Final Pieces Of GT300 Grid Assembled As Series Announces Okayama Test Entry List

The final pieces of the Autobacs SUPER GT Series’ GT300 class of 2023 appear to be in place, as the GT Association (GTA) has published the entry list for the upcoming official pre-season test at Okayama International Circuit.

All 42 of the series’ entrants will take part in the first of two official pre-season tests, taking place on 11-12 March.

GT500 private manufacturer tests have been ongoing for several weeks. The Honda NSX-GT, in its final season, has been setting top times including an unofficial course record at Okayama set by Astemo Real Racing’s Koudai Tsukakoshi on 8 February at 1’16.263.

There will be one more private test for Honda, Nissan, and Toyota on 2-3 March at Suzuka Circuit – and then an informal “preseason match” held the following two days as part of the Suzuka Circuit Fan Thanks Day event. However, the official pre-season test at Okayama will be the first time that all 15 GT500 teams and drivers will be present together.

Meanwhile, in GT300, the last missing pieces of the entry list have finally been filled in.

Pacific Racing Team have announced a completely revamped programme after parting ways with CarGuy Racing. The privateer team operated out of Nakanihon Automotive College in Gifu Prefecture, have switched to a Mercedes-AMG GT3. They’ve also signed a new title sponsorship deal with VSpo, the third-largest VTuber (virtual YouTuber) talent agency in Japan backed by parent company Brave Group.

GT300 veteran Ryohei Sakaguchi joins the team as their lead driver, while 30-year-old Liang Jiatong from China makes his series debut as Sakaguchi’s full-season team-mate. This is Sakaguchi’s second stint with Pacific Racing Team, after driving for them from 2015-16. The 48-year-old driver scored his first SUPER GT win at Motegi in July 2021.

Liang, an International GT Open race winner and Lamborghini Super Trofeo champion, spent last season in the China Endurance Championship with Harmony Racing – and claimed a double victory in the 2022 Macau Grand Prix domestic GT races. He’ll become the first driver from the People’s Republic of China to race in SUPER GT.

Multiple GT300 race winner Shintaro Kawabata will join the team as their third driver, with the potential of running all five of the series’ 450 kilometre semi-endurance races.

This also ensures that neither Ferrari nor Porsche will be present on the 2023 GT300 grid with their newest customer cars.

Team LeMans will keep their Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II for the upcoming season, after failing to find a suitable buyer for the car this off-season.

As previously confirmed, Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi will return to the team. Super Taikyu Series driver Seiya Jin will test at Okayama as a third driver, in preparation to make his series debut later this season.

NILZZ Racing had not announced their driver line-up for 2023 last week, but the reveal of the Okayama entry list test confirms that gentleman drivers Taiyo Ida and Yuki Tanaka will drive their #48 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 this season. Yusaku Shibata will be the team’s third driver for at least the upcoming Okayama test.

Recently confirmed as a third driver at R’Qs Motor Sports is former Arnage Racing driver Masaki Kano, who will accompany Hisashi Wada and Masaki Jyonai in another all-Am line-up.

In total, ten GT300 teams have registered a third driver for the upcoming test – the others include Yusuke Shiotsu (#11 Gainer GT-R), Shinnosuke Yamada (#20 SHADE Racing GR86), Ryo Ogawa (#30 apr GR86), Yuki Nemoto (#31 apr LC500h), Miki Koyama (#50 Anest Iwata RC F), and Takuya Otaki (#360 RunUp GT-R).

Though he may be an accomplished driver outside of SUPER GT, Bruno Spengler (BMW Team Studie x CRS) will headline the list of 11 GT300 drivers that will undergo the GTA Rookie Test. He’ll be joining Syun Koide (Team UPGarage), Yugo Iwasawa and Reimei Ito (Yogibo Racing), Igor Fraga and Yuga Furutani (Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage), plus the aforementioned Liang, Jin, Ogawa, Nemoto, and Koyama. Each of them will need to complete 12 consecutive and competitive laps without incident in order to qualify for a racing license.

Images © GTA