Tsuchiya-run Supras withdrawn from Okayama SUPER GT test
Neither of the Tsuchiya Engineering-run Toyota GR Supra GT300 cars will appear in this week's first official pre-season SUPER GT test at Okayama.
Photo by: Masahide Kamio
A revised entry list issued on Thursday for the two-day test on March 12-13 has both the #25 Hoppy Team Tsuchiya and #244 Max Racing Supras absent.
They will join the #2 Inging/Cars Tokai Toyota GR86 on the sidelines, reducing the car count in the GT300 class to 25 of the 28 full-season entries.
Tsuchiya has switched to its own self-built version of the Supra for 2022 following two disappointing seasons campaigning Porsche machinery, but stated last year that it was possible the car may not be ready in time for the Okayama test.
Indeed, the team was spotted campaigning its old Toyota 86 Mother Chassis car - which it retired after the 2019 season before it switched to Porsche - in a recent private test at Okayama, with the team's new signing Seita Nonaka getting his first miles in a GT car.
Tsuchiya now faces a race against time to ready its Supra for the final pre-season test at Fuji Speedway on March 25-26.
Max Racing meanwhile had its Tsuchiya-run #244 machine running in the same test, but its withdrawal follows the sudden passing of team owner Tsuyoshi Oono, also known as 'Go Max', last week at the age of 50. The team is also set to miss the Fuji test as a result.
Last month, Max Racing had shown off a brand-new red-and-white livery for its Supra as well as a refreshed driver line-up, with Kimiya Sato moving across from the Tsuchiya car to join incumbent Atsushi Miyake.
Sato replaces Yuui Tsutsumi, who has moved to Inging for 2022, while Nonaka takes up Sato's previous berth at Tsuchiya alongside Takamitsu Matsui.
Taniguchi, Farfus missing test
Another change on the Okayama entry list is the absence of Goodsmile Racing driver Nobuteru Taniguchi, leaving Tetsuya Kataoka as the sole registered driver for the team's #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Goodsmile stated on social media that Taniguchi's absence is for health reasons, but that he is set to return to the cockpit for the Fuji test.
As expected, BMW Team Studie's Augusto Farfus is missing the test as well, with the team's third driver Tsubasa Kondo taking the Brazilian's place.
A total of 40 cars will take to the track on March 12-13, with all 15 GT500 cars sharing a track for the first time this year.
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