- Wild weather and multiple accidents make for eventful season opening round
- Two NISMO Z’s finish inside top ten in GT500
- Nissan GT-R secures 3rd place in GT300
Four Nissan Z NISMO GT500s competed in the opening round of the 2025 SUPER GT series at Okayama International Circuit on April 13. Following an eventful race, the #23 MOTUL AUTECH Z finished 6th and the #3 Niterra MOTUL Z placed 10th.
For the 2025 season, the Nissan/NISMO team aims to further refine the Nissan Z NISMO GT500 in its second year of competition and reclaim the championship title over the course of eight races. The teams include the #23 Z (Katsumasa Chiyo/Mitsunori Takaboshi), the #3 Z (Daiki Sasaki/Atsushi Miyake), the #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z (Kazuki Hiramine/Bertrand Baguette) and the #24 Realize Corporation Advan Z (Tsugio Matsuda/Teppei Natori).
GT500 – Detailed race report
Wet conditions saw the 82-lap race began under the lead of the safety car (SC). Not long after the start, a multi-car accident occurred at the first corner. Unable to avoid the pileup Baguette crashed as well, knocking #12 out of the race.
When the race was red flagged on the 6th lap, Natori in #24 Z was in 4th, Chiyo in #23 Z was in 6th and Sasaki in the #3 Z was in 7th.
The action resumed under the SC’s lead, with the signal turning green on the 11th lap. The #23 Z spun at Atwood Curve, dropping to 12th. On the 14th lap, the #3 Z, battling for fourth with the #24 Z, ran off the track at the first corner, bringing out the SC once again. After returning to the track, the #3 Z pitted on the 16th lap to swap tires.
The green light was given on the 19th lap, with the #24 Z in 4th, the #23 Z in 10th and the #3 Z in 12th. The #24 Z struggled to maintain its position and dropped to 8th. After 42 laps, the #24 Z pitted to repair mechanical issues.
At mid-race the pit stops began and the #23 Z, which had climbed to 4th after 48 laps, pitted so that Takaboshi could take the wheel. After all the GT500s had completed their pit stops, the #23 Z was in 7th. On the 56th and 57th laps, it overtook two cars, moving up to 5th.
As conditions improved in the final stages, the cars began switching to dry tires and the #23 Z, which had dropped to 8th, was able maintain a faster pace and finish in 6th.
Despite losing time due to an off-track incident, the #3 Z returned to the race and made steady progress, finishing 10th. Meanwhile, the #24 Z — which lost valuable time undergoing repairs — ran at a fast pace with Matsuda behind the wheel and finished 11th.
Despite the race’s various challenges, including wet conditions, multiple accidents and red flags, the Nissan/NISMO GT500 team racked up points thanks to its two top 10 finishes. The team will address the challenges of this race and aim for victory in the next round.
Katsumasa Chiyo (#23 MOTUL AUTECH Z)
“It was a chaotic race and I narrowly avoided the initial accident. Although I spun right after the restart, I managed to refocus as my pace in the wet was good. It was difficult to overtake while running in the pack, so I concentrated on passing the baton to Takaboshi while assessing the track conditions. Our rivals are improving, so we need to work hard. I expect many fans will be at the Fuji race and I want to give them a victory.”
Mitsunori Takaboshi (#23 MOTUL AUTECH Z)
“I felt competitive in the damp conditions, but struggled to warm up the dry tires and couldn’t chase down our rivals. I think we haven’t mastered the dry tires as well as our competitors. Fuji is a strong track for me and I’m going to aim for a good result. I understand the expectations for #23, and I’ll focus on doing my job and moving toward our goal.”
GT300
Four Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s and one Fairlady Z under GTA GT300 regulations competed in the GT300 class. The #56 Realize Nissan Mechanic Challenge GT-R (Joao Paulo de Oliveira/Kohei Hirate) started in 9th place, but ran a highly competitive race and secured a 3rd place podium finish.
