On Thursday, Nissan and NMC (Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co. Ltd.) announced its drivers that will represent them in the 2024 Autobacs SUPER GT Series GT500 class.
Four Nissan Z GT500 NISMOs are entered as in previous years, but with significant changes throughout all but one entry.
The first is at the flagship NISMO team, where after ten seasons and two championships together, the pairing of Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli has been disbanded.
Four-time GT500 Champion Quintarelli will remain in the #23 NISMO Z, and will now be joined by two-time championship runner-up Katsumasa Chiyo who moves over from the #3 NDDP Racing team.
Matsuda, the two-time GT500 Champion and all-time wins leader in the top class, will move to Kondo Racing to drive the #24 car alongside one of Nissan’s two new GT500 recruits, Teppei Natori.
Natori, age 23, arrives in GT500 two years after Nissan threw him a lifeline to continue racing following an aborted move to Formula 2. He won the 2021 Super Formula Lights championship and finished third in the GT300 Championship last year with Kondo Racing.
Nissan’s other GT500 signing is 24-year-old Atsushi Miyake, who joins the rebranded NISMO NDDP #3 team alongside returning two-time GT500 runner-up Mitsunori Takaboshi.
Miyake will combine his maiden GT500 campaign with a second Super Formula season at ThreeBond Racing. He spent four years at GT300 team Max Racing, claiming the team’s lone win in 2021 before the organisation disbanded.
Nissan’s announcement also confirmed a change that was long expected: Bridgestone will take over as the tyre supplier for the two NISMO teams, replacing Michelin.
There’s no change at Team Impul, where the 2022 Champion pair of Kazuki Hiramine and Bertrand Baguette will return to drive the #12 Marelli Impul Z, which also uses Bridgestone tyres.
Yokohama Rubber continues as the tyre supplier for Kondo Racing.
Meanwhile, GT500 tenures come to an end for two-time series champion Kohei Hirate and past race winner Daiki Sasaki.
But both drivers will remain with Nissan and support two of the manufacturer’s preferred GT300 customer teams, using the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.
Sasaki will stay with Kondo Racing and join its two-time GT300 title-winning squad. João Paulo de Oliveira stays with the team, the Brazilian will be in search of his record-equalling third GT300 title.
And Hirate will be the star driver of HELM Motorsports’ new GT300 entry, fielding the same #62 GT-R which carried the squad to Fuji 24 Hours and Super Taikyu ST-X crowns two years ago. Yuya Hiraki will be Hirate’s team-mate, and younger brother Reiji has been named as the third driver.
HELM Motorsports also announced that two-time GT300 Champion Hideo Fukuyama will serve as Team Director.
Images © GTA, STO
