Togo Suganami To Relieve Hiroki Yoshida For Fuji 450km

Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave have announced via SNS that Togo Suganami will drive their #52 Toyota GR Supra GT300 in next week’s Autobacs SUPER GT Series FAV Hotel Fuji GT 450km Race, replacing Hiroki Yoshida, who recently tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to take part.

Suganami, 26, returns to GT300 competition after spending the last three seasons with K2 R&D LEON Racing. Upon his appointment to replace Haruki Kurosawa in 2019, Suganami scored five podiums and a maiden GT300 class win at Twin Ring Motegi in September 2020, eventually finishing third in the 2020 GT300 Drivers’ Championship, and sixth in 2021.

This year, the FIA F4 Japanese Championship graduate opted to return to single-seater competition, securing a full-time Super Formula Lights seat with B-Max Racing Team this year.

However, with Yoshida’s illness, Suganami – already experienced on the Bridgestone tyre compounds that GreenBrave uses via his tenure at LEON Racing – was called on to take his place.

He will race alongside Kohta Kawaai, who already has two career wins at Fuji Speedway with GreenBrave – including a win on his SUPER GT debut, in July 2020. Like Suganami, Kawaai has also raced in Super Formula Lights this season, driving for Rn-sports.

Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave won two of the four races staged at Fuji in 2020, and were leading both Fuji races in 2021 until late race misfortunes cost them victories in each; they suffered a drivetrain failure in last year’s Fuji 500km, and a puncture in last year’s 300km finale.

Image © K2 R&D LEON Racing

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