now the third race of the season chronologically.
Drivers credited with winning Pole Position for their respective teams are indicated in bold text.
RoundCircuitDateClassPole positionRace winner
1Okayama International Circuit11 AprilGT500No. 37 TGR Team Keeper TOM'SNo. 14 TGR Team Eneos ROOKIE
1Okayama International Circuit11 AprilGT500

Championship standings

Drivers' championships

;Scoring system
Position1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10thPole
Points20151186543211