also considered to be the series' most prestigious event. Held during a major public holiday season, it regularly draws the largest crowds of any Super GT race, with a two-day attendance of 91,000 spectators in 2019. It was the first event of the first official JGTC season in 1994, and has been a permanent fixture of the series' calendar with the exception of 2004, when the circuit was closed for renovations, and 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditionally, this event has been run as the Fuji GT 500 km Race, but in 2022, the event was shortened to 450 km (100 laps). Due to the effects of the 2009 energy crisis in Japan, the Fuji 500 km and Suzuka 1000 km race distances were shortened. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and its effects resulted in a further reduction in all race distances for the season, before standard distances were restored in 2012. Non-championship rounds have been run sporadically during Super GT's history. The Fuji Sprint Cup was held from 2010 to 2013, consisting of two sprint races per class. The first annual Super GT x DTM Dream Race was held in November 2019, consisting of two sprint races for GT500 and DTM cars, supported by the auto sport Web Sprint Cup, two sprint races for select GT300 teams as well as one-off GT3 entries from other Japanese events. The cars The cars are divided into two classes: GT500 and GT300. The names of the categories derive from their traditional maximum horsepower limit – in the early years of the series, GT500 cars would have no more than 500 horsepower, GT300 cars would max out at around 300 hp. However, the current generation of GT500 engines produce in excess of 650 horsepower. Meanwhile, in present-day GT300, the horsepower range varies from around 400 to just over 550 horsepower; however, GT300 cars have far less downforce than their GT500 counterparts. In both groups, the car number is assigned to the team, in which each team is allowed to choose whichever number they want as long as the number isn't already used by any other team. The number assigned to each team is permanent, and may only change hands when the team exits the series. The number 1 is reserved for the defending GT500 champion, and the number 0 is reserved for the reigning GT300 champion. For easy