Sasaki Lands NISMO Drive As Nissan Names GT500 Lineups

Photo: SUPER GT

Nissan has revealed its GT500 lineups for the upcoming SUPER GT season, handing Daiki Sasaki a surprise berth in the two-car NISMO works team.

Sasaki will partner second-year driver Atsushi Miyake aboard the No. 3 Nissan Z NISMO as he returns to SUPER GT’s top class after a season in the GT300 ranks with Nissan customer team Kondo Racing alongside Joao Paulo de Oliveira.

Until last year, Sasaki had enjoyed an unbroken stint on Nissan’s GT500 roster from his rookie season in 2014, winning three races for Kondo in 2015-16.

The upcoming season will mark the 33-year-old’s first campaign using Bridgestone tires since 2020, the last of his three seasons for Team Impul, after which he returned to Kondo’s GT500 squad for a further three seasons in 2021-23.

Miyake’s 2024 partner Mitsunori Takaboshi is promoted to the flagship No. 23 NISMO car to be reunited with Katsumasa Chiyo, with whom he formed a partnership in the No. 3 car in 2022-23, to replace the retired Ronnie Quintarelli.

The remaining cars in the Nissan GT500 fleet retain unchanged driver lineups.

Bertrand Baguette and Kazuki Hiramine, Nissan’s most recent champions in 2022, remain a pairing aboard the No. 12 Impul car, while the sole Yokohama-shod car in the fleet, the No. 24 Kondo machine, is driven by Tsugio Matsuda and Teppei Natori.

Natori had been linked to a potential NISMO promotion after making his GT500 debut last year with Kondo, but ultimately lost out to Sasaki.

Quintarelli has been named NISMO ambassador and advisor, and will support Nissan’s four GT500 teams alongside executive advisor Masataka Yanagida.

NMC president Takao Katagiri said: “This season, we will take on the SUPER GT challenge with two new and two current driver combinations. Our aim is to retake the championship and build team organizations that enable all four teams to win.

“Major preparations for the 2025 season will begin next week, and will involve the development division and the teams working closely together to further improve the Nissan Z NISMO GT500.

“Like every season, we will do our best to deliver the excitement of motorsports to fans and we thank you for your ongoing support.”

Sasaki is set for his first outing as a NISMO driver in the Sepang GT500 makers’ test that begins on Sunday, with the No. 3, No. 12 and No. 24 cars all in action in Malaysia alongside the No. 230 Nissan test car.

A total of 11 cars are set to participate in the test, with four Toyota GR Supras, including the No. 90 test car, and a trio of Honda Civic Type R-GTs slated to take part.

Information concerning Nissan’s plans in the GT300 category will be communicated at a later date, most likely next month.