2015 Super GT Series
The 2015 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-third season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the eleventh season under the name Super GT. It marked the thirty-third season overall of a Japanese professional sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 5 and ended on November 15, after 8 races.
Schedule
A provisional calendar was released on August 8, 2014.[1][2] An updated calendar was released on January 19, 2015, which saw the Autopolis race move from May to November, the Chang race move from October to June and SUGO from July to September.[3]
| Round | Race | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Okayama GT 300 km |
 Okayama International Circuit |
April 5 |
| 2 | Fuji GT 500 km |
Fuji Speedway |
May 3 |
| 3 | Buriram United Super GT Race 300 km |
 Chang International Circuit |
June 21 |
| 4 | Fuji GT 300 km |
Fuji Speedway |
August 9 |
| 5 | 44th International Suzuka 1000km 1000 km |
Suzuka Circuit |
August 30 |
| 6 | Sugo GT 300 km |
Sportsland SUGO |
September 20 |
| 7 | Autopolis GT 300 km |
Autopolis |
November 1 |
| 8 | Motegi GT 250 km |
Twin Ring Motegi |
November 15 |
2015 International venue |
Drivers and teams
GT500
GT300
Team transfers
- With the Weider Honda Racing Team leaving Super GT, Naoki Yamamoto moved to Team Kunimitsu to partner Takuya Izawa.
- Lucas Ordonez moves from NDDP Racing to drive for Kondo Racing for the first three rounds. Michael Krumm will replace him to drive the remaining rounds.[31]
- Daisuke Ito will move from the KeePer TOM'S team to the Petronas TOM'S team.
- Hiroaki Ishiura swapped seats with Kohei Hirate at the Zent Cerumo Team, with Hirate now driving for SARD.
- With Team Mugen leaving Super GT, Tomoki Nojiri will replace Vitantonio Liuzzi at the ARTA GT500 team. Former partner Yuhki Nakayama will drive for the new UPGARAGE with BANDOH team.
- Porsche Team KTR overhauled their driver line-up, recruiting Rebellion Racing driver Alexandre Imperatori and All-Japan Formula Three Championship driver Kenta Yamashita.
- Hideki Yamauchi moved from Gainer to R&D Sport, replacing Kota Sasaki.[24]
- Morio Nitta, who drove for apr in the Toyota Prius, moved to LM Corsa to drive the #51 BMW Z4 GT3.
Joining Super GT
- Oliver Turvey joined Drago Modulo Honda Racing, partnering Takashi Kogure.[32]
- Ryo Hirakawa, who previously drove for the Petronas TOM'S team, joined the KeePer TOM'S team.
- Former F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen joined the SARD team, replacing Oliver Jarvis.[33]
- Shigekazu Wakisaka, Juichi Wakisaka's older brother, will join the LM Corsa team, driving the #51 JMS BMW Z4 GT3.
- Asian Le Mans Series driver Takamitsu Matsui will drive for the new VivaC team Tsuchiya
- Former Sauber F1 test driver Marko Asmer will partner Yuhki Nakayama in the UPGARAGE with BANDOH team.[34]
- All-Japan Formula Three Championship driver Mitsunori Takaboshi will drive for NDDP Racing with Kazuki Hoshino in the Nissan GTR GT3.
Leaving Super GT
- Frederic Makowiecki will not return to drive this season, following Weider Honda Racing's withdrawal.
- Oliver Jarvis left the series to drive for Audi Sport Team Joest in the 2015 World Endurance Championship.[35]
- ARTA driver Vitantonio Liuzzi will be replaced by former Mugen driver Tomoki Nojiri after a disappointing season last year.
- After years of being with Real Racing, Toshihiro Kaneishi will not drive for this season, being replaced by former Team Kunimitsu driver Hideki Mutoh.
- Kazuki Nakajima, like Oliver Jarvis, will not return to focus on his LMP1 drive in the 2015 World Endurance Championship.
GT500
- Weider Honda Racing will leave the Super GT series, being replaced by the Drago Modulo Honda Racing Team. They will utilize Bridgestone tyres.
GT300
- Team Taisan and Team Mugen withdrew from the series.
