Revamped Anest Iwata Feels Like “New Team” to Fraga

Photo: Masahide Kamio

Igor Fraga says Lexus SUPER GT squad Anest Iwata Racing feels like a “completely new team” this year following the end of its partnership with Arnage Racing,

It was revealed last December that Anest Iwata and Arnage, which had jointly fielded a Lexus RC F GT3 in the GT300 class for the past two seasons, would go their separate ways as the former forged ahead with plans to create its own structure.

To that end, Anest Iwata has teamed up with Gainer — which also fields a Nissan Z — to run the renumbered No. 26 car, with Fraga staying on board for a third season at the team alongside new veteran teammate Hironobu Yasuda.

Taking over as chief engineer is Norimitsu Yoshida, who is known for his work with the Dandelion Racing team in Super Formula, where Fraga also competes.

While the chassis is unchanged from the previous year, the engine and gearbox are new and the car itself has been refreshed ahead of this week’s opening round at Okayama.

“The feeling of the car is better compared to last year,” Fraga told Sportscar365. “The team has changed quite drastically, so there are still some things we need to sort out, but we have more chance to show better performance this year.

“Honestly, it feels like a completely new team. Compared to last year there are only two or three people inside the team who are the same.

“We have great engineers and even the mechanics are top level, so it’s just about sorting out the operations to make sure we maximize the performance.

“For me it’s also a good experience to pair up with Yasuda-san, because he has so much experience of SUPER GT itself and also the Yokohama tire as he was the development driver. So there are a lot of good inputs coming from his side.”

Although official testing has been impacted by bad weather, Fraga displayed the No. 26 Lexus’s potential when he set a best time of 1:25.395 on the second day of a private test at Okayama, faster than the best time from the official test the same week.

The Brazilian driver has set himself the goal of a first podium finish, having so far claimed a best finish of seventh in 2023 since joining SUPER GT.

“It has to be better this year,” said Fraga. “It’s a super-difficult series, a lot of things have to come together, but the team is much more experienced this season and I believe we can deliver some good results.

“Also this year, the points system has changed, so we should be able to score points. But the real goal for me is to be on the podium at least once.”

Masami Kunii, whose Super Licence organization co-runs the team, said that the decision to join forces with Gainer came about after it signed Yasuda, who used to race for the team until the end of 2023, in place of Yuga Furutani.

“Anest Iwata has decided that it will make its own factory, but in the end it wasn’t ready in time for this season, so as we have recruited Yasuda-san, we decided we would ask Gainer to help us with car maintenance this year,” explained Kunii.

“Preparations on the factory are ongoing, and it should be ready by the end of the year.”

Kunii also expressed hopes of putting together a stronger season after a disappointing 2024 campaign that yielded no top-ten finishes.

“Having Yasuda-san on the team has really helped deepen our understanding of the tires,” he said. “The engineers have changed too, so I think we have a good structure.

“There’s a lot we still have to do, but it feels like we can fight now.”