SRO Motorsports Group Asia has published the provisional entry list for next week’s opening round of the SRO Japan Cup at Sportsland Sugo, the series’ first stand-alone event separate from GT World Challenge Asia.
14 cars are entered – eight GT3s, and six GT4s, with the prospect of more teams arriving for the following round at Fuji Speedway.
Toyota SUPER GT and Super Formula driver Ukyo Sasahara headlines the list of competing drivers, in the #9 Bingo Racing Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R alongside co-driver and team owner Shinji Takei. The fan-favourite Callaway Corvette – one of the last in active competition – is back for the full Japan Cup after taking a surprise overall win at Fuji last year.
Adding to the excitement is a new collaboration between Bingo Sports, toymaker Takara Tomy and the Transformers franchise – one which will see the #9 Bingo Corvette adorned in a special red, yellow, and blue flame livery based on franchise icon Optimus Prime. Takara Tomy will also produce a new Optimus Prime figure derived from the real car, to be released later this year.
Takei and Sasahara form one of four GT3 Pro-Am entries, joined by a two-car, two-manufacturer effort from K-tunes Racing: Team owner Kazunori Suenaga paired with three-time SUPER GT GT300 Champion Morio Nitta in the #96 Lexus RC F GT3, and in the new #97 Ferrari 296 GT3, 2020 Super Taikyu ST-X Champion Daisuke Yamawaki and two-time GT300 Champion Shinichi Takagi.
Lamborghini Young Professional Driver Yuki Nemoto will partner with former GT300 and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia driver Akira Mizutani in the #563 ANR with VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2.
Defending Japan Cup GT3 Am champions Comet Racing return with an unchanged lineup of Yusuke Yamasaki and Yorikatsu Tsujiko, both driving the new #7 Ferrari 296 GT3.
With Satoshi Hoshino preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, D’station Racing’s sole entry is the #47 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 driven by Tatsuya Hoshino and Kenji Hama, longtime GT4 competitors making their first full-season foray into GT3 competition.
Five-time Super Taikyu class champion Tadao Uematsu will ride solo in his #55 Team Macchina McLaren 720S GT3, while tenured GT300 squad Tomei Sports (RunUp Sports) returns with the #360 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 for Masaaki Nishikawa and Atsushi Tanaka, to round out the GT3 Am class.
In GT4, defending champions YZ Racing and Masaki Kano are back to defend their titles in the #50 BMW M4 GT4. Replacing the legendary Manabu Orido is Yuki Fujii, an experienced GT4 driver in Super Taikyu and a past champion of the Audi A1 Fun Cup.
Toyota Gazoo Racing Indonesia, last year’s GT4 runner-up, returns with an unchanged line-up of Haridarma Manoppo and Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) top prospect Seita Nonaka in the #39 Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo. Nonaka leads the Super Formula Lights Championship after three races and recently scored his first official SUPER GT podium at Fuji.
K-tunes Racing enters the #97 Toyota for rookie Yoshichika Nagai and racing legend Masahiko Kageyama, a GT500 and All-Japan Touring Car Champion, two-time Nürburgring 24 Hours class winner and this year’s ST-4 class winner at the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours. Three-time Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia champion Toshiyuki Ochiai and two-time Super Taikyu champion Takeshi Suehiro will share the #39 Hojust Racing Toyota.
Filling out the GT4 field is the #82 Sunrise Blvd Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 for Yoshitomo Makino and young Daiki Fujiwara, and the only GT4 Am car in the field, the #16 ABSSA Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 driven by Ferrari Challenge Japan-experienced Kiwamu Kataytama and Takashi Toyoda.
Qualifying for both races will take place on the afternoon of 8 June, with two 60-minute races on 9 June.
Images © SRO Motorsports Group, Bingo Sports
