Makino Joins PONOS for Full Asian Le Mans Campaign

Honda factory driver Tadasuke Makino will tackle the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series season with PONOS Racing at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

The 2020 SUPER GT champion will share the PONOS Ferrari with team regular Takuro Shinohara and team owner Yorikatsu Tsujiko for the six-round series that is taking place in Europe, starting with the opener at Paul Ricard on Nov. 13-15.

News of PONOS making a second attempt at the Asian Le Mans Series, this time in the GT class, was confirmed when the entry list for the championship was released last month, although only Shinohara and Tsujiko were named as drivers at the time.

The squad competed in the LMP2 class last season, entering into a partnership with United Autosports after a short-lived initial tie-up with K2 R&D.

Tsujiko commented: “Continuing on from last season, I am very happy that we are able to compete in the Asian Le Mans Series again this year. We gained a lot of valuable experience from participating in the LMP2 class last season, but we will be taking on a new challenge in the GT3 class.

“This time, we will be participating with a team structure with Japanese members at its core. Not only the drivers, but I also want to show the experience and ability of all the people supporting the team, and I’m personally looking forward to seeing how far we can go as we fight on a global stage.

“As well as Shinohara and Makino, I will also be at the wheel. I hope we can use our respective strengths and experience, come together as a team to reach the upper ranks, and ultimately aim to fight for victory.

“In order to meet the expectations of our supporters, sponsors and all those involved, we will give it our all in each and every race, so we ask for your continued support.”

Makino and Shinohara were both part of the PONOS lineup for the recent Suzuka 1000km, in which it finished as best of the Japanese outfits in sixth overall.

That marked Makino’s race debut for the team, and his first competitive outing in a GT3 car in seven years, after he was recruited as an advisor for its SRO Japan Cup effort at the start of the year.