- Cars Tokai Dream28 will switch to race a Lotus Evora mother chassis, replacing their McLaren MP4-12C GT3 from 2014 and 2013.[36]
- Gainer replaced their #10 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 car with a Nissan GTR GT3, following Rn-SPORTS' split from the team.
- Pacific Racing Team will replace their Porsche 911 GT3R with a McLaren MP4-12C GT3.
- LM Corsa will expand to two cars, with their purchase of the new Lexus RCF GT3.[37]
- Team Mach will switch from a Nissan GTR GT3 to a Toyota 86 mother chassis. New teams VivaC team Tsuchiya and Team UPGARAGE with BANDOH will also field a Toyota 86 mother chassis.
- Goodsmile Racing will replace their BMW Z4 GT3 with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.[38]
- Audi Team Racing Tech will join the series with an Audi R8 LMS ultra.
- Direction Racing replaced their Porsche 911 GT3R with a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3.[39]
- Dijon Racing would field a second Nissan GTR GT3, car #47, for only rounds 4 and 8.
- R&D Sport will switch to Dunlop tyres.
- Arnage Racing will replace their Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.[40]
Mid-season changes
- From round 6 and up, Team UPGARAGE with BANDOH will change their racing number from 18 to 20.
- Audi Team Racing Tech left the series after the Suzuka round due to a severe accident. They will return in 2016 with the upgraded Audi R8 LMS ultra.[41]
Calendar
Championship standings
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Suzuka | 25 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
GT500
|
|
GT300
| Rank | Driver | OKA |
FUJ |
CHA |
FUJ |
SUZ |
SUG |
AUT |
MOT |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  André Couto |
7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 94 |
| 2 | Katsumasa Chiyo |
7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 74 | ||
| 3 | Yuichi Nakayama Koki Saga |
1 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 69 |
| 4 | Kazuki Hoshino Mitsunori Takaboshi |
8 | 2 | 1 | Ret | 14 | 8 | 1 | Ret | 61 |
| 5 | Katsuyuki Hiranaka Björn Wirdheim |
12 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 3 | Ret | 3 | 52 |
| 6 | Takashi Kobayashi Shinichi Takagi |
2 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 49 |
| 7 | Seiji Ara Jörg Müller |
Ret | 6 | 3 | Ret | 2 | 19 | 3 | 9 | 47 |
| 8 | Ryuichiro Tomita |
1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 45 | ||||
| 9 | Naoya Gamou Haruki Kurosawa |
22 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 41 |
| 10 | Takeshi Tsuchiya |
6 | Ret | 7 | 5 | 23 | 1 | Ret | 12 | 35 |
| Takamitsu Matsui |
6 | Ret | 7 | 5 | 23 | 1 | 35 | |||
| 11 | Tatsuya Kataoka Nobuteru Taniguchi |
5 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 35 |
| 12 | Takuto Iguchi Hideki Yamauchi |
17 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 5 | Ret | 11 | 30 |
| 13 | Tomonobu Fujii Richard Lyons |
3 | Ret | 19 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 28 |
| 14 | Manabu Orido |
Ret | Ret | 17 | 7 | 4 | 4 | Ret | 7 | 26 |
| 15 | Kazuki Hiramine |
Ret | Ret | 4 | 4 | Ret | 7 | 22 | ||
| 16 | Morio Nitta Shigekazu Wakisaka |
9 | 9 | 4 | Ret | 9 | 17 | 15 | 14 | |
| 17 | Kyosuke Mineo |
11 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
| Naoki Yokomizo |
11 | 13 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 18 | Kota Sasaki |
4 | 10 | 15 | 10 | |||||
| 19 | Shinya Hosokawa |
4 | 10 | 16 | Ret | 17 | 9 | |||
| Christian Mamerow |
4 | 10 | Ret | 17 | 9 | |||||
| 20 | Kenta Yamashita |
14 | 12 | 8 | Ret | 18 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 6 |
| 21 | Hiroki Katoh Kazuho Takahashi |
16 | Ret | 11 | 22 | 7 | Ret | 21 | 13 | 5 |
| Hiroshi Hamaguchi |
7 | 5 | ||||||||
| 22 | Kimiya Sato |
Ret | 17 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 4 | ||
| 23 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Alexandre Imperatori |
14 | 12 | 8 | Ret | 3 | ||||
| Yuya Sakamoto |
18 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 3 | |||||
| 24 | Taiyo Iida |
13 | 12 | 9 | 3 | |||||
| 25 | Yuhki Nakayama |
19 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 21 | 15 | 9 | Ret | 2 |
| Yuji Ide |
