Japan’s Super GT Returns To Malaysia In 2025

Good news for avid local motorsports fans as one of the region’s top-flight championship series is set to race in Malaysia once again next year. We’re talking about the Autobacs Super GT Championship, and things appear much more solid now.

Yesterday, a hosting rights agreement was signed between HARO Sports & Entertainment, the rights holder and promoter for the series’ Malaysian round, with the series’ organisers GT Association (GTA) of Japan, in Putrajaya.

The agreement was formalised by Fahrizal Hasan, Managing Partner of HARO Sports & Entertainment, and Masaaki Bandoh, President and CEO of GTA.

Present here too were Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Yang Berhormat Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Petronas Sepang International Circuit (SIC) CEO Azhan Shafriman Hanif, and Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) Secretary-General S. N. Nanthan.

Through this agreement, Malaysia is set to host one round of the Autobacs Super GT championship annually for three years. The first race is scheduled for June 27 to 28, 2025, at the Petronas SIC.

The Malaysian race will be the third round of eight planned in the 2025 Super GT calendar where seven of these races will be held in Japan. Like before, Malaysia stands as the series’ sole overseas or fly-away venue.

For the uninitiated, Super GT features top manufacturers and drivers from Japan competing across two classes that race simultaneously - GT500 and GT300. The GT500 category sees powerhouse manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan fielding full-works teams and machines while the GT300 category also sees works entries by both Subaru and Lexus.

Super GT last raced in Malaysia back in 2013, organised by then promoters and event rights holders JPM Motorsports. However, poor attendance and lack of an event title sponsor prompted JPM Motorsports to not seek renewal. However, JPM Motorsports Chairman JP Chin did note prior that hosting the event was driven by passion rather than profit.

It remains to be seen if Haro Sports & Entertainment can fare better at turning the Malaysian round of SUPER GT into a profitable venture. It’s also worth noting that this is the second attempt by Haro Sports & Entertainment to reboot Super GT in Malaysia. The firm had initially tried in 2019, even announcing plans to host a race in 2020, but the latter was scrapped by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Historically, Petronas SIC also has a long history with Super GT. It hosted the championship’s first overseas race in 2000 and 2001, when the series was still known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Championship. After two exhibition races, Malaysia became an official round of the championship in 2002, hosting races annually until 2013.

Fahrizal Hasan commented, “As the only overseas round for Super GT, Malaysia is in a unique position to establish itself as a premier sports tourism destination, not just regionally but globally. The race will be promoted not only locally but across Asia and beyond.”

While many hope to see the golden years of Super GT return, attendance figures, even in its home ground suggest otherwise. According to Motorsport.com, Super GT experienced a massive post-pandemic decline, with only 297,000 fans attending races in 2022 and 311,800 in 2023 as compared to a peak of 410,000 in 2019.

Haro Sports & Entertainment ambitiously aims to attract at least 80,000 spectators over the two-day race weekend in Malaysia.