GTA Boss Bandoh Opens Up on GT500 Garage 56 Dream

Photo: SUPER GT

SUPER GT supremo Masaaki Bandoh has laid out his vision for a GT500 car to be given the right to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a Garage 56 entry, something he says he has been pressing the ACO to make happen for some time.

During his regular press conference ahead of last month’s Fuji Golden Week round, GTA chairman Bandoh revealed that he had been in touch with the ACO as he floated the idea of the title-winning GT500 team being handed an automatic Le Mans entry.

Bandoh was present at Le Mans this month and met with ACO chairman Pierre Fillon ahead of the race to discuss this and other potential collaborations with the GTA.

Explaining his vision in more detail, Bandoh told Sportscar365 in an exclusive interview that he believes a SUPER GT car running at Le Mans would not only boost the Japanese series but also help grow the French endurance classic’s profile in Japan.

He highlighted the example of the ACO granting NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports the Garage 56 slot with its modified Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Cup car in 2023 as a template for a potential Le Mans assault by a Toyota, Honda or Nissan GT500 team.

“Two years ago, NASCAR used Garage 56,” Bandoh said. “Since then, the number of Hypercars on the grid has increased by a lot, so Garage 56 isn’t open now, but my hope is that we can discuss the future of Garage 56 together.

“For a long time it has been my wish that a GT500 car would be able to run at Le Mans, and that the champion team in GT500 would earn the right to compete at Le Mans.

“Among the many people watching this race, there are only a few Japanese fans, because this race is a part of European culture.

“To a certain extent, what we are doing in Japan [with SUPER GT] is imitating what goes on here in Europe. The Japanese press communicates to Japanese people the way things are at Le Mans, in European racing, but I think it’s only the press, the people who have come here and the people who compete here who understand it.

“Therefore, I think it would be great if we had more fans from Japan supporting this race, both watching on TV and attending the race in person.

“Of course, if we can connect our different cultures a little more, it will also increase the value and recognition of SUPER GT and I think this would create a situation where we will get more fans coming to our circuits too.

“That’s why I have been stubbornly asking the ACO to open up Garage 56 for us.”

A Garage 56 entry has only run at Le Mans on a handful of occasions since the idea first featured on the grid in 2012 with the experimental DeltaWing prototype.

Bandoh conceded that the speed of a GT500 car — which in qualifying trim is faster than Hypercar machinery at Fuji Speedway — would be a potential hurdle to clear, conceding that some kind of Balance of Performance would be required.

“Of course, there would have to be conditions placed on a GT500 car, but I don’t think the possibility is zero,” he said. “I wouldn’t put the chances at 50 percent either.

“I have been telling Mr. Fillon and the WEC the same thing for a long time, that it would be a great way to boost interest in Le Mans among Japanese fans.

“The same way we have been in communication with the SRO about working together on GT3 racing, even if we can work together with the ACO and the WEC just a little, it will help to make motorsport in Japan more well-known.”

A spokesperson for the ACO declined to comment on Bandoh’s remarks when contacted by Sportscar365.

Source: Sports Car 365