Yogibo Racing announced on Thursday that it will not return to the Autobacs SUPER GT Series in 2024, citing a “change in corporate strategy” as its reason for taking a break from participating in SUPER GT.
The furniture maker first linked up with Drago Corse to sponsor the team’s GT300 entry in 2021, before launching Yogibo Racing in the 2022 GT World Challenge Asia series – where Naoki Yokomizo, Kiyoto Fujinami, and Shogo Mitsuyama drove the team’s Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo.
In 2023, Yogibo Racing allied with Japanese engineering firm Servus Japan and returned to GT300 where it entered the #27 Honda NSX GT3 Evo22 for rookies Yugo Iwasawa and Reimei Ito. Iwasawa and Ito started the season strong, recording a fourth-place finish in a rain-shortened opening round at Okayama. Their only other top-ten finish was a ninth place in the summer race at Suzuka. Iwasawa and Ito finished 20th in the GT300 Drivers’ standings while Yogibo Racing finished 19th in the Teams’ championship.
At the helm of all of these Yogibo-backed entries was Team Director Misato Haga, who became the first woman to win a SUPER GT title as a Team Director when she led MOLA to the 2008 GT300 Championship.
Speaking with the Japanese publication auto sport Web, Haga has stated her intentions to return to SUPER GT in 2025, by working with Yogibo to take full control of the team to continue to work alongside Servus Japan and attract new sponsors for its return.
However, it is all but certain that if Haga is successful in returning the team to GT300, it will be with a new car.
US publication Car & Driver recently published an interview with HRC trackside engineer Wayne Gross, who said that 2024 will be the final season in which the Honda/Acura NSX GT3 receives factory support in SUPER GT, IMSA, and SRO. With Yogibo Racing’s departure, Team UPGarage now stands as the only remaining team in GT300 entering the NSX GT3.
SUPER GT is expected to publish the official 2024 entry list later this month.
Feature image © GTA
