Ferrari maintains SUPER GT presence with Pacific CarGuy

An extension of the joint venture between long-time GT300 entrant Pacific and Takeshi Kimura's CarGuy outfit had already been announced ahead of SUPER GT's entry list reveal earlier this month, but the car type and driver line-up were not officially revealed.

Now it has been confirmed that gentleman racer Kimura and regular partner Kei Cozzolino will once again team up at the wheel of the Yokohama-shod #9 Pacific CarGuy Ferrari, keeping the Italian marque on the grid.

It means that 10 different makes will be represented in a 28-strong GT300 field in 2022, with Ferrari joining Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Lamborghini. Porsche and Lotus have dropped off the grid.

Kimura and Cozzolino drove together in five out of eight races in SUPER GT last year, with Kimura missing three events that clashed with his FIA World Endurance Championship GTE Am programme.

Naoki Yokomizo deputised for Kimura for the three races he missed, and it was with Cozzolino and Yokomizo that the team achieved its best result of the year at fourth at Suzuka. However, an opportunity for a podium was lost with a puncture in Yokomizo's final outing of the season at Motegi.

Kimura is set for a double programme in 2022 as he combines SUPER GT with an attack on the four-race Japan Cup portion of the GT World Challenge Asia series at the wheel of a CarGuy Ferrari.

Yokomizo meanwhile is set for a full season in GTWC Asia, sharing a Ferrari with Kiyoto Fujinami for new entrant Yogibo Racing.

Entry for Okayama test announced

Team Mach will participate in the Okayama pre-season test on March 12-13 with its Toyota 86 Mother Chassis with three new drivers: Yusuke Tomibayashi, Masaya Kono and Super Taikyu regular Kazuya Oshima (not to be confused with the Toyota factory driver).

The move suggests that the team will not retain its 2021 line-up comprising brothers Yuya and Reiji Hiraki.

All but one of the 28 registered GT300 cars will be in action at Okayama, with only the new Inging Toyota GR86 absent.

Tsuchiya Engineering is set to debut its new self-built version of the Toyota GR Supra, with team boss Takeshi Tsuchiya listed as a third driver.

BMW works driver Augusto Farfus is set to miss the test as expected, with Tsubasa Kondo filling in for the Brazilian in the Team Studie M4 GT3.

GT300 class entry list: