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News
2018.02.08
Competing with Kovalainen / Kamui and Kazuki / Sekiguchi! LEXUS GAZOO Racing reveals plan for this season.

Competing with Kovalainen / Kamui and Kazuki / Sekiguchi! LEXUS GAZOO Racing reveals plan for this season.の画像

Toyota Motor Corporation announced the planned activities of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for 2018 in February 8th afternoon. According to the announcement, the company will proactively be engaged with motorsports through TOYOTA GAZOO Racing again this year to provide the anticipation and excitement of driving to wider audience.

 

Toyota will continue to field LEXUS LC500 as LEXUS GAZOO Racing in SUPER GT's GT500 class this year. The company will be supporting six cars of six teams through TRD. Defending champion LEXUS TEAM KeePer TOM'S will be wearing the car number one, which only the champion is allowed to wear, and aim for consecutive title with Ryo Hirakawa / Nick Cassidy duo again this year. No.38 LEXUS TEAM ZENT CERUMO will also keep the same combination of Yuji Tachikawa and Hiroaki Ishiura as last year.

Other four teams, though, will see changes in the driver lineup. No.6 LEXUS TEAM LEMANS WAKO'S keeps Kazuya Oshima as its ace driver this season and adds Felix Rosenqvist, who competed in SUPER FORMULA last year. Yuji Kunimoto becomes the first driver of No.19 LEXUS TEAM WedsSport BANDOH, and Kenta Yamashita will be stepping up from the GT300 class. No.36 LEXUS TEAM au TOM'S will have a new driver combination with Kazuki Nakajima and Yuhi Sekiguchi.

Champion team from two years ago, No.39 LEXUS TEAM SARD is putting two F1 veterans, Heikki Kovalainen and Kamui Kobayashi, for reclaiming title. Kobayashi has experience in racing in SUPER GT from last year's Round 6 Suzuka in No.19 car, but this season will be his first time to compete in the series full time.

 

              

 

              

 

GT500
No.
Team
Vehcle
Driver
Tires
1 LEXUS TEAM KeePer TOM’S KeePer TOM’S LC500 Ryo Hirakawa (Japan)
Nick Cassidy (New Zealand)
BS
6 LEXUS TEAM LEMANS WAKO’S WAKO’S 4CR LC500 Kazuya Oshima (Japan)
Felix Rosenqvist (Sweden)
BS
19 LEXUS TEAM WedsSport BANDOH WedsSport ADVAN LC500 Yuji Kunimoto (Japan)
Kenta Yamashita (Japan)
YH
36 LEXUS TEAM au TOM’S au TOM’S LC500 Kazuki Nakajima (Japan)
Yuhi Sekiguchi (Japan)
BS
38 LEXUS TEAM ZENT CERUMO ZENT CERUMO LC500 Yuji Tachikawa (Japan)
Hiroaki Ishiura (Japan)
BS
39 LEXUS TEAM SARD DENSO KOBELCO SARD LC500 Heikki Kovalainen (Finland)
Kamui Kobayashi (Japan)
BS

Tire Brand: BS: Bridgestone; YH: Yokohama

 

 

GT300 class will have two Prius' competing again like in last year, but this year there will be one more RC F GT3, bringing the count up to three. Both Prius' will be fielded by apr, and No.30 car will continue to be driven by the Hiroaki Nagai / Kota Sasaki duo, but the No.31 car will have Koki Saga teaming up with Kohei Hirate, two-time GT500 champion.

In terms of FIA GT3-category Lexus RC F GT3, No.35 auto-PANTHER TEAM THAILAND will be switching to RC F GT3 from this year. Drivers will be the same as last year, Nattavude Charoensukhawatana and Nattapong Hortongkum. Ritomo Miyata, the FIA-F4 champion and fourth place finisher of Japanese F3 Championship of last year, is making his SUPER GT debut in No.60 LM corsa and teaming up with veteran Hiroki Yoshimoto. Last year's No. 51 car underwent a complete team restructuring and will compete in the series as No.96 K-tunes Racing LM Corsa. Yuichi Nakayama, scored two wins last year, and Morio Nitta, a veteran with the most wins in GT300, will fill up the team's driver lineup.

 

              

 

        

 

GT300
No.
Team
Vehcle
Driver
Tires
30 apr Toyota Prius apr GT Hiroaki Nagai (Japan)
Kota Sasaki (Japan)
YH
31 Toyota Prius apr GT Koki Saga (Japan)
Kohei Hirate (Japan)
BS
35 arto-Panther Team Thailand arto RC F GT3 Nattavude Charoensukhawatana (Thailand)
Nattapong Hortongkum (Thailand)
YH
60 LM corsa SYNTIUM LMcorsa RC F GT3 Hiroki Yoshimoto (Japan)
Ritomo Miyata (Japan)
YH
96 K-tunes Racing LM corsa K-tunes RC F GT3 Morio Nitta (Japan)
Yuichi Nakayama (Japan)
BS

Tire Brand: BS: Bridgestone; YH: Yokohama

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