Porsche Center Okazaki announced its two-car programme for the 2025 GT World Challenge Asia season, including one of the team’s cars making an appearance in the 49th annual Suzuka 1000km.
The red #18 Nine Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R will feature a renewed Pro-Am driver line-up, with 2023 Japan Cup GT3 Pro-Am Champion Hiroaki Nagai now joined by Toyota Gazoo Racing works driver Kazuto Kotaka. They will run a partial schedule, entering the GT World Challenge Asia rounds at Mandalika, Fuji, and Okayama, as well as a confirmed entry for the Suzuka 1000km on 14 September.
One of the top prospects of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) young driver academy, Kotaka made his SUPER GT Series debut in 2019 as a co-driver to Nagai at apr, and the two have also raced together in the Super Taikyu Series ST-X (GT3) class as recently as last season. The 25-year-old will primarily race in the Super Formula Championship for the restructured TGM GP – and will also serve as Toyota’s GT500 reserve driver in SUPER GT.
For the Suzuka 1000km, they will be joined by 2024 SUPER GT GT300 championship runner-up Takuro Shinohara. A three-time GT300 race winner, Shinohara is coming off a three-year tenure at K2 R&D LEON Racing, where he took two wins last season and finished second in the standings. Shinohara has also won championships in the Super Taikyu Series ST-TCR class and the now-defunct TCR Japan Series.
Kiyoshi Uchiyama and Tsubasa Kondo will return to drive the teal #25 Nihon Kizai Racing Porsche in the Silver-Am class, eager to build on their eighth-place finish in the class championship, and a best overall result of seventh at Fuji. Uchiyama will drive for the full GTWC Asia season, while Kondo will run the four rounds that do not conflict with his upcoming SUPER GT programme with seven x seven Racing.
2023 Japan Cup champion Yuta Kamimura will return to the team to replace Kondo at the opening round in Sepang, and the final round in Shanghai.
Feature image © SRO Motorsports Asia
