Kyojo Cup auditions begin as Toyota announces 2026 Japanese Motorsports Programme
- MARCO ALBERTINI
- 1 minute ago
- 2 min read
One month after the 2025 finale, Kyojo Cup has begun holding their auditions at Fuji Speedway ahead of next year, as Toyota reveals its 2026 Japanese Motorsports Programme, detailing its Kyojo Cup and GT300 lineups among others.
With 2026 just around the corner and racing being on hold for the rest of the year, Kyojo Cup's auditions for drivers aiming to participate full time next year have just begun. The auditions will be held at the Fuji Speedway Short Course (without chicane) on December 23rd using the series' KC-MG 01 car.
Each car will be driven by two drivers, who will take 20-minute turns throughout the day, as on-track time will begin at 8:30am and end at 4pm local. At the time of writing, each driver has already begun driving the car on the Zenkai-provided simulators at Fuji, along with taking instructions on how to drive the car and performing seat fits.
Seven drivers so far have been confirmed to be at the auditions. F1 Academy rookie Joanne Ciconte, Indian F4 driver Paige Raddatz, Kyojo Cup veteran Rina Ito, Fuji Champion Series podium scorer Jure Portelli, touring car racer and SKILLDRVN One Make Series champion Yin Yi Loke, along with Williams Racing Driver Academy member Sara Matsui and karting star Ella Lähdemaa are the drivers confirmed so far.
Also present at Fuji is Hana Burton, who will keep a close eye on Portelli, who drove for Burton's Circuit Orange Racing in the Fuji Champion Series. Burton was also confirmed to be on next year's Kyojo Cup grid, as Toyota announced its 2026 Japanese Motorsports Programme, returning to TOM'S alongside Aimi Saito.
The other Toyota-supported seats will remain the same as this year. KCMG retains Rami Sasaki and Miki Onaga, as Cerumo/INGING will keep Kokoro Sato and Riona Tomishita. Itsumo Shiraishi and Mako Hirakawa will return to AiWin and Rookie Racing respectively, while reigning Kyojo Cup champion Rio Shimono will remain with Dr.Dry/Impul.
Meanwhile, Kyojo Cup and FR Japan champion Miki Koyama will return to apr in Super GT for her second full-time season in GT300 alongside Kazuto Kotaka and Charlie Wurz as well as retaining as her status as a TGR-DC driver for the third year in a row.