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2017 Super GT Series

The 2017 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fifth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the thirteenth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fifth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 9 and ended on November 12, after 8 races.

Schedule
Calendar changes • The series returned to Autopolis for the first time since 2015. The race scheduled to be held there in 2016 was cancelled due to damage caused to the circuit and local infrastructure by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. • This was the last season that the Suzuka 1000km is included as a round of Super GT, as the current 1000 km format would be dropped in favour of a 10-hour timed race for 2018. The new race will be aimed primarily at FIA GT3 and GT300 machinery. ==Drivers and teams==
Drivers and teams
GT500 GT300 Vehicle changes GT500 • Lexus teams will race the new LC 500 machine, replacing the Lexus RC F which debuted in 2014. Nissan and Honda will continue to run the Nissan GT-R and Honda NSX-GT, modified to updated aerodynamic regulations. The updated NSX-GT will be based upon its newly launched production counterpart. GT300 Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave announced that they will enter the Super GT Series for the first time in 2017, fielding a brand new Toyota Mark X based on the Mother Chassis platform. Oliver Turvey left Drago Modulo Honda Racing after five races in 2016, and will not return to Super GT in 2017. Tadasuke Makino who raced with Drago Corse for couple of rounds moves to the FIA European Formula 3 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix. GT300 • Masataka Yanagida moveS down to GT300 with Audi Team Hitotsuyama, replacing Tomonobu Fujii, who will drive for the newly christened D'Station Racing. • Yuichi Nakayama moves from apr to LM Corsa and the new Lexus RC F GT3, and sophomore driver Rintaro Kubo will replace him in the #31 apr Toyota Prius. • Hiroki Yoshida replaces former GT300 champion André Couto in the GAINER Nissan GT-R GT3. • Shinnosuke Yamada will join Team Taisan SARD after spending one season at Team UpGarage with Bandoh. • Both Akihiro Tsuzuki and three-time GT300 champion Morio Nitta leave LM Corsa to join the newly unified INGING and Arnage Racing team. • Reigning All-Japan Formula Three champion Kenta Yamashita will return to Super GT full-time in 2017, replacing Takeshi Tsuchiya at VivaC Team Tsuchiya. • Reigning Porsche Supercup and Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion Sven Müller joined D'Station Racing as a Porsche factory driver. However, he would not drive between Rounds 3 and 5 due to his involvement in the ADAC GT Masters, during which André Couto would substitute for him. • Former FIA F4 Japanese Champion Sho Tsuboi makes his Super GT debut with LM Corsa. 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button also makes his Super GT debut in a one-off for Team Mugen. • Daisuke Ito drives at the second round of the championship at Fuji Speedway, replacing Kazuki Nakajima, who would instead compete in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. • After André Couto was seriously injured during a round of the China GT Championship held at Zhuhai, D'Station Racing announced Yūya Motojima would replace Couto as substitute driver for Sven Muller, driving in Rounds 4 and 5. • K2 R&D LEON Racing will switch from Yokohama to Bridgestone tyres in 2017. • Excellence Porsche Team KTR changed their name to D'Station Racing following a change of ownership and title sponsors. Former baseball pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki will serve as the team's general representative. • INGING Motorsport and Arnage Racing will enter under a unified banner in 2017, with the ex-LM Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 used last season. • Lamborghini Team Direction have suspended activities in Super GT for the 2017 season, leaving JLOC as the sole representative for Lamborghini in Super GT. ==Results==
Championship standings
Drivers' championships ;Scoring system GT500 GT300 Teams' championships ;Scoring system GT500 GT300 == Notes==
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