ROOKIE Racing has announced that Toyota racing legend Kamui Kobayashi will drive its #32 ENEOS Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO in the upcoming SUPER GT Fuji 3 Hours Race in place of rookie Tokiya Suzuki.
Suzuki, regarded as the top prospect in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) development system, has been temporarily barred from racing due to a suspended drivers’ license. He missed the most recent Super Formula Lights triple-header round at Autopolis last week and will miss the Fuji Golden Week special as well.
As Toyota Motor Corporation CEO, and ROOKIE Racing founder Akio Toyoda stated during this last weekend’s aborted Super Formula round: “He is only 19 years old, and he has many things to learn. He has committed some traffic violations, but nothing serious. He has to retake his driving test, so we wanted to give this period of time to study.”
In his place, Kobayashi will make his first SUPER GT start in the GT300 class, and first start in the series since appearing in the 2019 SUPER GT x DTM Dream Race at Fuji. Kobayashi raced full-time for TGR Team SARD in 2018, taking his first and only GT500 win at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.
Since then, of course, Kobayashi has gone on to win back-to-back FIA World Endurance Championships and the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans for Toyota Racing. He has also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in consecutive years, and holds the current Le Mans qualifying lap record (on average speed) since 2017.
Kobayashi has also raced in the Japanese Super Formula Championship since 2015, where he is still awaiting his first career win. He is still one of only three Japanese drivers to stand on a Formula 1 podium.
Though he is best associated with Toyota, Kobayashi has plenty of experience with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 platform, driving for Goodsmile Racing & TeamUKYO in the Intercontinental GT Challenge Spa 24 Hours and Suzuka 1000km, and most recently for KCMG in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS).
The Fuji Golden Week Special takes place Monday, 4 May, with live streaming coverage in North America (US & Canada) on RACER+ and cable/satellite television on RACER Network.
Feature image © Toyota
