In Cars, Local News, Motorsports / By Jonathan Lee / 9 November 2018 5:10 pm / 15 comments

Fans of the Japanese Super GT championship, your ears will be pricked at the sound of this – the popular touring car race series is set to return to the Sepang International Circuit for the first time since 2013, as sports event organiser Haro Sports and Entertainment has reached an agreement with series organiser GTA to work together on hosting the Malaysian round in 2020.

That would make it seven years since a Super GT round was last held here, but it will return with a twist – it will be the first race in the series’ history to be held at night, making use of the track’s new floodlights. “Japan is synonymous with innovation, and at Haro, we are all about reinventing the wheel,” said Haro’s managing partner Fahrizal bin Hasan. “The return of Super GT to Malaysia will be history in the making.”

Masaaki Bandoh, GTA chairman, said: “We hope that not only the drivers, teams and car manufacturers but also everyone involved in Super GT will work together with Haro and the local staff involved in operations at Sepang to help the people of Malaysia share in the enjoyment of motor sports and create a race event based on a shared understanding of automobile culture. At the same time, I hope that through Super GT we can contribute to promoting exchange that builds friendship between Malaysia and Japan.”

Sepang was Super GT’s first international venue, with an exhibition race held there in 2000 and 2001; it became a regular points-paying championship round in 2002. The series pulled out the year before it began adopting Class 1 regulations together with the German Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) in 2014, so the 2020 race will be the first time the latest GT500 machines race in anger over here.