JLOC Finalizes GT300 Lineups, Pairs Kvyat With Kogure

JLOC has revealed that ex-Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat will share its No. 88 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 for the new season with Takashi Kogure.

Sportscar365 first reported earlier this month that Kvyat would contest the full eight-round campaign in the Japanese series, as he makes his first foray into GT3 competition, but there was no clarity on which of the team’s cars he would actually drive.

Now it has been confirmed by JLOC that Kvyat will partner sometime Honda GT500 driver Kogure aboard the No. 88 car for his first SUPER GT campaign.

Yuya Motojima, who won the 2024 GT300 title together with Kogure, will switch to the sister No. 87 car to partner Kosuke Matsuura.

Natsu Sakaguchi, who had been part of JLOC’s No. 87 lineup since 2021, has been retained as a reserve driver, while the the team has also picked up 2023 GT300 champion Kohta Kawaai as an additional reserve across its two-car stable.

Kawaai has not raced in SUPER GT since winning the title for Saitama Toyopet Green Brave alongside Hiroki Yoshida, but was present with the team for this week’s GT Entrants’ Association (GTE) test at Fuji Speedway on Wednesday.

Kyvat, meanwhile, is set to turn his first laps aboard the No. 88 Huracan in the first of two official pre-season tests at Okayama International Circuit on March 6-7, where Kawaai and Sakaguchi are set to drive cars No. 87 and 88 respectively.

In addition to its drivers, JLOC also named its race engineers for the upcoming campaign, with Hitoshi Iyoki — the veteran who oversaw Jenson Button’s GT500 title in 2018 — returning to the team after a year away to run the No. 88 car and ex-Real Racing man Yasuhiro Tasaka moving across to the No. 87 car.

Arao, Pull, Kanamaru Among Okayama Test Additions

All 43 cars that are entered for the full season, as indicated by the entry list published by the GTA on Wednesday, are due to take part in the test.

Former Honda junior driver Souta Arao is set to share Team Mach’s Toyota 86 Mother Chassis with Yusuke Shiotsu, suggesting he is a strong candidate to take the place of Kondo Racing-bound Iori Kimura as Shiotsu’s new co-driver.

Elsewhere, James Pull will drive the NILZZ Racing Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 following the news on Friday he will race for the team full-time this year.

British-Singaporean Pull, who steps up after two years racing in Super Taikyu, shares the No. 48 Nissan with Taiyou Ida and third driver Daiki Fujiwara.

Fellow Nissan GT300 team Tomei Sports has Rin Arakawa and Yu Kanamaru, who raced for Kondo last season as a substitute for Joao Paulo de Oliveira on two occasions, listed for its entry together with gentleman driver Atsushi Tanaka.

All remaining teams generally have their full-time drivers present for the test, although newly-confirmed Pacific Racing sporting director Ryohei Sakaguchi will act as a third driver for the team on the first day of the test, and PONOS Racing team owner Yorikatsu Tsujiko is also listed as a third driver in the No. 45 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.