Autosport Top 50 of 2024: #40 Tadasuke Makino

Tadasuke Makino breaking down in tears upon scoring his first victory at Autopolis should rank as one of many moments of the Tremendous Method season.

The Dandelion Racing driver used that breakthrough to mount a severe title problem, choosing up a second win at Motegi and rising as Sho Tsuboi’s closest rival as he saved the title struggle alive – barely – till the ultimate race.

In Tremendous GT, Makino proved his class once more by main Workforce Kunimitsu to the runner-up spot within the standings within the radical new Honda Civic Sort R-GT’s first yr, usually eclipsing his extra skilled team-mate Naoki Yamamoto. 

Dandelion boss Kiyoshi Muraoka on Makino’s breakthrough season 

Ever since he arrived in Tremendous Method in 2019 after his one and solely season in Method 2 the yr prior, Makino has needed to watch his team-mates get pleasure from success whereas questioning if his flip would ever come. 

First it was Alex Palou at Nakajima Racing in his rookie season, then Toshiki Oyu the next yr with the identical crew. In 2021, as Makino moved to Dandelion Racing, Nirei Fukuzumi took his first victories. After which, final yr, maybe most gallingly of all, then-rookie Kakunoshin Ota additionally beat Makino to the punch of a primary win. 

Fortunately for Makino, from the second half of 2023, Dandelion returned to being a pressure to be reckoned with on the entrance of the Tremendous Method subject, and so it felt like solely a matter of time earlier than the curse would lastly be lifted as that sturdy type carried over into the beginning of 2024. 

Dandelion crew principal Kiyoshi Muraoka credited Makino with Dandelion’s emergence from the doldrums final yr, and this yr he has been equally impressed along with his de facto lead driver’s resolute dedication and laser-like focus. 

“When he has a goal in thoughts, he positively by no means offers up,” says Muraoka. “Even when issues are usually not going properly, he by no means loses sight of the aim. He’s very acutely aware of the method he must comply with and what he has to do to succeed in the goal.” 

Makino himself acknowledges that the breakthrough win at Autopolis, when it did lastly arrive, allowed him to vary his mindset. Having acquired that monkey off his again, he was in a position to reset his give attention to the very totally different enterprise of going about assembling a title problem. 

From that time onwards, Makino was by no means exterior of the highest 5 once more, till the very remaining race of the yr when a bet on set-up in a bid to maintain his title hopes alive went awry. 

“It took him a very long time to get the primary win,” admits Muraoka. “At the moment, I don’t suppose many individuals regarded him as a severe menace for the title, however he set himself that new goal, and he adopted the method with dedication. 

“He’s positively change into extra relaxed, he’s calmed down, and the goal shifted to combating for the championship. I believe the actual fact he acquired the win early within the season was vital.” 

The 2020 Tremendous GT champion now has the right springboard to launch a Tremendous Method title problem in 2025

Picture by: Masahide Kamio