Miyata Likely to Step Away from Sports Cars in 2025

Toyota Gazoo Racing protege Ritomo Miyata looks likely to take a temporary step away from sports car racing in 2025 in order to focus on his commitments in FIA Formula 2.

Off the back of his success in Japan’s SUPER GT and Super Formula series, Miyata contested this year’s European Le Mans Series with the Cool Racing LMP2 team alongside a full-season drive in F2 with the Rodin team.

Alongside teammates Malthe Jakobsen and Lorenzo Fluxa, Miyata took two victories on his way to third in the drivers’ standings.

On top of that, Miyata also served as Toyota’s reserve driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship and made a single race appearance in the Spa round for the Akkodis ASP Lexus team as a stand-in for Kelvin van der Linde.

However, amid Miyata’s struggles in F2, which took priority over his ELMS deal, the Japanese driver looks set to focus purely on the single-seater series. He has been linked to a switch from Rodin to ART Grand Prix.

When asked by Sportscar365 about Miyata’s plans, Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe vice-chairman Kazuki Nakajima said: “At the moment there is nothing I can reveal.”

It remains unclear whether Miyata will continue to serve in his Toyota WEC reserve role. His last outing in the GR010 Hybrid came at the 24 Hours of Le Mans test day, and he has not attended any races since then.

Toyota’s main race lineup for the 2025 season looks likely to be unchanged. The Japanese manufacturer has announced its drivers for the following season in late November or early December in recent years.

Barnicoat Set for IMSA/WEC Double Duty With Lexus

Elsewhere in the Toyota stable, Ben Barnicoat appears likely to dovetail his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship commitments for Lexus with a full-time berth in the Akkodis ASP squad in the WEC’s LMGT3 class.

The British driver made an outing in one of the team’s two Lexus RC F GT3s in the Bahrain rookie test earlier this month, and all but confirmed his return to IMSA in Vasser Sullivan Racing’s GTD Pro car speaking to Sportscar365.

Barnicoat would replace van der Linde as one of the two Gold- or Platinum-ranked drivers in the ASP stable.

Van der Linde had been linked with a switch to Lamborghini earlier in the year, despite the uncertainty surrounding the Italian manufacturer’s future in the WEC.

Barnicoat will prioritize his IMSA commitments when the series clashes with the WEC, with ASP incumbent Esteban Masson the likely stand-in for Spa and Sao Paulo.

Masson’s plans for 2025 have been impacted by his recently-confirmed upgrade to Gold status, with the Frenchman looking likely to combine a program in sports cars with racing in Japan’s Super Formula Lights series.