Kazuki Nakajima, an ex-Formula 1 driver and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, takes part in the historic car race behind the wheel of a Toyota sports prototype driven by his father in the mid-1980s.
Satoru Nakajima was a member of Toyota’s first-ever endurance racing program in 1985, competing at the start of Le Mans at the wheel of the 85C, a sports prototype built to Group C specifications, the most powerful class at the time. This was before Satoru became the first Japanese driver to score points in Formula 1.
His eldest son Kazuki followed in his father’s footsteps in 2008-2009. spent two seasons in Formula 1 with Williams, then moved on to endurance racing and won the Le Mans Marathon three times with the Toyota factory team (in 2018, 2019 and 2020), as well as becoming a two-time WEC Champion.
He is now vice president of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, one of the leaders of the Japanese company’s motorsport programs, and will start the traditional Le Mans Classic competition on July 2. He will drive the 500 hp Toyota 85C in which his father took 12th place at Le Mans 37 years ago.
This historic prototype is now in a private collection, but has competed in the Le Mans Classic in previous years. Kazuki’s teammate is Masanori Sekiya, a Japanese motorsport veteran who shared a crew with Satoru Nakajima and Kaoru Hoshino in 1985.
They will spend a 60 minute race with other participants who will also drive equally unique cars – Porsche 962, Jaguar XJR-9 and Peugeot 905.
Kazuki Nakajima: “It is a great honor for me to drive the Toyota 85C, which holds a special place in the history of Toyota and my family. I was born a few months before my dad drove this car, so I was too young to see it on the track, but I’ve heard a lot about it.
The era when Group C cars entered endurance racing was legendary and I have always dreamed of driving such a sports prototype, so I would like to thank the owner and Toyota Gazoo Racing for this incredible opportunity.
Although I know the Sarte circuit very well after ten Le Mans, driving an old-school car I have to rediscover this circuit for myself and I’m already looking forward to it. It is a great privilege to have Masanori Sekiya (who won Le Mans in 1995) my teammate and I am sure I can learn a lot from him.”
Source: F1 News
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