If anyone knows the highs, lows, trials and tribulations of endurance racing, it’s Kazuki Nakajima. He won three Le Mans 24 Hour races in a row behind the wheel of a Toyota hybrid – but only after infamously being aboard the leading car of the 2016 race as it ground to a halt with mechanical failure on its final lap.
Who better, then – after his recent retirement from driving duties – to lead Gazoo Racing’s efforts as endurance racing morphs into its new ‘Hypercar’ era? Aged 37, he may seem young to hold a title as esteemed as vice-chairman of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, but as we sat down with him at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, it’s clear he’s a very neat fit for the role.
Congratulations on your new role. What brought about the move?
“I would say it’s a role that was kind of presented to me. Which was actually a big surprise. Before it was offered, I could only think of continuing my career driving in Japan, but thanks to this new role, I basically get to focus more on the younger generation of drivers and future of racing itself. We are in challenging circumstances with all the new technology coming and all the new regulations changing for carbon-neutrality, so the motorsport environment is not straightforward.
“To challenge these circumstances is something that is very exciting. There is lots of new technology coming and the challenge is how we utilise it for motorsport. Even without driving the car, racing is still exciting to me.”
Is the addition of more technology something that excites you?
“Technology is something we always welcome as race car drivers. And Le Mans is very good for demonstrating and developing new and different technology. There were years when diesel led, then we introduced hybrid and it dominated the last 10 years and is now spreading to other categories like World Rally.