Sorensen Excited by “Steep Learning Curve” in Japan

Aston Martin factory driver Marco Sorensen says he faces a “steep learning curve” in SUPER GT with D’station Racing but is excited by the challenge of having to learn the majority of the tracks on the series’ calendar from scratch.

Sorensen will be sharing D’station’s No. 777 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo with Tomonobu Fujii as the team makes its return to GT300 action after three years away.

It comes in addition to his FIA World Endurance Championship campaign with the Japanese team that began last weekend in Qatar (pictured top).

Speaking about his motives to add SUPER GT to his already-busy 2024 schedule, which also includes the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup, Sorensen cited the desire to test himself in a fresh environment in an all-pro field.

“I absolutely love Japan, and every time I race there I always go a week early to walk around Tokyo and just see the country,” the Danish driver told Sportscar365.

“And, as a pro driver, you want to do as much pro racing as you can. They have that in Japan, and with the new car I thought it could be interesting to see what we can do with out there with the new [Evo] car.

“I was a bit disappointed last year not to win the IMSA [GTD] championship [with Roman de Angelis], but now I’ll try and win in Japan. For me it’s the ultimate thing because you have to be consistent throughout the year, and not make mistakes.

“For sure there are some standout races you want to win, but it’s nice to go after a championship.”

While Sorensen is already familiar with the Vantage GT3 Evo, he faces the challenge of adapting to the Dunlop tire that D’station will use.

In addition, every track on the schedule besides Fuji Speedway will be new to him, but the 33-year-old says this lack of knowledge will only add to the enjoyment.

“From what I heard from Fujii-san, in Japan they go for the best tire over a [single] stint, so that’s going to be interesting,” said Sorensen. “There won’t be many laps to learn the tracks, but I’ll be going to the simulator before each race to try and learn them.

“I think I’ll only get six or seven [push] laps for each track before qualifying, which is now a combined time, so it will be a very steep learning curve throughout the season. But I like this kind of challenge.

“I had a year in the U.S. where I had to learn the tracks every single time, and it is a little bit of a pain in the ass, but it’s also the best challenge you can have because suddenly you are not the quickest driver.

“You can definitely feel you are out of the window when you come to a new track, and you cannot make mistakes in the race… that whole feeling is quite interesting.”

Sorensen faces two clashes later in the year between his two programs for D’station, with SUPER GT’s fifth round at Suzuka and the Motegi season finale falling on the same weekend as the WEC’s visits to Circuit of the Americas and Bahrain respectively.

Asked which series will take priority, Sorensen suggested that WEC wouldn’t automatically take priority, adding: “We’ll have to see how it works out, but the nice thing is they [the clashes] are later in the season.”

The D’station Aston is set for its first proper rollout in a two-day test this week at Motegi, with Fujii driving alone, before Sorensen joins for the first of two official tests taking place at Okayama International Circuit on March 16-17.

Ex-Nissan GT500 driver Tetsuya Tanaka has been recruited as team supervisor, working underneath general director and former baseball star Kazuhiro Sasaki.

40 Cars Entered for Okayama Official Test

On Monday, an entry list for next week’s first official test was revealed featuring 40 cars, but missing two full-season GT300 entries.

These are the No. 10 Gainer Nissan Z, which was announced last month but has yet to be revealed, and the No. 25 Tsuchiya Engineering Toyota GR Supra, which remains in the final stages of being rebuilt after being heavily damaged in a fire last season.

On the driver front, Lilou Wadoux is missing the test for PONOS Racing due to a clash with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, where she is due to be part of the AF Corse LMP2 lineup, leaving Kei Cozzolino to pilot the No. 45 Ferrari 296 GT3 solo.

Several GT300 teams have taken the chance to register third drivers for the test, with notable additions including Japanese F4 graduates Yusuke Mitsui (Team UpGarage Honda), Shunji Okumoto (Subaru R&D Sport) and Rin Arakawa (Tomei Sports Nissan).

JLOC will continue to run its two Lamborghini Huracan GT3s in different specs, with the No. 88 in EVO2 trim and the No. 87 remaining in its original EVO configuration.