Team Daishin Nissan GT-R Boosts Suzuka 1000km Grid
Photo: Nissan
The grid for this month’s Suzuka 1000km has been boosted by the late addition of an extra Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 entered by Super Taikyu outfit Team Daishin.
Announced on Thursday, just over a week before track action is set to begin for the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season, the Bronze class entry sporting Daishin’s famous orange livery provisionally brings the grid up to 29 cars.
Sharing driving duties will be two-time SUPER GT champion Tsugio Matsuda, Kiyoto Fujinami and FIA Bronze-rated Ryuichiro Oyagi.
The news means that Nissan is set to be represented by three cars at Suzuka, with Team Daishin joining 5ZIGEN and Tomei Sports in running the GT-R.
Matsuda, who stepped down from his Nissan GT500 duties at the end of last season, last raced the GT-R NISMO GT3 in the 2019 edition of the Suzuka 10 Hours for KCMG, finishing sixth in that race alongside Katsumasa Chiyo and Josh Burdon.
The 47-year-old has remained active in Super Taikyu this year, driving a Nissan Z NISMO GT4 for Team ZeroOne and taking a class win in the Fuji 24 Hours.
Fujinami won two titles in SUPER GT’s GT300 class driving a GT-R for Kondo Racing in 2020 and ’22, and has most recently driven for Seven x Seven Racing.
He was also a part of the Team Daishin lineup that finished second in the Fuji 24 Hours this year and was part of the team’s Super Taikyu title success in 2018 and ’19.
Alongside its Super Taikyu activities, Team Daishin has also been a regular fixture on the SRO Japan Cup grid over the past two seasons with Oyagi sharing the car in the Am class with his father and team owner Nobuyuki.
Team Daishin’s maintenance partner is GTNET Motor Sports, which also runs the Team Mach Toyota 86 Mother Chassis in SUPER GT’s GT300 class.
GTNET previously entered a GT-R in the 2019 Suzuka 10 Hours under its own banner, finishing fifth in the Pro-Am category.
A final entry list for the Suzuka 1000km is expected to be published on Friday.
Source: Sports Car 365