Max Racing Revived for New Japan Cup Effort

Former SUPER GT squad Max Racing has been revived for an assault on the Japan Cup leg of the upcoming Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS season.

A little under a year-and-a-half after it announced it was to cease operations, the team posted a brief announcement on its social media accounts on the morning of New Years’ Day revealing its plans to return to racing.

The message was accompanied by a graphic showing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo bearing the No. 24 in a blue-and-orange livery.

It read: “In 2025, Max Racing will resume its activities! We are currently preparing for GT World Challenge Asia Japan Cup with a brand new car! We will bring you updates on social media such as the state of our preparations. Thanks for your support!”

Max Racing withdrew from SUPER GT halfway the 2023 season when its Tsuchiya Engineering-run Toyota GR Supra GT300 car (pictured top) sustained significant damage in a fire during the fourth round of the season at Fuji Speedway.

It cited a shortage of spare parts as a reason for the withdrawal, which followed the passing of team founder Tsuyoshi Oono (also known as ‘Go Max’) in early 2022.

The team first joined SUPER GT in 2020, stepping up from Super Taikyu with a Lexus RC F GT3 before switching to an apr-built GR Supra for 2021 and winning its first and only race that season with Atsushi Miyake and Yuui Tsutsumi at Suzuka.

Following the team’s withdrawal, its social media accounts had lain dormant until a cryptic message reading ‘To be continued…’ was posted in July last year.

The SRO Japan Cup will comprise four events this year, including a pair of races on the support bill of the revived Suzuka 1000km fixture in September.