Ten things to look forward to in Japanese racing in 2023

1. A new(ish) car in Super Formula

Last year we had new and upgraded cars taking stage in SUPER GT; this year it’s Super Formula’s turn as it introduces the long-anticipated upgrade to what will now be known as the Dallara SF23. The new package of aerodynamic parts and revised Yokohama tyres was put through its paces in tests at Suzuka and Motegi late last year, and the series is confident that the reduction in downforce and dirty air should translate into more exciting racing.

A new car often means a shake-up in the competitive order, and with just one pre-season test scheduled in early March at Suzuka before the season gets underway, there are bound to be some surprises come the opening double-header at Fuji in April. Defending champion Tomoki Nojiri and Team Mugen will certainly have their work cut out to maintain the level of dominance that they enjoyed in the final two seasons of the SF19 era.

 

2. Lawson’s mission to impress Red Bull

Besides the arrival of an updated car, the other major talking point in Super Formula concerns Red Bull junior Liam Lawson, who joins Nojiri at Mugen after two seasons of FIA F2. Lawson has made no secret of the fact he is aiming to use this season as a springboard to a Formula 1 seat in 2024, but to do so he’ll need to emulate Pierre Gasly’s excellent rookie season in 2017. While a new car means his relative lack of experience is less of a penalty, he still faces a huge task to impress going up against Nojiri in the same team.

Lawson’s two confirmed opponents for Rookie of the Year honours are Super Formula Lights graduate Kakunoshin Ota and HPD scholarship winner Raoul Hyman. Ota impressed in the Suzuka test last month for Dandelion Racing, while Hyman endured a slightly tougher time at B-Max Racing but is nonetheless determined to make the most of his chance in Japan.

 

3. Sasahara crossing the floor to Toyota

Dropped as a full-time Honda Super Formula driver for 2021 and only given an eleventh-hour reprieve last year, Sasahara was hopeful that two wins and a major contribution to Mugen’s teams’ title last year would be duly rewarded by Honda when it came to deciding the marque’s 2023 line-ups. Sadly, that wasn’t the case, and as such Sasahara has now grabbed an opportunity to leave Honda in favour of a move to arch-rival Toyota.

Sasahara has already been busy testing both Super Formula and SUPER GT machinery this winter with TOM’S, impressing team manager Jun Yamada in the process. His place in the team is not yet official, but confirmation appears imminent. Whether that includes both championships or just SUPER GT remains unclear, but either way, the rarity of such moves for Japanese drivers will automatically make Sasahara one to watch in 2023.

 

4. ARTA and Mugen joining forces

Toyota has TOM’S, Nissan has NISMO and now, for the first time since 2006, Honda has a two-car team of its own in SUPER GT’s GT500 class as ARTA expands to a second car. That’s the result of a tie-up with Mugen, which had run its own car on Yokohama and then Dunlop tyres without much success since 2017, but will now be in charge of looking after both of the Bridgestone-shod NSX-GTs entered by Aguri Suzuki’s eponymous outfit.

That’s an exciting prospect in and of itself, but even more so when you consider the way Honda has assembled the driver line-ups, splitting up Nojiri and Nirei Fukuzumi and pairing them with Toshiki Oyu and Hiroki Otsu respectively. The Nojiri/Oyu partnership in particular is one that promises big things, and if the pair gel as well as their employers are hoping, then you’d get short odds on a Honda title in what could be the farewell season for the NSX.

 

5. Tsuboi teaming up with Miyata

It’s not just Honda that’s been finessing its driver line-ups over the winter. Over at Toyota, the departure of Sacha Fenestraz has prompted a reshuffling of the deck at TOM’S, resulting in a reunion of the former All-Japan Formula 3 teammates Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata in the team’s lead #36 car. And that’s excellent news for both drivers, as well as Toyota, which has arguably formed the strongest pairing in its GT500 stable in the process.

Tsuboi especially will be pleased with this development after enduring a year sharing a car with an off-the-pace Giuliano Alesi, who incidentally has been moved across to the #37 TOM’S car to partner (the still not-yet announced) Toyota newcomer Sasahara. With the rapid Miyata installed as his wingman, Tsuboi has a teammate capable of helping him to a second title in three seasons. The bigger question is, will the GR Supra be up to it?

