TUNING

GT300’s Rising Stars: Navigating New Racing Dynamics

posted at：2024.04.29

TEXT: AMW PHOTO: GTA／動画撮影・編集：平岡寿道（HIRAOKA Toshimichi）

New Teams vs. Long-established Teams

The 2024 season of SUPER GT, Japan’s premier GT car race, began at Okayama International Circuit in Okayama Prefecture on April 13 (Sat.) – 14 (Sun.), 2024. While Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are the three manufacturers competing in the GT500 class, the GT300 class has become a kind of cross-fighting competition with import car brands mixed in. Here we introduce the machines competing in the GT300 class. In this fifth installment, we will introduce cars No. 61 through No. 87!

The king of endurance racing is now fully prepared to compete in the SUPER GT!

Car 61, “SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT” continues its driver duo. Takuto Iguchi and Hideki Yamauchi have been working together since 2015, and the combination is perfect. 8th in the drivers’ standings in 2023, the BRZ has matured well, and the team will be aiming for the series championship in the 2024 season.

Car 62, the HELM MOTORSPORTS GT-R, is another new entry for the 2024 season, having competed in Super Taikyu until 2023 and winning the series championship in the ST-X class with GT3 machines in 2022. It will be interesting to see how this team, which knows how to compete in endurance races, will fare in the fiercely contested SUPER GT GT300 class. The drivers are the brother duo of Yuya Hiraki and Reiji Hiraki, a talented tag team that has competed in the GT300 class before. They will be joined by Kohei Hirate, who has competed in the GT500 class in 2023. It is safe to say that this team will be one to watch in the 2024 season.

The driver lineup for the No. 65 LEON PYRAMID AMG remains unchanged from 2023. The team will be led by Naoya Gamo and Takuro Shinohara. In 2023, he is ranked 4th in the drivers’ standings. In the season opener in Okayama last year, he finished on the podium in 2nd place, so high hopes are pinned on him for the season opener in 2024.

No. 87 “METALIVE S Lamborghini GT3” also has no changes to its driver lineup. The tag team of Kosuke Matsuura and Natsu Sakaguchi is ranked 15th in the drivers’ standings for 2023. It will be interesting to see how far the combination of Matsuura, who has experience around the world, and young driver Sakaguchi will be able to go in the top ranks of the ranking.

How will the new teams battle it out with the established teams?　The charm of the GT300 class is that it is a different battle from the GT500 class, where the manufacturers battle each other. We hope that you will not miss the battles between the new teams.