ARTA and Mugen are joining forces in SuperGT next year to create a two-car Honda 'superteam'. Here's why the union made sense for all involved:
ARTA joins the exclusive ranks of two-car GT500 teamsThe two Hondas will be officially known as ‘ARTA Mugen NSX-GTs’, maintaining the #8 and #16 numbers of past seasons, and both machines are expected to carry the distinctive day-glo orange colouring of Autobacs.
That means Tomoki Nojiri will be paired with Toshiki Oyu aboard the #8 car in what has to be regarded as one of the most exciting line-ups on the grid, while Nirei Fukuzumi will partner up with his Suzuka Racing School classmate of a decade ago, Hiroki Otsu, in the #16 car. In the end, ARTA simply lost faith and wanted out of its partnership with Servus. At the same time, Mugen was growing increasingly frustrated that its decision to switch to Dunlop tyres wasn’t working out.
However, two years down the road, it looks like 2020 was more of a blip than the start of a positive trend for Dunlop, and ironically Yokohama has been the tyre brand in the ascendancy this season, coming very close to winning a race.Mugen was desperate to get its car #16 car on Bridgestone tyres, and ARTA wanted to change the organisation responsible running its #8.
Every driver in the two-car ARTA/Mugen stable likewise has reason to be cheerful. Nojiri gets to work with his dominant Super Formula team, including chief engineer Toshihiro Ichise; Fukuzumi gets the chance to prove himself as ‘A-driver’ after three years of being Nojiri’s apprentice; and Oyu and Otsu both never have to look at a Dunlop tyre again.
Servus meanwhile may be without its most prolific partner, but it still runs the Team UpGarage NSX in the GT300 class, while providing engineering support to Team Kunimitsu.
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