Le Mans winners Team Goh to enter two cars in Super Formula

Team owner Kazumichi Goh described the programme as the squad's "proper return for the first time since 2004", when it triumphed at Le Mans with an Audi R8 LMP1 driven by Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello and Seiji Ara.

He distinguished his latest project with previous campaigns including his name, which he explained were "not 100% Team Goh".

"This time we are serious," he told Autosport. "It will be a multi-year programme and I have some other ideas that I cannot talk about yet."

The team will field a pair of Honda-powered Dallara SF19s for Ren Sato and Atsushi Miyake, who are both graduating to the premier Japanese single-seater championship from the Super Formula Lights feeder series.

The cars will be run by the Goh squad's sister operation, Servus Japan, which was created out of Le Mans-winning team after 2004 as a service provider for other entrants.

Rinaldo Capello / Tom Kristensen / Seiji Ara, Audi Sport Japan Team Goh, Audi R8 takes the chequered flag for victory at the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Goh explained that he was motivated to restart the team in order help young drivers to accelerate their careers internationally.

"One of the purposes of setting up a new team in Super Formula is to become a kind of development team," he said.

"Even though Super Formula is a top category, we hope we can help young drivers climb to a higher level of racing internationally."

He suggested that IndyCar teams were now looking to Super Formula for future drivers after the championship success in 2021 of Alex Palou, who Goh backed in his first year in the American single-seater series in 2020 at Dale Coyne Racing.

"A lot more people have an eye on the young drivers in Super Formula now after what Alex did