The Honda NSX GT3 will return to the Fanatec GT grid in 2023 thanks to Italian squad Nova Race, which plans to run a two-car programme in the Sprint Cup.
Led by owner Luca Magnoni and team principal Christian Pescatori, the Varese-based outfit has already enjoyed success with the NSX in the Italian GT Championship. In 2023 it will move up to the Fanatec GT Sprint Cup with entries comprising Jacopo Guidetti and Leo Moncini in one car, and Diego Di Fabio and Erwin Zanotti in the sister machine.
While all four drivers are series newcomers they have previously driven for Nova Race and know the Honda well. Indeed, the duo of Guidetti and Moncini represented the squad in last year's Italian GT Championship, earning the Sprint title and finishing third in the Endurance series.
Di Fabio is the reigning Italian GT Endurance champion in the Am class, a feat he achieved alongside team owner Magnoni, and has also enjoyed success in GT4 machinery. Zanotti, meanwhile, returns to Nova Race having represented the team in 2021 before joining Kessel Racing for last year's Italian GT Championship.
"We're aware this will be a difficult journey," said Pescatori, himself a former racer with a history in SRO competition. "We'll take it on with a lot of humility, but above all poised to give all we have to prove we belong.
"I am really keen that we have onboard four very young Italian drivers who will be in their maiden Fanatec GT season after proving their worth in our cars in the national series. Therefore, I'm very pleased to give them and all of us this opportunity to make our mark in the most important GT3 championship in Europe."
The entry marks what is sure to be a popular return for the NSX. The Japanese car has never competed in the Fanatec GT Sprint Cup, while its most recent Endurance Cup appearance was a ninth-place finish at the 2020 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
The 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season will begin with the traditional test days at Circuit Paul Ricard on 7-8 March. The Sprint Cup launches at Brands Hatch on 13-14 May, followed by rounds at Misano (14-16 July), Hockenheim (3-9 September), Valencia (15-17 September) and finally Zandvoort (13-15 October).
