Team Goh Confirms McLaren GT3 for Super GT, Suzuka 10H

Photo: Team Goh Motorsports

Team Goh Motorsports will compete with the new-for-2019 McLaren 720S GT3 in a packed Japanese schedule this season, the team confirmed on Wednesday.

It will run as McLaren Customer Racing Japan in its first partnership with the British manufacturer since winning the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship with a McLaren F1 GTR in 1996.

Its 2019 program with the 720S GT3 will include entries in Super GT, the Pirelli Super Taikyu Series and Suzuka 10 Hours.

The entry marks the Goh squad’s first racing venture since it ran a Porsche RS Spyder Evo in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Alex Palou and Seiji Ara will share the McLaren in Super GT, while Palou will join Sena Sakaguchi and Takayuki Kinoshita for the Super Taikyu races.

44-year-old Super GT veteran Ara was part of Goh’s 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning lineup in 2004 alongside Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello, with the trio sharing an Audi R8 LMP1 car.

21-year-old Spanish racer Palou, meanwhile, finished third in the 2017 Japanese F3 Championship and was recently confirmed to drive for Nakajima Racing in Super Formula this season.

Team Goh will also enter a pair of cars in the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, held at Suzuka on Aug. 25, but is yet to announce its lineups for the ten-hour enduro.

“I am extremely proud to confirm that McLaren Customer Racing Japan, with the leadership of the highly acclaimed Goh-san, will race with the 720S GT3 in 2019,” said McLaren Automotive motorsport director Dan Walmsley.

“The team that will run the cars across Super GT300, Super Taikyu and the Suzuka 10 Hours has huge experience and has enjoyed significant success in the world of GT racing and we believe they have what it takes to challenge for race wins and push for the titles in both championships.”

Team principal of McLaren Customer Racing Japan, Kazumichi Goh, added: “The opportunity to work with McLaren again is very special indeed, particularly after the success we enjoyed more than 20 years ago.

“The performance we have witnessed of the McLaren 720S GT3 is already extremely positive, and hopefully that winning spark can be rekindled during the upcoming season.

“We are looking forward to the challenge of this new chapter, and enjoying the taste of success together again very soon.”

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.