Fraga lands SUPER GT drive in Gran Turismo-backed Lexus

Fraga will share Arnage's Yokohama-shod #50 Lexus with fellow youngster Yuga Furutani, while Formula Regional Japanese champion and Toyota junior Miki Koyama also joins the line-up as third driver.

Arnage switches to using Lexus GT3 machinery after selling its previous Toyota 86 Mother Chassis car to Team Mach. It marks the third different model the team has used in three seasons.

As well as earning title backing from Anest Iwata, a Yokohama-based heavy manufacturing company, the squad has also entered into a tie-up with Polyphony Digital, the creators of the popular Gran Turismo series of video games.

Fraga will be making his SUPER GT debut, having moved to Japan last year in a bid to revitalise his stalled real-world career.

He tested both Super Formula and Super Formula Lights machinery late last year, and had been actively targeting a seat in the latter category with B-Max Racing.

Furutani raced in Super Formula Lights for TOM'S last season following his Formula Regional Japan title triumph in 2021, but it remains unclear if he'll stay in the Super Formula feeder for a second year.

Incidentally, both Furutani and Koyama tested for TOM'S in last year's Super Formula Lights post-season test at Suzuka alongside Vlad Lomko, who has since signed up to race in the European Le Mans Series for Cool Racing.

TOM'S then ran Enzo Trulli, son of ex-Formula 1 racer Jarno, in a separate test at Fuji Speedway in mid-January.

The Arnage Lexus was one of 15 GT300 cars assembled for the start of a two-day test at Fuji on Tuesday.

Team LeMans (Audi R8 LMS GT3), Shade Racing (Toyota GR86 GT) and JLOC (Lamborghini Huracan GT3) were all present with a single car each but have yet to officially announce their plans for the upcoming season.

Roberto Merhi and Yoshiaki Katayama were in action for Team LeMans, Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Eijiro Shimizu were present for Shade Racing, while Yuya Motojima and Takashi Kogure shared JLOC's #88 Lamborghini.