19 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | 2 | ||
| 26 | Masaki Jyonai Hisashi Wada |
DNS | 15 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 22 | 24 | 2 | |
| 27 | Akira Iida Hiroki Yoshimoto |
10 | Ret | Ret | 15 | 19 | 22 | 10 | 17 | 2 |
| Takayuki Aoki |
20 | DNS | Ret | 11 | 24 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 0 | |
| Koji Yamanishi |
20 | DNS | Ret | 11 | 24 | 11 | 0 | |||
| Masaki Kano |
18 | 11 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 20 | 16 | 22 | 0 | |
| Nanin-Indra Payoong |
11 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Hideto Yasuoka |
18 | 11 | Ret | 20 | 16 | 0 | ||||
Chonsawat Asavahame Tomáš Enge |
12 | 0 | ||||||||
| Yuki Iwasaki Hiroshi Koizumi |
13 | 16 | Ret | 17 | 13 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 0 | |
| Kazuya Tsuruta Masayuki Ueda |
21 | 14 | 13 | 20 | 14 | 19 | 19 | 0 | ||
| Hiroshi Takamori Masaki Tanaka |
15 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 21 | 15 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Hiroki Yoshida |
24 | 15 | 21 | Ret | Ret | 14 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Atsushi Tanaka |
24 | 15 | 21 | Ret | 14 | 23 | 0 | |||
| Shin Ikegami |
14 | 20 | 0 | |||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wolfgang Reip |
14 | 0 | ||||||||
| Yusaku Shibata |
18 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 0 | |||||
| Masato Narisawa |
15 | Ret | Ret | 0 | ||||||
| Masanobu Kato |
16 | 17 | 0 | |||||||
| Takuya Shirasaka |
23 | Ret | 16 | 22 | 23 | 20 | Ret | 0 | ||
| Ryohei Sakaguchi |
16 | 22 | 23 | 20 | Ret | 0 | ||||
| Masami Kageyama |
16 | 0 | ||||||||
| Shohei Yuzawa |
19 | 0 | ||||||||
| Dominik Farnbacher |
19 | 0 | ||||||||
 Marko Asmer |
Ret | 21 | 0 | |||||||
 Nick Cassidy |
21 | 0 | ||||||||
| Daisuke Yamawaki |
Ret | 22 | 0 | |||||||
| Tohjiro Azuma |
23 | Ret | 0 | |||||||
| Tatsuya Tanigawa |
23 | Ret | 12 | 0 | ||||||
| Shogo Mitsuyama Tetsuji Tamanaka |
Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 21 | 0 | |||
| Drivers ineligible for championship points | ||||||||||
| Yoshitaka Kuroda |
10 | 24 | 0 | |||||||
| Nirei Fukuzumi |
12 | 0 | ||||||||
 Stéphane Ortelli |
Ret | 0 | ||||||||
| Junichiro Yamashita |
Ret | 0 | ||||||||
| Rank | Driver | OKA |
FUJ |
CHA |
FUJ |
SUZ |
SUG |
AUT |
MOT |
Points |
References
- "2014年のSUPER スーパーGTの15年カレンダー発表。今季同様全8戦" ['15 Calendar announcement of Super GT. This season the same 8 races]. as-web.jp. August 8, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- "15年FIA国際カレンダー発表。日本GPは3候補" ['15 FIA international calendar announced. Japan GP 3 candidates]. as-web.jp. August 13, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- "SGTの15年カレンダーが大幅変更。3戦が日程移動" ['15 Calendar changes significantly for SGT. 3 races move on the schedule] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
- "Nissan announces 2015 motorsports activities". Nismo. February 12, 2015. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- "Toyota Outlines 2015 Motorsports Activities, Announces Return to World Rally Championship". Toyota Global Newsroom. Toyota. January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- "Honda 2015 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- サード、コバライネン起用を発表！「優勝狙う」 (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 6, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- "サード、クリエンを鈴鹿1000kmの第3ドラに起用" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. June 19, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- "GSR＆TeamUKYO、15年はメルセデスにスイッチ！" [After 15 years, GSR & TeamUKYO to switch to Mercedes!] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- "エルシーアイ、2015年SUPER GT300シリーズ参戦の「SGT-EVORA」を東京オートサロン2015に出典" (in Japanese). car.watch.impress.co.jp. December 24, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- "スーパーGTの年間エントリー発表。合計44台揃う" [Annual entry announcement of Super GT. Total of 44 entries] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- "目標は王座のみ。Studie、体制堅持で2年目に臨む" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 26, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- "PACIFIC RACINGが今季体制発表。