Three PRELUDE-GT cars score points on debut as Onishi reflects on the opening round
Okayama International CircuitRound 1 of the 2026 SUPER GT series was held on 11–12 April at Okayama International Circuit, where five Honda HRC PRELUDE-GT cars made their debut in the GT500 class.
In Qualifying on 11 April, Yuto Nomura, making his GT500 debut in the #17 Astemo HRC PRELUDE-GT, took charge of Q1 and progressed in eighth place. He then handed over to Koudai Tsukakoshi for Q2, who set the fourth fatest time to make it the highest-placed PRELUDE-GT.
In the race on 12 April, Nomura started and held position on the opening lap, but was drawn into a side-by-side battle with the #12 Nissan into Turn 1 on lap two. Despite being a rookie, he engaged in a clean yet intense fight with the experienced drivers, but dropped one position. He nevertheless maintained fifth place through a 30-lap stint before handing over to Tsukakoshi.
Tsukakoshi held position as he continued at a steady pace, but the gap to the cars behind began to close towards the end of the race. Despite attempting to defend by varying his racing lines, he ultimately finished in tenth.
The #16 ARTA MUGEN HRC PRELUDE-GT (Tomoki Nojiri / Ren Sato) finished sixth after starting from sixth, making it the highest-placed PRELUDE-GT. The #100 STANLEY HRC PRELUDE-GT (Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino) gained one position from eighth to take the chequered flag in seventh, as three PRELUDE-GT cars finished in the points in the opening round.
Round 2 of the series will be held on 3–4 May at Fuji Speedway (Shizuoka Prefecture).
As a new car, I think it was a solid opening round. The benchmark we need to beat is a very strong rival that has won the championship for the past three seasons, and we’ve been monitoring them since pre-season testing, so today’s result feels reasonable.
We’ve explored various directions with the PRELUDE-GT, and this race helped us understand where we stand. Knowing our position is very meaningful. That said, this is racing, and we need to start winning as soon as possible.
The team operated well and we gathered valuable data, so we expect to deliver an even stronger performance in the next round.
As a new car, I think it was a solid opening round. The benchmark we need to beat is a very strong rival that has won the championship for the past three seasons, and we’ve been monitoring them since pre-season testing, so today’s result feels reasonable.
We’ve explored various directions with the PRELUDE-GT, and this race helped us understand where we stand. Knowing our position is very meaningful. That said, this is racing, and we need to start winning as soon as possible.
The team operated well and we gathered valuable data, so we expect to deliver an even stronger performance in the next round.
Finishing P6 meant we were the highest-placed PRELUDE-GT, but I still felt there is a gap to the front. Both in qualifying and the race, the team delivered everything we had, so we have to take this result seriously.
We’ll look at what we can improve before the next round and prepare thoroughly to fight for the podium, and ideally the win. It was my first time handling a long stint in race conditions, but we’ve been able to bring back plenty of data, so I think it was a valuable race to build on. I’m looking forward to the race at Fuji.
Finishing P6 meant we were the highest-placed PRELUDE-GT, but I still felt there is a gap to the front. Both in qualifying and the race, the team delivered everything we had, so we have to take this result seriously.
We’ll look at what we can improve before the next round and prepare thoroughly to fight for the podium, and ideally the win. It was my first time handling a long stint in race conditions, but we’ve been able to bring back plenty of data, so I think it was a valuable race to build on. I’m looking forward to the race at Fuji.
It’s not a mountain that feels within reach—it’s a steep and daunting one standing before us, so high that you question whether it can be climbed. We came to the opening round to understand how far we’ve progressed, but in all honesty, the summit is still a long way off.
For 2026, the aerodynamic development freeze has been lifted, allowing for updates, and at the same time Honda is bringing back the PRELUDE name. To further expand the brand, we decided to switch the GT500 base model.
We apologise to the fans who were hoping for a PRELUDE-GT victory at the opening round. From here, we will show how the car’s performance will improve and accelerate its development so we can deliver results that bring our fans satisfaction.
It’s not a mountain that feels within reach—it’s a steep and daunting one standing before us, so high that you question whether it can be climbed. We came to the opening round to understand how far we’ve progressed, but in all honesty, the summit is still a long way off.
For 2026, the aerodynamic development freeze has been lifted, allowing for updates, and at the same time Honda is bringing back the PRELUDE name. To further expand the brand, we decided to switch the GT500 base model.
We apologise to the fans who were hoping for a PRELUDE-GT victory at the opening round. From here, we will show how the car’s performance will improve and accelerate its development so we can deliver results that bring our fans satisfaction.
GT500 Race Result
Pos. | No. | Team | Driver | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 36 | TGR TEAM au TOM’S | Sho Tsuboi / Kenta Yamashita | 1:54'38.677 |
2 | 38 | TGR TEAM KeePer CERUMO | Toshiki Oyu / Rikuto Kobayashi | +19.602 |
3 | 12 | TEAM IMPUL | Kazuki Hiramine / Bertrand Baguette | +22.013 |
4 | 14 | TGR TEAM ENEOS ROOKIE | Nirei Fukuzumi / Kazuya Oshima | +31.078 |
5 | 39 | TGR TEAM SARD | Yuhi Sekiguchi / Sacha Fenestraz | +31.537 |
6 | 16 | ARTA MUGEN | Tomoki Nojiri / Ren Sato | +41.539 |
7 | 100 | STANLEY TEAM KUNIMITSU | Naoki Yamamoto / Tadasuke Makino | +57.626 |
10 | 17 | Astemo REAL RACING | Koudai Tsukakoshi / Yuto Nomura | +1 Lap |
11 | 8 | Team HRC ARTA MUGEN | Kakunoshin Ohta / Hiroki Otsu | +1 Lap |
13 | 64 | Modulo Nakajima Racing | Riki Okusa / Igor Omura Fraga | +1 Lap |
