June 30, 2026
New Machine, PRELUDE-GT.
Could This Be the Biggest Opportunity of the Season?
Exploring the Strong Compatibility Between Honda GT500 Class Cars and Suzuka
The 2026 SUPER GT Round 5 'SUZUKA GT 300km RACE' will be held on August 22–23. Among the 14 cars from 3 manufacturers competing in the GT500 class this season, the one that draws the most attention is the only new machine, the 'Honda HRC PRELUDE-GT.'
Modulo Nakajima Racing (Honda HRC PRELUDE-GT)
Although this highly anticipated new machine has unfortunately fallen behind its rivals after the first two rounds, continuing to face tough battles, Round 5 at Suzuka—effectively the fourth race—is also Honda's home course. Honda fans are eager to see the PRELUDE-GT achieve its first podium finish and first victory. To explore this possibility, we will look back at the history of Honda's past new machines and their strong compatibility with Suzuka based on past results.
Honda began participating in the All Japan GT Championship, the predecessor to SUPER GT, in 1996. It all started when the late Kunimitsu Takahashi led Team Kunimitsu to enter the first-generation NA-model NSX. From the following year, 1997, manufacturers also began to get seriously involved, and from Round 2, two cars—the avex Dome Mugen NSX and the RAYBRIG NSX—competed. At SUZUKA CIRCUIT, the TAKATA Dome NSX driven by Juichi Wakisaka and Katsutomo Kaneishi achieved its first victory in Round 1 of 1999.
Castrol Mugen NSX (NSX-GT)
Michiaki Tsuchiya
At Round 7, held as the final round of the 2000 season, the Daisuke Ito/Dominique Schwager duo in the Mobil1 NSX took victory, while Michiaki Tsuchiya in the Castrol Mugen NSX finished in 2nd place and secured the championship. This brought the first glory to Honda's GT500 team.
The NA-type NSX competed in SUPER GT until 2009 and achieved a total of 4 wins at Suzuka.
NSX-GT
Then, in 2010, Honda switched its race car to the 'HSV-010 GT,' a legendary supercar. Unlike the mid-engine NA-type NSX, the HSV-010 was Honda's first front-engine, rear-drive (FR) SUPER GT vehicle, attracting much attention with its distinctive exhaust sound and aggressive appearance.
What the HSV-010 aimed for was the "ultimate cornering machine" that had continued since the NSX era. In its development, "speed" and "stability" were thoroughly pursued, and in its debut year of 2010, the Weider HSV-010 driven by Takashi Kogure and Loïc Duval immediately won the title.
Weider HSV-010 GT (Takashi Kogure / Loïc Duval)
Also, at Round 6 at Suzuka during the season, Takashi Kobayashi of ARTA HSV-010 surprised everyone by securing pole position in qualifying in his GT500 debut, and in the race, Ralph Firman and Yuji Ide, who took the wheel, claimed victory. Although Kobayashi did not participate in the race, he recorded a GT500 debut win. This HSV-010 GT achieved a total of 3 wins at Suzuka.
In 2014, Class 1 regulations were introduced to the GT500 class, and Honda also changed its race car to the hybrid system-equipped 'NSX CONCEPT-GT.' However, the competition was somewhat tough, and in the final year, 2016, due to difficulties in battery supply, Honda decided to run without a hybrid system, but they were unable to win the championship or secure a victory at Suzuka.
After suffering humiliation, Honda introduced the 'NSX-GT' in 2017, dropping the 'Concept' name. In that year's Round 6, the 'International SUZUKA 1000km,' the Epson Modulo NSX-GT driven by Bertrand Baguette and Takashi Matsuura achieved a come-from-behind victory starting from 4th place.
NAKAJIMA RACING (Epson Modulo NSX-GT)
Bertrand Baguette / Kosuke Matsuura
In the following year, 2018, at Round 3 in SUZUKA CIRCUIT, the ARTA NSX-GT driven by Tomoki Nojiri and Takuya Izawa claimed victory. Furthermore, that same year, former F1 driver Jenson Button teamed up with Naoki Yamamoto to drive the RAYBRIG NSX-GT, earning Honda its third GT500 class championship.
TEAM KUNIMITSU (RAYBRIG NSX-GT)
Jenson Button / Kunimitsu Takahashi / Naoki Yamamoto
In the final year, at Round 5 in 2023 at Suzuka, the ARTA MUGEN NSX-GT driven by Jinrei Fukuzumi and Hiroki Otsu won, marking a total of three victories at Suzuka for the NSX-GT.
Honda NSX-GT
In 2024, the Honda team switched their base vehicle to the 4-door hatchback 'CIVIC TYPE R-GT.' Known for its top speed, it occasionally secured pole positions in qualifying, but struggled in the finals over two years and failed to win the championship. The best result at SUZUKA CIRCUIT was 2nd place, achieved by the team of Kodai Tsukakoshi and Kiyonobu Ota in the Astemo CIVIC TYPE R-GT during Round 5 of 2024.
Honda CIVIC TYPE R-GT
Then came 2026, and aiming for a comeback, the Honda team once again switched their base vehicle to the 2-door coupe 'Honda HRC PRELUDE-GT.' So far, running at SUZUKA CIRCUIT has only been during testing, but its strength lies in its high cornering speed. Given the expected characteristics reminiscent of the NSX era, even better results can be anticipated at SUZUKA CIRCUIT than before. For Honda fans who were disappointed in the past two rounds at Okayama and Fuji, there is great hope for strong performances at Suzuka this summer.
