Super GT’s long-running tyre war to end after 2026

Super GT has announced that both GT500 and GT300 classes will switch to a single tyre supplier from 2027, bringing an end to the series’ historic tyre war.

In a press conference ahead of this Sunday’s penultimate round in Autopolis, GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh said the series has been forced to make the decision to cut down costs.

“Personally, it’s incredibly painful,” he said. “I’ve always pursued genuine, head-to-head competition. It was a difficult decision, a heartbreaking choice. After much deliberation, we’ve decided to move toward one-make racing.”

A bidding process will now determine which manufacturer supplies tyres for both categories in Japan’s premier racing series.

Separate tenders will be issued for the two classes, although manufacturers may submit bids for both.

Super GT has been one of the last remaining championships around the world to allow tyre manufacturers to pit them against each other, with each supplier devoting significant resources to testing and development each year.

Up until recently, four separate manufacturers were involved in the flagship GT500 class, with Bridgestone, Michelin, Dunlop and Yokohama all forging a close alliance with their respective teams.

However, Michelin’s withdrawal from GT500 after 2023 left Bridgestone as the dominant manufacturer in the top class, as it began supplying tyres to 12 out of 15 cars. 

Michelin had previously been the only manufacturer to consistently challenge Bridgestone, winning back-to-back titles with Mola Nissan in 2011-12 and then again with the factory NISMO squad in 2014-15.

Yokohama, which has partnered with Bandoh Toyota and Kondo Nissan, and Dunlop, which is affiliated with Nakajima Honda, have had limited success in recent years.

Yokohama and Dunlop, however, have been much more successful in Super GT’s second division, which includes a mix of GT3 cars and the series’s own GT300 models.

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— The Motorsport.com Team