2022 SUPER GT starting soon!

STANLEY NSX-GT #1 driven by Naoki Yamamoto/Tadasuke Makino entered the final round leading the points table, however an accident late in the race scuttled his bid for a second consecutive title.

This season, deservedly dubbed the year of payback, the development team in search of an “ever stronger NSX” has decided to change the base car for the 2022 contender to the latest version, namely the NSX Type S. , the limited production model introduced in August. , 2021. The NSX Type S is the special facelift version of the current NSX featuring restyled front/rear bumpers and other details, of which the overall length is 45mm longer than before. The impressive shape of the front bumper is believed to be much more aerodynamically effective when executed in competition scenes.

Developing NSX-GT cars according to GT500 regulations is not necessarily easy, because the entire body shape had to be rearranged according to the demands of the “Scale Rule”.

In order to match the performance of the GT500 cars, the Scale Rule prescribes that the bodywork of the participating cars must resemble the original image and remain sized within the designated dimensions. It means that the body design had to be redone again, as well as refining the shape of the bumper and lower side parts to bring them in line with the 45mm extension. However, with such a complete change in body shape, the main downforce-oriented concept has remained firmly in place and further efforts have been made to solve the remaining problem of lack of speed on the long straights.

Components other than bodywork are basically carried over from 2021 spec. As for the engine, the upgraded performance version to be introduced in the second half of the 2021 season will be used at its inherent peak power, aided by increased reliability gained. Recently.

The driver line-ups have remained much the same as in 2021, except for the #17 Astemo NSX-GT which took sixth overall with a win from Koudai Tsukakoshi and is now joined by Nobuharu Matsushita. Matsushita is Tsukakoshi’s first-year student who graduated from Honda’s driver training program, also known as the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP), moving on to the FIA-F2 category. The veteran/newcomer combination of Tsukakoshi with speed and consistency and Matsushita stimulating with FIA-F2 battle-derived aggressiveness is sure to be a key force in the Honda camp.

The #100 STANLEY NSX-GT, just one step away from back-to-back title last year, will be driven by the same Yamamoto/Makino duo. ARTA NSX-GT #8, who had taken 2nd place overall with two wins, will be entrusted to Tomoki Nojiri/Nirei Fukuzumi, while Red Bull MOTUL MUGEN NSX-GT #16 to Ukyo Sasahara/Toshiki Oyu and Modulo NSX -GT #64 to Takuya. Izawa/Hiroki Otsu; all these four teams repeat the same formation.

The inaugural round of the SUPER GT series will be held at the Okayama International Circuit once again this year and the circus runs through a total of eight races at six venues across Japan. One thing that differs from the previous season is that Suzuka, the home track for the NSX-GT, will host two events in the same year. Optimizing engine/chassis development with both the racing calendar and sporting regulations in mind, the NSX-GT engineering team will battle until the end of the season. Honda Racing wants the fans to look forward to its specific goal as well, for example, reclaiming the throne of the SUPER GT kingdom.

2022 Honda GT500 SUPER GT Lineup