Suganami Returns to LEON Racing Mercedes-AMG

Photo: SUPER GT

Mercedes-AMG squad LEON Racing has announced the return of Togo Suganami to the team for the upcoming SUPER GT season.

Suganami, who has spent the last two seasons with Tsuchiya Engineering, will share the K2 R&D-run, Bridgestone-shod No. 65 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Naoya Gamou in a reprisal of the team’s lineup from late 2019 until 2021.

He replaces Takuro Shinohara, who has spent the past three seasons as Gamou’s teammate, the pair finishing runner-up in last year’s GT300 standings.

Team boss Haruki Kurosawa commented: “Suganami has achieved good results in other categories and has shown his speed, so I am expecting big things of him and Gamou, who has reached the status of the team’s steadfast ‘ace’ driver.

“Last year we finished second in the championship. In 2017 we also finished second, and then the following year we won the championship, so we are fired up to make this year ‘a year of winning’!”

Suganami added: “I’m really happy to rejoin K2 R&D LEON Racing, the team with which I made my debut in SUPER GT.

“The team was in extremely good shape and finished second last season, so I will do my best not to interrupt that flow, and contribute to the team’s results.”

It was announced by Toyota last month that the Tsuchiya Engineering Toyota GR Supra will be shared this season by Takamitsu Matsui and Kimiya Sato, with Sato returning to full-time duties in the No. 25 car in place of Suganami.