Kondo Racing Reveals Driver Lineup for N24 Return

Photo: Kondo Racing

Kondo Racing has revealed its driver lineup for its return to the Nürburgring 24 this year, which includes Ferrari factory driver Thomas Neubauer.

The Japanese team, best known for its SUPER GT activities with Nissan, announced last December its intentions to return to the Nordschleife for the first time in six years with a newly-acquired Ferrari 296 GT3 in partnership with Rinaldi Racing.

Ferrari revealed that Neubauer would be part of Kondo’s lineup last month when it revealed the 2025 programs for its roster of factory GT drivers.

Now it has been confirmed that Neubauer will be joined aboard the Yokohama-shod 296 GT3 by David Perel, Axcil Jefferies and Felipe Fernandez Laser, who was part of the Frikadelli Racing crew that won the N24 with Ferrari machinery in 2023.

Neubauer, Jefferies and Fernandez Laser will pilot the Realize-liveried car for this weekend’s NLS1 season-opener, which marks the first of four Nordschleife outings for the squad in the run-up to the blue riband event on June 21-22.

The Masahiko Kondo-led team’s car will bear the No. 45 in the NLS, but a race number for the N24 has yet to be confirmed.

Kondo will be aiming to improve on the ninth-place finish it scored on its previous N24 appearance in 2019 with a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.