Tsuyoshi Oono, the representative director of Oono Associates and owner/driver of Super GT team Max Racing, has died at the age of 50.
His passing on 2 March was confirmed via a letter from Oono Associates to their employees and stakeholders. No cause of death has been disclosed.
A successful businessman from the city of Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture, Oono’s racing career began in the 2017 Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific series. As a gentleman driver, he competed under the pseudonym “Go Max,” and went on to take five wins in the Ferrari Challenge series from 2017 to 2020 – and finished runner-up in the Am category championship in 2019.
In 2018, Oono established Max Racing. Their journey began in the Super Taikyu Series, where they raced a Lexus RC F GT3 in the premier ST-X class – with “Go Max” competing as their gentleman driver. They also formed a technical partnership with legendary privateer team Tsuchiya Engineering.
After the 2019 Super Taikyu Series, Oono and Takeshi Tsuchiya brought the colourful Takanoko-no-yu RC F GT3 to the Autobacs Super GT Series, competing as a one-off entry in the non-championship GT300 Sprint Cup at Fuji Speedway.
Max Racing would shift focus towards Super GT, beginning with a full-time entry in 2020. While “Go Max” himself was no longer at the wheel of his team’s racing cars, he was hard at work building his racing team and brokering deals with the series itself. Takanokono Hotel and Hot Spring (Takanoko-no-yu), Max Racing’s title sponsor and an Oono Associates subsidiary, became a title sponsor of four races during the pandemic-affected 2020 season.
Max Racing had a difficult first season in GT300, but improved dramatically in 2021. They switched vehicles to the Toyota GR Supra GT300, and the talents of young drivers Atsushi Miyake and Yuui Tsutsumi saw them take their first victory at Suzuka Circuit in August.
Oono would also sponsor Miyake’s 2021 Super Formula Lights campaign with Rn-sports; Miyake finished fourth in the championship, won two races, and will make the step up to Super Formula this season with Team Goh.
Outside of motor racing, Oono was also an avid enthusiast of thoroughbred horse racing: One of his horses, Stella Veloce, won the 2021 Kobe Shimbun Cup G2 race.
On behalf of DSC, we extend our sincerest condolences to Oono, his family, friends, and to everyone at Max Racing.
Images courtesy of Max Racing and the GT Association (GTA)
