Miyata is expected to embark on a full campaign in the 2024 WEC as part of an anticipated factory-backed Lexus effort in the new LMGT3 class that will replace GTE Am.
It is not yet clear which operation will run the programme, but the Toyota-owned Lexus brand has been linked with an entry with the RC F GT3 that claimed the IMSA SportsCar Championship's GTD Pro class title this year.
Miyata, who heads AlphaTauri Formula 1 stand-in Liam Lawson by eight points with two races at Suzuka remaining in Super Formula, is expected to combine a WEC programme with another season in Super Formula with Toyota’s flagship TOM’S squad.
This is facilitated by a lack of date conflicts between the two championships, which has allowed Toyota WEC drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Ryo Hirakawa to dovetail their own Super Formula programmes this year.
But two calendar clashes between the WEC and Super GT means there is no room in Miyata’s schedule to remain in Super GT, which the 24-year-old Japanese driver and TOM’S team-mate Sho Tsuboi lead by seven points with one race to go.
That means next month’s Motegi season finale is set to be Miyata’s last in Super GT for the foreseeable future.
It comes after Miyata was unveiled as an official WEC Challenge driver by Toyota at the start of the year, which is likely to be a precursor to an eventual spot on the Japanese marque’s Hypercar roster.
He was also able to make his WEC race debut last month at Fuji driving a Ferrari 488 GTE for the CarGuy-backed Kessel Racing squad, and finished third after being drafted in as a late replacement for Davide Rigon.
Miyata’s Super GT exit leaves a major hole in the #36 TOM’S line-up for the 2024 season alongside Tsuboi, who is set for his fourth different team-mate in as many years since joining the team.
Current Rookie Racing Toyota driver Kenta Yamashita is understood to be the leading candidate to fill the gap.
Yamashita, who won the 2019 GT500 title alongside current team-mate Kazuya Oshima, is no stranger to TOM’S, having raced for the team in Japanese Formula 3 in 2014-16. He also made two GT500 outings in the #37 TOM’S car at the end of the 2020 season alongside Hirakawa, replacing Nick Cassidy.
It's unclear who would replace Yamashita alongside Oshima at Rookie Racing at this stage, but paddock speculation suggests that Toyota is eyeing signing a driver from a rival manufacturer instead of gambling on a rookie.
There could still be room on the Toyota roster for a GT500 newcomer in 2024 however with Yuji Tachikawa’s forthcoming retirement opening up a seat at the Cerumo team.
Sena Sakaguchi has been linked to the Cerumo seat alongside Hiroaki Ishiura, although there is also still a possibility that he will remain with Racing Project Bandoh depending on other driver market movements.
