The key hurdle in Max Verstappen’s Super GT ...

Max Verstappen has expressed curiosity in racing in Tremendous GT, however admits the shortage of a real blue riband occasion makes a visitor look tough to justify.

The four-time Formulation 1 champion turned his first laps in a Nissan Z GT500 car at Fuji Speedway on last month, as a part of a promotional shoot organised by his employer Crimson Bull.

It marked solely his second in a up to date Tremendous GT prototype following an preliminary outing behind the wheel of a Honda NSX-GT at Motegi in 2022 in the course of the Japanese producer’s end-of -season occasion.

Tremendous GT is taken into account the quickest championship for grand touring automobiles on this planet, with present GT500 machines able to outpacing even the World Endurance Championship’s hypercars over a typical lap round Fuji.

Verstappen stated he relished his expertise aboard the Nissan Z, at the same time as heavy rain left the monitor moist and restricted his working round Fuji.

“It was quite a lot of enjoyable,” the 28-year-old stated on the eve of the Japanese GP. “Only a disgrace that it was raining fairly a bit, so I could not do this many laps. I’d have appreciated to do extra laps.

“But it surely’s a improbable automotive, a improbable class basically, and it was an awesome expertise for me to drive that automotive, and in addition really feel the grip within the moist.

“It is fairly completely different to what we now have in Europe. 

“Simply with the ability to drive so many various automobiles is at all times a superb factor.”

Verstappen has more and more been exploring alternatives in sportscar racing, partly attributable to his dislike of present Formulation 1 hybrids, and recently contested the NLS2 at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Whereas he’s open to the prospect of racing GT500 machines, that are considerably extra superior than road-based GT3 automobiles, he pointed to Tremendous GT’s format as a key impediment.

Requested whether or not he would contemplate coming into a Tremendous GT race, Verstappen stated: “Who is aware of, I have to see. 

“It is an awesome class. I want they’d a bit extra of a standout one race, as a substitute of only a championship. If that will be the case, it is simpler to commit to 1; I can’t do a complete championship. And to do one race in a championship typically can also be not the proper factor. So, we’ll see.

“I’d like to race these automobiles. It actually jogs my memory of how the outdated DTM [Class 1] automobiles was once, and that is what you additionally actually appreciated watching.”

Why Tremendous GT lacks a standout race

Verstappen’s feedback at Suzuka spotlight a significant hole in Tremendous GT’s present construction. The 2026 season calendar options eight races throughout seven venues, however there may be restricted differentiation between these occasions.

Six of the eight races are run over 300km, the identical distance as a grand prix, whereas two endurance rounds are timed to a few hours. The Sepang spherical stands out naturally as the one abroad race on the calendar, whereas the Fuji GT 3 Hours is the collection’ de facto showpiece, as it’s scheduled to coincide with the Golden Week vacation season.

Nevertheless, the collection beforehand boasted a real marque occasion that attracted a number of high-profile names to the championship, not least 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button.

Conceived as a standalone race in 1966, the Suzuka 1000km grew into a significant endurance fixture, becoming a member of a number of worldwide championships together with the World Sportscar Championship and the FIA GT Championship. By the point it grew to become a Tremendous GT spherical in 2006, it was already a longtime occasion, and it helped the collection attain new heights. 

Resulting from its endurance format, Tremendous GT groups had been allowed to discipline an extra third driver, which paved the best way for a number of new entrants into the championship. In its early years, the Suzuka 1000 attracted the likes of future Formulation 1 driver Adrian Sutil and present sportscar veteran Oliver Jarvis, and the pattern carried on.

However maybe probably the most well-known title to enter Tremendous GT by way of the Suzuka 1000km route is Button. After stepping away from F1 with McLaren, the Briton entered the 2017 Suzuka 8 Hours, becoming a member of the Mugen Honda group as its designated third driver.

The race hardly went his manner and he completed a distant twelfth, however the expertise received him hooked on Tremendous GT and he signed a two-year cope with Honda to race within the championship full-time. Button would go on to win the title together with his team-mate Naoki Yamamoto in 2018, including a GT500 title to his earlier success in F1.

Nevertheless, this pathway to Tremendous GT was basically shut in 2018 when collection’ promoter GTA joined forces with SRO to launch the Suzuka 10 Hours, a brand new endurance occasion as a part of the Intercontinental GT Problem. 

The brand new 10-hour fixture grew to become Suzuka’s sole ‘Summer time Endurance Race’, shifting the highlight away from Tremendous GT and leaving the Fuji Golden Week spherical because the championship’s de facto headline occasion. With the Suzuka 10 Hours, the promoters aimed for a full-blown worldwide occasion with a powerful Japanese identification. However whereas groups competing in Tremendous GT’s GT300 class had been inspired to participate, the format excluded GT500 equipment completely, leaving no risk of top-level manufacturing facility involvement.

The Suzuka 1000km title nonetheless carries vital worth, and SRO revived the format final yr when Japan returned to the IGTC calendar. On this event, Tremendous GT’s GTA-GT300 spec automobiles had been allowed to compete alongside GT3 equipment, with efficiency balanced between the 2 courses.
 
Tremendous GT, however, has continued to prioritise worldwide enlargement. In 2025, it efficiently managed to deliver again Sepang to the calendar after a protracted absence, with the occasion instantly proving to be a hit. Tremendous GT has additionally beforehand forayed into Thailand, and each Sepang and Buriram had been on the unique 2020 calendar earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the schedule and compelled the championship to race completely in Japan for the following 5 years.

May Max Verstappen nonetheless enter Tremendous GT in some way?

Begin motion（GT500）

Photograph by: Masahide Kamio

One avenue stays open for Verstappen, ought to he be critical about making a Tremendous GT look.

Following Sepang’s return to the calendar final yr, organisers floated the thought of a wildcard GT500 entry in 2026. At the moment, the undertaking was described as a ‘work in progress’, with no producer dedicated to supplying or working a automotive.

Such an entry may, in principle, permit Verstappen to compete at Sepang on 20-21 June, within the quick hole between the F1 races in Barcelona and Spielberg. Nevertheless, the wildcard idea is primarily geared toward selling Malaysian expertise, that means any involvement from Verstappen would probably depend upon exterior backing – doubtlessly from Crimson Bull.

Any wildcard programme, with or with out Verstappen, would additionally have to safe cooperation from one of many three GT500 producers in Tremendous GT (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) to provide and run the automotive. Nissan might have some capability after scaling again its GT500 programme from 4 to a few automobiles this yr attributable to monetary points. Notably, Nissan was additionally Crimson Bull’s producer of alternative for Verstappen’s take a look at outing at Fuji.

In the end, any participation in Tremendous GT may hinge on Verstappen’s long-term future in F1. The structure of the Suzuka Circuit exposes the shortcomings of the present hybrid bundle, with drivers dropping as a lot as 50km/h on 130R attributable to tremendous clipping. 

Suzuka is normally a favorite amongst drivers, so the truth that Verstappen could not get pleasure from it as a lot as he would have appreciated was mirrored in his feedback. The Dutchman admitted that he has some “life” selections to make, as his discontent with F1 grows.

Whereas he could seem resigned by the scenario, he’s additionally working carefully with F1 and the FIA to refine the laws. It is unclear what could be the result of these talks, and if the current-generation of automobiles will be suitably modified to his liking for Verstappen to see out his contract with Crimson Bull.

Even when he stays in F1 subsequent yr, likelihood is Verstappen will likely be racing sportscars greater than ever, and it will be arduous for him to withstand the attract of Tremendous GT.

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– The Motorsport.com Staff