MKS Eyes Long-Term Success With CarGuy Racing

Photo: Masahide Kamio

Misato Haga says her MKS Racing team’s collaboration with CarGuy Racing to field a Ferrari 296 GT3 in SUPER GT is for the long-term, playing down the chances of achieving major success in the newly-formed team’s first season.

The new CarGuy MKS Racing outfit was a last-minute addition to the GT300 field, only being officially announced in mid-March, and is the result of a partnership between Haga’s newly-formed company MKS (Misato Knockout Sports) and Takeshi Kimura’s CarGuy organization, which last raced in SUPER GT in 2021-22 with Pacific Racing.

Toyota junior driver Rikuto Kobayashi and Zak O’Sullivan make up the team’s driver lineup, with the car itself the same 296 GT3 that raced in the Asian Le Mans Series with the CarGuy-backed Kessel Racing squad last season.

The new operation is run out of CarGuy’s factory near Fuji Speedway, with around half of the team’s staff made up of mechanics from Servus Japan.

Haga has been involved in SUPER GT on and off for the past two decades, most recently heading up the Yogibo Racing outfit that raced in 2023 after acquiring the entry rights from ARTA’s now-defunct GT300 operation but then withdrew.

Following failed negotiations with other prospective partners, believed to include Team Studie, Haga turned to CarGuy boss Kimura and his wife Chiharu, with whom she has a long-standing relationship, in a last-ditch bid to get back on the grid.

“I really wanted to return to SUPER GT,” Haga told Sportscar365. “In the second half of last year there were many conversations happening [with potential partners], but our requirements didn’t align with theirs, and so it didn’t work out.

“The partnership with CarGuy Racing only took shape in February. The team was competing in the Asian Le Mans Series, so I showed up for the final race weekend in Abu Dhabi for a meeting practically with no prior warning.

“There I spoke to Kimura-san and Chiharu-san, who I have been friends with for a long time. I told them I was having a bit of trouble and asked them, ‘Why don’t we race in SUPER GT together?’ They gladly accepted and that’s how we got started.

“In a short time, we’ve been able to put together a great package, with Toyota lending us a hand with finding drivers, and I think that surprised many people.

“We see this as a long-term project, not just for a few years. My goals are in alignment with CarGuy’s goals, and we plan to work together to make them a reality.”

Kobayashi and ex-Williams Formula 1 prospect O’Sullivan, who has forged links with Toyota this year via his Super Formula campaign, together form by far the youngest driver pairing in the GT300 field, aged 19 and 20 respectively.

The two youngsters are supported by Keita Sawa, who previously raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2017-18 for Clearwater Racing and has more recently been active in GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS.

“I really wanted to use young drivers, just as we did before at Yogibo Racing,” Haga added. “Kimura-san himself wasn’t able to drive because of the clashes with his program in Europe, and he also wanted to give young drivers the chance.

“We had the same vision in that regard, so that’s what we decided.”

O’Sullivan raised eyebrows in last month’s official Fuji test, which marked the first outing for the team’s No. 7 Ferrari as it wasn’t ready in time for the previous test at Okayama, as he set the fourth-fastest time in the final session.

But Haga has played down expectations of any big results in the team’s first year, instead prioritizing laying firm foundations for future success.

“For the first year, there are many new components, including the collaboration with Servus Japan, so we have to focus on building up our experience, and then based on that we can set more concrete goals for the second year and beyond,” said Haga.

“Of course, if you’re racing, you always want to be winning. But we need to take things one step at a time and allow all the components of the team to gel. The drivers are also inexperienced and Zak is completely new to SUPER GT.

“We are not aiming to win straight away; we want to take our time to improve the car.”