SUPER GT boss Masaaki Bandoh has suggested that the original idea of potentially introducing hybrid engines for the 2027 GT500 regulations seems off the table for now. Instead, the plan to reduce CO2 emission is by making changes to the environment SUPER GT is being held. Potential qualifying format changes for 2025 are being discussed with the teams.
As previously reported, the introduction of the new GT500 regulations has been pushed back to 2027, meaning the current chassis and more will be used for two more years. In the past, GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh has thrown the idea of introducing hybrids to the GT500 engine formula into the mix, while always underlining that SUPER GT doesn’t want to give up on the basic senses of motorsports, mainly the sound.
At the postponed season finale in Suzuka, which was being held on December 7-8 due to the effects of typhoon Shanshan back in September, Bandoh spoke to the media, suggesting that the original hybrid idea seems off the table for now, however. „As you know, I don’t like electric stuff. I don’t like cars with no sound“, Bandoh said while laughing. „But since we’re working towards the environment, we don’t know which way it’ll go, of course. But what I’m trying to tell everyone: Let’s not be mean to the race cars, you know?“ Bandoh suggested that there are several ways to obtain sustainability, for example by creating a car that can do a longer mileage, working on the aerodynamics and more.
„Instead, I think what’s most important is working around the content surrounding the cars that will be sustainable rather than just the cars“, Bandoh explained. „So, I think we shouldn’t focus on what we can do the race cars but instead on the environment they’re racing in.“ One of the first solutions to this proposal will be how the electricity is being fed to the garages starting next season. Bandoh: „Next year, we’re planning to have total of 15 Toyota Crowns and Toyota Mirais feeding electricity to each pit.“ The plan is for those hydrogen cars to replace the generators that are currently being used.
„Our plan is to reduce the CO2 emission. We’ve been working with the organizers about this and our plan is to reach that goal by working on the content surrounding everything and not just focus on the pure racing cars.“
At the same time, Masaaki Bandoh underlined that this doesn’t mean no changes are planned for the cars themselves, citing cost reduction as another key factor. On Sunday morning at Suzuka, there has been a steering committee meeting, where it has been decided that the 2027 GT500 regulations will see even more common parts being used in the cars. „The brand is important, so is the reduction of costs. That’s why we’re planning to have more common parts.“
First changes could already be implemented by 2026, for example by reducing the number of allowed engines per season: „For 2026 and onwards we’re talking about various topics how to work on the cars and reduce the CO2 emission, for example by only having one engine per season, working on the aerodynamics and more.“ Currently, two engines are allowed per season. Any further changes have to be approved by the stewards and result in a penalty stop for the race the change is required.
„Working on the surrounding environment makes more sense to us rather than changing the philosophy of our race. That is our vision“, Bandoh continued.
However, the chairman of SUPER GT’s governing body also understands the importance of marketing: „Of course, if it becomes a marketing need to include hybrid oder electric – that’s fine. But if we’re talking about the environment, it makes more sense to work on everything around it. As I mentioned, for example be reducing the number of tyres and more.“
In a final statement on the topic, Bandoh agreed that it’s a bit of a contradiction to have as many fans as possible at the track while at the same time wanting to reduce the CO2 emission: „It’s a bit of a contradiction, isn’t it? But all of this doesn’t make any sense if we don’t have any fans. So, we have to create content that invites many fans while providing the environment that isn’t a contradiction to our plans. We want everyone continue to feel what a great series SUPER GT and how wonderful motorsports is. That is our philosophy for 2025 and beyond. That’s what I’m working for with all my might. We want to continue to have great battles between all the manufacturers.“
Working together with partners like the SRO and Stéphan Ratel as well as SUPER GT’s tyre partners is just as important for Masaaki Bandoh, who did reveal that topics like potentially using commercial tyres in the far future are being talked about. While not part of this press conference, the GTA chairman did say a couple of years ago that the tyre competition is something they want to keep as long as the fans want to see it, however.
„We want to provide a great platform for all the manufacturers to continue battling here with a lot of attention from the fans and worldwide recognition.“
Confusion about the adjusted qualifying format. Changes planned for 2025?
The 2024 season saw a big change in the qualifying format, using an aggregated lap time system that combined the best times of Q1 and Q2 to determine the grid. A controversially disucssed change, especially since changing tyres in-between sessions wasn’t allowed until the second half of the season. A mistake in the provisional qualifying results for the Suzuka finale saw the K-tunes RC F GT3, which failed to enter the pole shootout and had to instead battle for the positions 15-27 on the grid in the Lower15 group of GT300’s Q2 qualifying leg, caused a lot of discussion among the media and fans in Japan when the car was suddenly placed in eleventh position. The Suzuka season finale was the first race since the mid-season format changes that wasn’t held under special weather-affected regulations, meaning a lot of interpretation was used to determine why the car was suddenly placed in 11th. An update to the provisional results over half an hour later corrected the mistake
Journalist Tomohiro Yoshita asked Masaaki Bandoh for clarification in the press conference: „There has been a lot of discussion about this yesterday. A lot of people, teams included, understood that there was a mistake. But some people started to interpret what we wrote in our bulletin differently, searching in dictionaries for additional meanings, making it more complicated. Even when we explained it, they told us ‚But if we read the bulletin, we interpret it differently‘. So, I told then: Well, Japanese is difficult to interpret sometimes, isn’t it?“, Bandoh said while laughing. „However, we will make the sporting regulations more clear for next year so that there are no more misunderstandings.“
At the same time, Bandoh admitted that the new qualifying format isn’t the easiest to understand. While laughing he expressed: „I think Pierre (Kitagawa, the official track announcer) finally got it now.“ The GTA chairman left it open if there are any potential changes for next season on the table: „Of course, we’re talking to the teams about this topic.“ Looking back at the system, Bandoh expressed his satisfaction, understanding the wish of the drivers to want to go out in both Q1 and Q2 with fresh tyres, which is why the original plan to do qualifying with only one set and even having to start the race with it got changed in the middle of the season.
„Right now we’re happy with this. However, looking at sustainability, we eventually want to reduce the number of tyres. We want to create tyres that have a longer longevity so that the cars have great battles against. Since we have two drivers per team, of course they want to go out on new tyers. But in the future, when we have more durable tyres, I think they’ll be happy to just one set.“
Since 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of SUPER GT (including JGTC), Masaaki Bandoh used the opportunity to remind everyone of the mission and philosophy of the GT Association (GTA). „The mission is to contribute to the sustainable development of motorsports and the automotive industry“, Bandoh said. For this, the GTA is supporting the growth of the teams and people and is aiming for mutual prosperity with the stakeholders. In terms of values, in addition to producing sports for athletes that captivate fans and inspire children’s dreams, Bandoh also mentioned to actively work to raise awareness of traffic safety as well as reduce environmental impact. In addition, Bandoh listed working with the manufacturers to promote the advancement of automotive technology.
„This has been our philosophy from the start. And we want to continue doing so while setting a vision for 2030 and beyond.“
Copyright photos: Racingblog.de, GTA
