Satoshi Hoshino announces retirement of LM24

On the eve of the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, D’station Racing owner/driver Satoshi Hoshino announced that this would be his last start in the Endurance Grand Prix.

Hoshino (no relation to Kazuyoshi or Kazuki) made his first start at Le Mans in 2019 with Proton-Dempsey Racing, but Hoshino struggled to gain confidence and ultimately retired from the race after a collision with Marcel Fässler’s Corvette.

But since returning to racing in 2021, Hoshino has demonstrated form closer to his track record as one of the top ‘Bronzes’ in the Japanese national competition.

The 1983 Japanese fencing champion and CEO of holding company NEXUS (which owns the D’station pachinko hall chain) won two Porsche Carrera Cup Japan Gentleman Class titles in 2012 and 2016, the Super Taikyu Series class ST-X (GT3). title in 2021 and finished second in the inaugural SRO Japan Cup in 2022.

With his driving coach and team managing director Tomonobu Fujii often driving alongside him, Hoshino has also been a regular presence in the Asian Le Mans Series since 2019 and in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2021 to 2023.

During this period, D’station Racing has become one of Japan’s most powerful privateer teams – giving the latest two iterations of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3s their first victories in global competition, and also racing at the highest levels of racing of international sports cars. – a growth that seems to continue year after year.

Hoshino has only taken the checkered flag at Le Mans once in four attempts: in 2021, he finished sixth in GTE Am, with Fujii and Andrew Watson. He has another chance to come away with at least a podium today, starting sixth in LMGT3 with co-drivers Marco Sørensen and Erwan Bastard.

DSC wishes Hoshino-san the best in her future endeavors.