Drago Corse seals Super GT grid spot with new backer
Drago Corse has secured a return to the SUPER GT grid for the 2021 season with a new backer to replace Modulo.
The presence of the team owned by 2000 GT500 champion Ryo Michigami on the GT300 grid was thrown into doubt last month when Honda's announcement of its plans for the 2021 season made no mention of Drago and its solo NSX GT3.
It followed the withdrawal of Modulo's sponsorship, with the Honda subsidiary scaling back its support to just the Nakajima Racing GT500 entry for this year.
However, Drago has been able to secure a new sponsor in the form of sofa and cushion company Yogibo, and will return with Michigami and Shogo Mitsuyama sharing driving duties at the wheel of the team's Yokohama-shod NSX.
Mitsuyama, who last raced full time in SUPER GT in 2016 for Team Taisan SARD, replaces Australian racer Jake Parsons as Michigami's teammate.
#34 Modulo KENWOOD NSX GT3
Photo by: GTA
Misato Haga, who previously ran the Direxiv team in the mid-2000s and headed up MOLA's 2008 GT300 title-winning team, has come on board as team director. Incidentally, Mitsuyama previously drove for Direxiv in 2005-06 before it disbanded.
Drago's announcement means there will be at least three NSX GT3s on the GT300 class grid in 2021, with Team UpGarage and ARTA both having already announced their plans.
Both teams have rookie drivers coming on board: Super Formula Lights graduate Teppei Nattori joins Takashi Kobayashi at UpGarage, while Ren Sato - last year's French Formula 4 runner-up - replaces GT500-bound Toshiki Oyu alongside veteran Shinichi Takagi at ARTA.
Drago will also continue to field a sole Honda-powered entry in Super Formula for second-year Colombian racer Tatiana Calderon.
GT300 teams and drivers so far:
No. | Team | Car | Tyre | Drivers |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Inging & Cars Tokai Dream28 | Lotus Evora MC | Bridgestone |
Hiroki Katoh Ryohei Sakaguchi |
4 | Goodsmile Racing with Team Ukyo | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
Nobuteru Taniguchi Tatsuya Kataoka |
6 | Team LeMans with Motoyama Racing | Audi R8 LMS | Yokohama |
Satoshi Motoyama Yoshiaki Katayama |
10 | Gainer | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Dunlop |
Kazuki Hoshino Keishi Ishikawa |
11 | Gainer | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Dunlop |
Katsuyuki Hiranaka Hironobu Yasuda |
18 | Team UpGarage | Honda NSX GT3 | Yokohama |
Teppei Natori Takashi Kobayashi |
25 | Team Tsuchiya | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Yokohama |
Takamitsu Matsui Kimiya Sato |
30 | apr | Toyota Prius GHV GR Sport | Yokohama |
Hiroaki Nagai Manabu Orido |
31 | apr | Toyota Prius GHV GR Sport | Bridgestone |
Yuhki Nakayama Koki Saga |
34 | Drago Corse | Honda NSX GT3 | Yokohama |
Ryo Michigami Shogo Mitsuyama |
35 | Team Thailand | Lexus RC F GT3 | Yokohama |
Sean Walkinshaw* Giuliano Alesi* |
48 | NILZZ Racing | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
Taiyou Iida Yuki Tanaka |
50 | Arnage Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Yokohama |
Masaki Kano Masataka Yanagida |
52 | Saitama Toyopet Green Brave | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Bridgestone |
Hiroki Yoshida Kohta Kawaai |
55 | ARTA | Honda NSX GT3 | Bridgestone |
Shinichi Takagi Ren Sato |
56 | Kondo Racing | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
Kiyoto Fujinami Joao Paulo de Oliveira |
60 | LM Corsa | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Dunlop |
Hiroki Yoshimoto Shunsuke Kohno |
61 | R&D Sport | Subaru BRZ (2021) | Dunlop |
Takuto Iguchi* Hideki Yamauchi* |
65 | LEON Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Bridgestone |
Naoya Gamou Togo Suganami |
96 | K-Tunes Racing (LM Corsa) | Lexus RC F GT3 | Dunlop |
Morio Nitta Sena Sakaguchi |
244 | Max Racing | Toyota GR Supra GT300 | Yokohama |
Yuui Tsutsumi Atsushi Miyake |
360 | RUNUP (Tomei Sports) | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | Yokohama |
Takayuki Aoki Atsushi Tanaka Yudai Uchida |
* not officially announced
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