Two Z NISMOs score at SUGO after #24 charges from the back

Nissan’s GT500 contingent didn’t leave Sportsland SUGO with a trophy, but the final results tell only part of the story.

In Round 6 of the 2026 SUPER GT season, the #24 Realize Corporation Z of Teppei Natori and Atsushi Miyake recovered from the back of the grid to finish seventh, while the #23 MOTUL Niterra Z finished eighth with Mitsunori Takaboshi and reserve driver Daiki Sasaki.

Meanwhile, the #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z spent part of the race looking like Nissan’s best shot at the podium—until its gearbox had other ideas.

From a Safety Car start to a podium fight

SUGO’s September 20 race began with damp sections of track and unsettled weather as a typhoon approached the region. Conditions were awkward enough for the field to start behind the Safety Car.

Once racing began, Bertrand Baguette immediately started moving the #12 Z forward. By lap 17 he had reached seventh, and a second Safety Car period on lap 26 compressed the field.

Nissan brought the #12 and #24 Zs in on lap 32 for driver changes, fuel and tires, with the #23 stopping a lap later. Once the pit cycle shook out, Kazuki Hiramine had the #12 running fourth and applying pressure for a podium position.

Then came the painful bit.

On lap 57, the #12 slowed with a gearbox problem and was forced to retire. A race that had steadily developed into Nissan’s strongest GT500 opportunity of the afternoon was over.

The #24 salvages a strong recovery

Behind it, the #24 kept climbing.

Natori and Miyake ultimately brought the Realize Corporation Z home seventh after starting at the back of the GT500 field. The #23 Z followed in eighth, giving Nissan two points-scoring GT500 entries despite a difficult qualifying session.

The #23 also arrived at the race with a late driver change. Sasaki stepped in after regular driver Katsumasa Chiyo was injured at the circuit on Friday.

For Nissan, SUGO was therefore less a story of outright pace than recovery and missed opportunity. Two cars salvaged championship points from poor starting positions, while the third demonstrated enough race pace to fight near the front before a mechanical failure intervened.

Next stop: Autopolis

Three rounds remain on the 2026 SUPER GT calendar, with Nissan and NISMO now turning their attention to Autopolis.

There is an additional wrinkle this year: because the Sepang round was postponed, Autopolis occupies a different place in the championship sequence than usual. According to NISMO, success weight will consequently remain at two kilograms per championship point rather than being reduced to one kilogram per point as it typically would for the seventh race.

That puts another premium on tire management, qualifying and making strategy count.

If SUGO demonstrated anything, it is that the Z NISMO GT500 still has the race pace to move forward when circumstances cooperate. The trick at Autopolis will be starting the fight a little closer to the front—and keeping all the gears inside the gearbox until the checkered flag.

Sources

NISMO official race report (September 29, 2026): https://www.nismo.com/news/two-nissan-zs-score-points-at-sugo-as-24-z-rallies-from-the-back-to-seventh

SUPER GT official results: https://supergt.net/result?gt_class=gt500&race_num=4&round=Round6&series=2026