GT3 / 12 April 2021

NSX GT3 Evo opens Super GT season at Okayama

The NSX GT3 Evo endured a tough opening round of Super GT at Okayama, Japan, with the series’ Balance of Performance leaving the JAS Motorsport-built cars unable to compete for victory during the weekend.

Team UPGARAGE duo Takashi Kobayashi and Teppei Natori - the latter debuting with the team - bounced back from qualifying a disappointing 23rd and finished the first round of Japan’s leading sportscar series in 11th.

Drago Corse were another NSX GT3 Evo team to make solid progress; Ryo Michigami and Shogo Mitsuyama climbing from 21st on the grid to finish 16th. This was despite Michigami spinning as a result of contact with a rival car.

It was 2019 GT300 champions ARTA who had qualified best of the Hondas with multiple title-winner Shinichi Takagi paired with new co-driver Ren Sato in ninth.

The duo would battle in the lower reaches of the top 10 with Sato eventually retiring with eight laps to go; a legacy of damage sustained in a collision with a rival while fighting over seventh.

All three cars were competing as part of the NSX GT3 Customer Racing Programme; a global collaborative project with JAS Motorsport responsible for assembly of all cars.
 
Honda Performance Development (HPD) and M-TEC handle sales and technical support in North America and Japan respectively, with JAS responsible for these areas across the rest of the world.