マクラーレン使用" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. March 12, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- "GAINER、15年はSLSとGT-Rの2台に！ クート加入" [15th year for Gainer; to two cars of SLS and GT-R. Couto joins] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. December 21, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- "GAINER、15年参戦体制を発表。千代と富田が加入" [GAINER, announced their '15 race structure. Chiyo and Tomita join] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- "アップガレージ、86マザーシャシーでGT300参戦！" [Up garage to race in GT300 race with the 86 mother chassis!] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- "GT300のUP GARAGE BANDOH、中山とアスマー起用" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. March 4, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
- "Audi Team Hitotsuyamaが今季体制発表。WRTと提携" [Audi Team Hitotsuyama announce their structure for this season, and an alliance with WRT] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- "Hitotsuyama、ル・マン勝者のオルテリを第3ドラに起用" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
- つちやエンジニアリングのドライバーは土屋＆松井に [Tsuchiya Engineering drivers Tsuchiya & Matsui] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- "aprがプリウスの体制発表。嵯峨、中山に佐々木も" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- "Porsche Team KTR、強力なSGT参戦体制を発表" [Porsche Team KTR announces a powerful SGT race team] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- "LMcorsaはRC FとZ4の2台体制！ INGINGとタッグ" [LM corsa to two cars, a RC F and Z4!] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- "BRZ、15年は井口＆山内でSGT参戦。タイヤも変更" [15 years of SGT participation for BRZ, with Iguchi and Yamauchi, also changing tyre manufacturers] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. January 10, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- "LEON RACINGが体制発表。黒澤×蒲生のコンビに" [Leon Racing announce their team structure, a combination of Kurosawa and Gamou] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- "Direction、強力体制でSGT参戦。横溝＆峰尾組復活" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- "JLOC88号車は今年もマネパがサポート。公哉加入" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
- "Rn-SPORTS、111号車として独自にGT300参戦へ" [Rn-SPORTS 111 to compete with their own GT300 car] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 1, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- "Rn-sports スーパーGT 300クラス参戦概要" [Rn-sports Super GT300 Class Participation Overview] (PDF). SUPERGT.net (in Japanese). Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- "RUN UPが今季GT300参戦体制発表。DOESとコラボ" [Run Up are announced for GT300 this season by race organisation. In collaboration with DOES.] (in Japanese). as-web.jp. February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- "NISSAN MOTORSPORTS | 2014 Press Release". Archived from the original on 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2015-02-12.
- Team information
- "SARD Racing :: LEXUS TEAM SARD、ドライバーはヘイキ・コバライネンに決定！". Archived from the original on 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
- "Super Gt｜Motorsports Garage". Archived from the original on 2015-05-15. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- "Sportscars News - WEC: Jarvis gets nod to replace Kristensen at Audi". www.crash.net. Archived from the original on 2015-01-04.
- @Racing_injapan (9 January 2015). "Mooncraft and Lotus Japan revealed SGT-EVORA. This machine uses GT300 mother chassis and Nissan Vk45 engine. #supergt" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - @Racing_injapan (23 December 2014). "GSR Hatsunemiku is long time BMW user, but next year they use SLS AMG GT3! #supergt" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Direction、強力体制でSGT参戦。横溝＆峰尾組復活 | autosport web".
- @geinou (19 February 2015). "Arnage Racing will switch from Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 to a Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3. No announcement on drivers & sponsor yet. #supergt" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Audi Team Racing Techは、鈴鹿1000kmでのアクシデントにより、今季参戦を断念。 2016シーズンに向けて、PHOENIX RACINGとの共同体制で新たなスタートを切る。 - RACING TECH / レーシングテック". Archived from the original on 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
External links
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