Max Racing to miss SUPER GT opener after team owner death – Motorsport. com

The passing of Oono, also known by his pseudonym ‘Go Max’, at the age of 50 at the start of this month prompted Maximum Racing, which competes in the lower GT300 class with a Toyota GR Supra, in order to skip both of this month’s official tests at Okayama and Fuji Speedway.

Motorsport. com has learned that it has now been decided that the team will not take part in the first round of the new season at Okayama on April 16-17.

Discussions are ongoing between EXTREMELY GT organisers and the family of Oono regarding the continued participation from the group within the series, with a return from the second round in Fuji in early May still a possibility.

Max Racing had already been preparing for its third time of year in SUPER GT plus its 2nd using the particular GR Supra, having won the first race with driver pairing Atsushi Miyake and Yuui Tsutsumi at Suzuka last year.

 

Miyake, who also races within Super Formula for Team Goh, was due to share the new-look #244 machine with Kimiya Sato this particular year, with Sato moving across from sister team Tsuchiya Engineering.

Tsuchiya has effectively run the Greatest extent Racing operation since its entry into SUPER GT in 2020 with a Lexus RC F GT3.

After missing the Okayama test, Tsuchiya’s newly-constructed GRMS Supra made its public debut on Saturday from Fuji Speedway, with Sato registered as a third driver alongside Takamitsu Matsui and Seita Nonaka.