Reigning champ Ito signs with Team LeMans for a surprise! Takes the wheel in a SC430 for '08 season!!
15 January 2008
Team LeMans announced its team structure for '08. Competing with Ito/Wirdheim duo.
On January 10th, one of the top contending SC430 team in SUPER GT, Team LeMans, released a statement announcing its team organization for 2008 season. Catching everybody on a surprise, the statement revealed that the defending GT500 champion Daisuke Ito who drove ARTA NSX last season will be joining the team this season.
According to the release, Team LeMans has invited Daisuke Ito to complete the driver's line-up beside Bjorng Wirdheim, who will continue to drive for the team from last year, to compete in '08 SUPER GT season. Although which machine the team will be fielding on the track was not indicated in the statement, it's not too much to say that LEXUS SC430 will be the car for the team as in '07 season. By having the reigning GT500 champion Daisuke Ito who knows NSX inside out joining the SC430 camp, the competitive picture of three works machines may see a drastic change from '07 season. What may be more interesting to see is that how Ito will prove himself in Toyota with the two big names, Juichi Wakisaka and Yuji Tachikawa.
Daisuke Ito is 32 years old and was born in Tokyo but raised in Mie where Suzuka Circuit is located. He was attracted to racing from early stage of his life, and, after experiencing kart, he learned racing at the Suzuka Circuit Racing School. He became the first Japanese to finish in overall top 3 at the international F3 race Macao GP in 1998. In 1999, he competed in GT300 class of the JGTC (currently SUPER GT). After passing the audition of NAKAJIMA RACING, he became a NSX driver in the GT500 class. Since then, he drove for a number of key NSX teams and established his place in the top SUPER GT drivers' gang scoring a record-tying 9 wins in 7 seasons up to 2007. He was also a development driver of SUPER GT spec Honda NSX. He won three races on the ARTA NSX in 2007 and captured the first GT500 driver and team title for himself as well as for ARTA.
