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Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: SUPER GT LEON Racing has announced it will defend its GT300 class title in SUPER GT this season with an unchanged driver lineup of Naoya Gamou and Togo Suganami. The K2 R&D-run team scored its second title last year with the No. 65 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo shared by Gamou and Suganami, its first since 2018, the pair beating Kondo Racing Nissan driver Kohei Hirate by just two points. It followed the team’s decision to bring back Suganami to the lineup alongside team mainstay Gamou after a three-year absence. Now LEON has confirmed it will head into the 2026 campaign with an unchanged lineup aboard its Bridgestone-shod Mercedes-AMG, which will carry a special livery to mark the 25th anniversary of the men’s fashion magazine that gives the team its name. “Last year, thanks to all those who support us, our owners, staff and drivers, were were able to score our second championship and our first for seven years,” said team director Haruki Kurosawa. “I want to express my gratit...

Photo: Chris Green/Racers Edge Racers Edge Motorsports is now under the ownership of brothers Jim and Nick Pattin, following the sale of the Florida-based team by longtime owner Jon Mirachi. Formalized this week, the changeover comes following Mirachi’s retirement last May following more than 35 years in the motorsports industry, having led the team to numerous wins and championships. “Jon built something incredibly special,” said Jim Pattin. “The standards, the reputation, and the culture at Racers Edge Motorsports exist because of his leadership. Nick and I are proud to carry that forward.” Jim Pattin was promoted to team manager following Mirachi’s retirement and will continue in that role while also serving as principal owner. In more than two decades with the team, since 2002, Pattin has contributed to nearly every area of the organization. As lead race engineer, Pattin played a key role in many of the team’s most significant successes, including one of the world’s most su...

Photo: Ford Racing Cost reduction and affordability have been key points to off-season developments in Mustang Cup USA according to its newly appointed series director Sean Sermini and USAC Vice President Jack Hoaglin. The USAC-sanctioned single-make series, which serves as the first step in the Ford Racing pyramid, will again feature the Mustang Dark Horse R for its second campaign but will also expand eligibility with the creation of the Mustang Cup Classic class. As previously announced , cars such as the 2005-08 Ford Mustang FR500S, 2005-08 Ford Mustang FR500C, 2012-14 Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 2012-14 Ford Mustang Boss 302R and the 2017 Ford Mustang FP350S will be eligible to compete in its own category, offering previous-generation Mustang road racing cars a new lease on life. Sermini believes the Classic class, along with the optional two-driver format to share a car over the course of a race weekend and an estimated 30 percent reduction in operational costs for entrants, w...

Photo: SUPER GT Nissan has confirmed that the Kondo Racing GT500 team will switch from Yokohama to Bridgestone tires for the upcoming SUPER GT season. As previously reported by Sportscar365 , the No. 24 Nissan Z NISMO will switch to the same tire manufacturer as Kondo’s fellow Nissan squads NISMO and Team Impul for what will be the final year of open competition in the Japanese championship. It follows Nissan’s decision to scale back to three GT500 entries, which was confirmed by the brand last December , and leaves Yokohama with just a single entry in the top class this year, the Racing Project Bandoh Toyota GR Supra. Teppei Natori and Atsushi Miyake will share driving duties aboard the No. 24 Kondo Nissan, with Miyake moving across to replace the retired Tsugio Matsuda. Nissan has now confirmed that Daiki Sasaki, Miyake’s co-driver in the now-discontinued No. 3 NISMO NDDP car, will serve as reserve driver this year. Kondo’s GT300 class Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 will continue to u...

Image: Bathurst 12 Hour Volante Rosso Motorsport has confirmed a new partnership with McLaren to campaign a 720S GT3 Evo in Australia, starting with next week’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour. Having campaigned Aston Martin machinery in GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS since mid-2024, the Sydney-based team has begun a tie-up with McLaren Customer Racing ahead of the new season, which begins at Phillip Island in March. Prior to that, the Silver class-entered Volante Rosso McLaren will be raced at Bathurst by Rylan Gray, Bayley Hall and Marcos Flack, plus a yet-to-be-announced fourth driver. Gray, who is set to embark on his first season of Australian Supercars this year after winning last year’s Super2 title, will make his Bathurst 12H debut aged 19, while Flack will be contesting the event in a GT3 car for the first time. Team owner Josh Hunt is set to shake down the new car, which will receive factory support from the UK, at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday. “This is th...

Photo: Gruppe C Photography Dorian Boccolacci will make his Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour debut next week as part of the lineup for the High Class Racing Porsche team. The newly-minted Porsche-contracted driver will share the No. 86 Porsche 911 GT3 R with High Class regulars Anders Fjordbach and Kerong Li as the trio fight for Bronze class honors in the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season. While it will mark Boccolacci’s Mount Panorama debut, it won’t be his first time racing in Australia, as he participated in the opening round of the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS season at Phillip Island last year in a 911 GT3 R. High Class revealed plans to contest the Bathurst 12H for the first time back in November in what looks set to be part of a wider IGTC effort this year. The experienced Danish team won’t be the only new Porsche outfit contending for Bronze honors at Bathurst, as Tsunami RT is also entered in the class. Tsunami RT revealed its driver...