Fenestraz Felt Supra “Changed Quite a Bit” In Sepang Test

Photo: JRP

Sacha Fenestraz says he could notice the Toyota GR Supra has changed “quite a bit” since his previous spell in SUPER GT as he drove the brand’s GT500 challenger for the first time in over two years during last week’s Sepang test.

The Argentinian driver was confirmed in late December to be returning to Japan’s top sports car racing series for 2025 after two seasons away racing in Formula E, partnering Yuhi Sekiguchi in a new-look lineup for Team SARD.

Fenestraz’s first test at the wheel of the GR Supra came last Wednesday at Sepang, where he got behind the wheel of the No. 90 Toyota development car.

Since his last season with Toyota in 2022, the GR Supra has had its aerodynamics updated to match newer models from GT500 rivals Honda and Nissan, and Fenestraz said he could notice the difference during his relatively brief stint in the No. 90 car.

“It was cool to drive a SUPER GT car again, I forgot how much downforce these cars have!” Fenestraz told Sportscar365 following the test.

“The car has changed quite a bit since I last drove it [in 2022], in a good way of course. It’s quite a different car in terms of the aero package and the handling.

“It was difficult to have a proper feeling because it was just for two hours on old tires, and tires that were not really suited to the conditions, but it was definitely better than nothing. I am sure with some extra testing I will get back into it a bit more.

“My engineer [Kazuya Abe] was happy and I was pretty happy with how I got used to the car again. It was a bit easier than the Super Formula test [at Suzuka in December].”

Fenestraz added that he is looking forward to partnering Sekiguchi, with whom he teamed up at TOM’S for his first season in GT500 back in 2020, the pair scoring four podium finishes on their way to fourth in that year’s standings.

“It’s nice to be back with Yuhi, who was the teammate that I started with in SUPER GT,” he said. “In our first year together we had some good races, got quite a few podiums. It was the first year of the Supra, which was a positive year.

We know the potential of the Toyota looking at the last couple of years. My last season [2022] was a difficult one, the Nissan Z came in and started winning, like we did in the first year of the Supra before things became more balanced.

“Now things are different, Toyota seems very strong, and I have extra motivation. I’ve always enjoyed racing in Japan, so I’m very excited to start the season.”

On his targets for the year ahead, Fenestraz added: “Right now my goal is just to get back into the rhythm of the car, to the tire management, which I haven’t really had to worry about the last couple of years.

“We are not the number one car within Toyota, but the target will be to fight at the top. We need to fight for some podiums at least, which should be possible.”

Team SARD is set to commence its testing program in earnest on Feb. 12-13 at Okayama International Circuit, where eight GT500 cars are expected to be present.

These include the other five race cars that skipped the Sepang test — the No. 36 TOM’S and No. 38 Cerumo Toyotas, the No. 23 NISMO Nissan and the No. 8 ARTA and No. 17 Real Racing Hondas — plus Honda’s No. 99 development car.

The Nakajima Honda will also take part, having been air-freighted back from Sepang to make use of tire supplier Dunlop’s extra pre-season test allocation.