Saitama Green Brave (formerly known as Saitama Toyopet Green Brave) is a Japanese racing team who competes in

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of ...

and

Super Taikyu Super Taikyu (スーパー耐久, ''Super Endurance''), formerly known as the Super N1 Taikyu Series prior to 2005 and N1 Endurance Series prior to 1995, and currently named the Eneos Super Taikyu Series Empowered by Bridgestone for sponsorship ...

championship. Green Brave recently is best known for winning the 2023 Super GT title in the GT300 class with

Hiroki Yoshida is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes in Super GT in the GT300 category and the Super Taikyu Series in the ST-Z category, both for Saitama Green Brave. Yoshida won the 2023 Super GT Series, 2023 Super GT Championship in the GT300 c ...

and

Kohta Kawaai (born August 7, 1994) is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes for Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave in both the Super GT and Super Taikyu racing series. Kawaai won the 2023 Super GT Championship in the GT300 class and the 2023 Super Tai ...

History

After searching for ways to enjoy the Toyota 86, which was released in 2012, Saitama Toyopet a car dealer company based in

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

came up with the idea that "If car sellers don't know how to enjoy cars, they won't be able to tell customers how to enjoy cars." then established their Motor Sports Department. The company decided to participate in a race competition. For this reason, the roles of team representative, chief engineer, and mechanic are all Saitama Toyopet employees. The drivers are not only professionals, but also the managing director, Takayuki Hiranuma, who has experience in racing karts, will be at the wheel himself. The company named it Green Brave after the company's main color green. In addition to Super Taikyu, and Super GT, the team actively participates in many large and small races such as the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 86/BRZ Race and OKAYAMA Challenge Cup.

Super Taikyu

In 2013, they began participating in the Super Taikyu ST-4 class, with a

Toyota 86 The Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ are 2+2 sports cars jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru, manufactured at Subaru's Gunma assembly plant. The 2+2 fastback coupé has a naturally aspirated boxer engine, front-engined, rear-wheel-drive ...

, and achieved their first victory in 2015, their third year. They won the championship that same year. They debuted in the ST-3 class in 2017, racing with the Toyota Mark X.

Super GT – GT300

250px, Toyota Mark X MC made its debut in the GT300 class in 2017. In 2017, the team stepped up to the Super GT's GT300 class, and became the 6th team in the series with a mother chassis which they used to develop the Toyota Mark X with a GTA V8 4.5 L V8.

Taku Bamba Taku Bamba (番場琢 - ''Bamba Taku''; born January 30, 1982) is a Japanese professional racing driver, who most recently competed in the Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as t ...

Shigekazu Wakisaka is a Japanese racing driver. His older brother, Juichi, is a three-time Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as the All Japan Grand Touring Car C ...

were the drivers for that season. For 2019,

joined the team replacing Bamba. The team achieved their first podiums in 2019, at

Okayama is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...

and the second race at Fuji. From 2020 GreenBrave have been fielding the fifth-generation Toyota GR Supra in the GT300 Class. Built to JAF-GT GT300 regulations, the GT300 GR Supra is powered by Toyota's 5.4 litre 2UR-GSE V8 engine. FIA F4 Japanese graduate

signed with the team for the 2020 Season, replacing Wakisaka. For 2021, the team retained the same line up, with Kawaai skipping the second round due to COVID, and Taku Bamba filled the seat. In 2023, The team achieved their first championship along with Yoshida, and Kawaai with two wins and four podiums. For 2024, Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave changed its official name to Saitama Green Brave. Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) member

Seita Nonaka is a racing driver from Japan who currently competes in Super GT and Super Formula Lights. He was the former 2021 F4 Japanese Championship, F4 Japanese Championship title winner in 2021. He is part of the TGR Driver Challenge Program. Career F ...

, is set to replace reigning GT300 champion Kohta Kawaai, after spending the last two seasons at Hoppy Team Tsuchiya and entering as the team's third driver last year in

Autopolis is a international racing circuit located near Kamitsue, Ōita, Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the northeast of Kumamoto. Nippon Autopolis">F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis/ref> Tsurumaki ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.saitama-toyopet.co.jp/greenbrave Japanese auto racing teams Super GT teams Super Taikyu teams Auto racing teams established in 2012 Toyota in motorsport