Fenestraz Leaning Towards Toyota GT500 Reunion

Sacha Fenestraz appears to be closing in on a return to SUPER GT next season, with Toyota emerging as favorite to land the Franco-Argentine racer’s signature for 2025.

Fenestraz became a free agent when he was abruptly dropped by the Nissan Formula E team in favor of Norman Nato in early September, and has been exploring his options both in the all-electric series and elsewhere since then.

With avenues to stay on the Formula E grid having now fully closed, Fenestraz has openly admitted a return to Japanese motorsport, where he raced in 2020-22 before joining Nissan, is a strong possibility for the 2025 season.

The 25-year-old is believed to have offers from both former employer Toyota and Nissan for double programs in SUPER GT and Super Formula, but paddock sources have suggested that a deal with Toyota is already at a relatively advanced stage.

In SUPER GT, a return to TOM’S is the most likely destination for Fenestraz, although it remains unclear which driver in the stable he would be in line to replace.

Fenestraz previously drove for TOM’S in 2020-22, first pairing up with Yuhi Sekiguchi in the No. 36 car before being moved across to partner now-Toyota FIA World Endurance Championship ace Ryo Hirakawa in the sister No. 37 car in 2021.

Ritomo Miyata took over Hirakawa’s place for 2022, with he and Fenestraz winning their first race as a pairing at Fuji Speedway that year.

Approached for comment, TOM’S boss Jun Yamada didn’t deny the possibility of a reunion with Fenestraz, but stressed that no final decision had been made.

The situation at the team has been made more complex by the fact that Ukyo Sasahara and Giuliano Alesi have won two of the last three races aboard the No. 37 car.

While a return to Toyota appears to be Fenestraz’s most likely option, the one-time SUPER GT race winner has also attracted interest from BMW about a program in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The Bavarian marque’s motorsport boss Andreas Roos briefly worked with Fenestraz when he sampled an Audi DTM car at Jerez in late 2018 prior to moving to Japan the following year to contest the All-Japan Formula 3 series.

When asked by Sportscar365 about the possibility of making a bid to recruit Fenestraz, Roos replied: “All the time since this DTM test, I’ve always been in contact because for me Sacha is for sure a very good driver.

“Definitely he proved already to be very strong and when you look at possible drivers, for sure Sacha is also one you can have on the radar.”

Nissan Audition Test Unlikely to Be Held in 2024

Fenestraz’s most recent run in SUPER GT machinery came last December, when he participated in Nissan’s annual driver audition test at Fuji.

With the SUPER GT season extended following the postponement of August’s fifth round at Suzuka, it appears unlikely the test will be able to take place this year.

Usually the audition test follows immediately after the NISMO Festival, which is slated for Dec. 1, but strict limitations on in-season testing mean that any testing would have to take place after the following weekend’s rescheduled Suzuka finale.

As well as Fenestraz, Alessio Picariello, Joao Paulo de Oliveira, Atsushi Miyake and Teppei Natori also took part in last year’s test, with the latter two stepping up to GT500 race drives at NISMO and Kondo Racing respectively.

Davey Euwema contributed to this report