Gloucestershire's Zak O'Sullivan makes promising start to sportscar career in Japanese Super GT

Zak O’Sullivan on track for CarGuy MKS Racing in the Japanese Super GT championship.

Gloucestershire’s Zak O’Sullivan made a promising start to his sportscar career on his Super GT debut at Okayama, with his pace ultimately going unrewarded in tricky conditions.

Zak, from Withington, near Cheltenham, is running a dual racing campaign in Japan in 2025, dovetailing his commitments in Super GT – Asia’s premier sportscar racing series – with its top single-seater championship Super Formula.

The 20-year-old underwent a baptism of fire at the season opener, held at the former home of the 1990s Pacific Grand Prix where both races were won by his racing idol, Michael Schumacher.

As well as his first outing at the circuit and in Super GT, it was also a maiden appearance for Zak’s CarGuy MKS Racing team, pairing with Rikuto Kobayashi in a Ferrari 296 GT3.

Zak O’Sullivan made a promising start to his Super GT career with CarGuy MKS Racing at Okayama.

The meeting started promisingly with Zak and Rikuto qualifying 11th in a 28-strong GT300 field, despite Zak having to catch a wild moment at the penultimate corner when he lost the rear and dipped a wheel in the gravel.

The race started on a very wet track and running was punctuated by several safety car periods and a red flag. However, conditions started to improve and the #7 Ferrari was in contention for points throughout much of the 82-lap encounter.

However, a maiden score wasn’t to be as Zak was handed a penalty for contact with another car and dropped to 17th in the final standings, two places outside the points.

Zak said: “It was a really interesting weekend and we showed some really promising pace throughout. While I had the recent test at Fuji to get used to the car, the first practice session was the first time I’d driven the circuit – and the first laps in the series for my new team.

“Qualifying in the dry went well, then the race threw up all sorts of challenges for us, first in the very wet conditions at the start then the slippery ‘in-between’ conditions and eventually in the dry.

“It was an unfortunate way to end the race with a penalty, but I think we did a good job for our first time out and I already feel comfortable in the car.”

There’s little time to recharge the batteries for Zak as he heads straight to Motegi this weekend (April 19-20) for the second round of the Super Formula championship.

“Okayama was the first time I’ve raced with a roof over my head since Ginetta Juniors in 2019, so I’ll be back in more familiar surroundings this weekend,” added Zak.

Super GT and Super Formula are both available to watch in the UK on Motorsport TV, both live and on catch-up.

For more information on Zak, visit www.zakosullivan.com or follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/zak.osullivan.