Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of sports car racing in Japan. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). Autobacs has been the title sponsor of the series and its predecessor since 1998. History The JGTC years (1993–2004) The JGTC (Japanese Grand Touring Championship) was established in 1993 by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) via its subsidiary company the GTA (GT Association), replacing the defunct All Japan Sports Prototype Championship for Group C cars and the Japanese Touring Car Championship for Group A touring cars, which instead would adopt the supertouring formula. Seeking to prevent the spiraling budgets and one-team/make domination of both series, JGTC imposed strict limits on power, and heavy weight penalties on race winners, in an openly stated objective to keep on-track action close with an emphasis on keeping fans happy. Super GT (2005–present) The JGTC had planned to hold a race during the 2005 season at the Shanghai International Circuit in China, in addition to the existing overseas round at Sepang in Malaysia. However, holding the series in more than two countries would have meant the JGTC would lose its status as a "national championship" under the International Sporting Code of the FIA, and therefore could not keep "Japanese Championship" in its name. The series would instead be classified as an "international championship" by the FIA, and would therefore require direct authorization from it, rather than the JAF. Initially, JAF announced JGTC would be renamed "Super GT World Challenge" with the goals of "challenge to the world", and "challenge to entertainment"; however, FIA prevented JAF from using it due to confusion of the suffix with "World Championship" (a higher level FIA recognition status) and a dispute with Sports Car Club of America, which ran Speed World Challenge since 1990. On December 10, 2004, it was announced that new name of JGTC was confirmed as "Super GT". However, despite the name change and several attempts at holding a second overseas race, Super GT has continued to only hold one overseas race per year; in theory, it could regain its status as a national