 

6. Impul using the #1 plate

For the exciting new pairings on the GT500 grid, as well as the more established ones, the team they all have to dethrone is Impul, which ended a seven-year wait for a Nissan GT500 title last year thanks to the efforts of Bertrand Baguette and Kazuki Hiramine. But perhaps even more significantly, it was a first crown in 27 years for the team made famous by Japanese racing legend Kazuyoshi Hoshino and the iconic blue Calsonic livery.

During last month’s NISMO Festival, Hoshino and his son Kazuki (now an integral part of the team behind the scenes after ending his own driving career) debated whether Impul should keep the traditional #12 for this season or take up the right to use #1. It was subsequently revealed that the younger Hoshino had won the debate - and as such, SUPER GT fans can look forward to seeing a Calsonic Nissan adorning the #1 for the first time since 1996.

 

7. Sato getting a second chance

Back in Super Formula, Honda’s Ren Sato will be aiming for a stronger sophomore season after being handed the chance to join Nakajima Racing in 2023 - a byproduct of Oyu’s decision to leave the team after two unharmonious seasons racing alongside Naoki Yamamoto. Sato got his collaboration with his new team off to the best possible start in the post-season Suzuka test, outpacing Yamamoto to set the fastest time overall.

What really makes Sato one worth watching however is his new tie-up with engineer Yuki Katoh. Back in 2019, Katoh guided a certain Alex Palou to third in the standings, and while he has spent the past two years in a fruitless partnership with Yamamoto, Nakajima has opted to swap its two race engineers for 2023. For Sato, who no longer has to deal with the pressure of representing Red Bull, working with Katoh could be a match made in heaven.

 

8. B-Max back to full strength

Elsewhere in the Honda Super Formula stable, another team to keep an eye on will be B-Max Racing as it prepares for a two-car assault for the first time since 2020, the last year of its short-lived tie-up with Motopark. Matsushita has been the team’s sole focus for the past two campaigns, and while he largely made the most of what he had, even claiming a spectacular first win for the team at Suzuka in the wet last year, it was also clear that a second car would be needed to give the squad any chance of making any real progress.

Step forward Formula Regional Americas champion Hyman, who despite being a rookie has the speed and experience to push Matsushita forward and provide the team with the valuable set-up information it needs. Indeed, Matsushita himself was certainly feeling upbeat for his prospects for the year ahead after an encouraging post-season test at Suzuka.

 

9. Apr’s new GT300 challenger

While the aerodynamics in SUPER GT’s top GT500 class are frozen this year, the GT300 class remains a breeding ground for new machinery. And for the fourth time in five years, a new GTA-GT300 car is on the way thanks to Toyota-affiliated constructor apr. The company that brought us the Prius, the GR Supra and the GR86 is getting ready to officially reveal the successor to the now-retired Prius, a hybrid GT300 version of the Lexus LC500.

Spotted testing recently at Fuji Speedway, the new car is set to bring back the LC500 to SUPER GT three years after it was replaced as the Toyota GT500 base model by the GR Supra. An official unveiling is scheduled for the Tokyo Auto Salon event in mid-January, and it will be fascinating to see whether apr’s new creation can do what the front-engined version of the Prius never managed to and be a genuine contender for GT300 honours.

10. The return of a promising youngster

While only a handful of driver line-ups for the GT300 class have been announced so far, one driver who looks likely to be back on the grid after a year away is Teppei Natori. After an encouraging rookie season at Honda squad Team UpGarage in 2021, Natori stepped away from SUPER GT in a bid to land a Formula 2 drive, and when that deal went south, he ended up mostly on the sidelines, save for a series of Super Taikyu outings.

And yet in the process, Natori has strengthened his ties with Nissan, even earning a call-up to the marque’s GT500 audition test at Fuji last month. According to one well-placed source, Natori was the most impressive of all the four youngsters that drove that day, suggesting he could be a serious candidate for a future berth in a Z GT500. For next year though, look out for Natori to land a drive in an officially-supported Nissan GT300 car.