Hiroki Yoshimoto takes Michel Nykjaer's World Touring Car seat
Hiroki Yoshimoto will replace Michel Nykjaer in Nika Racing's Chevrolet Cruze for the World Touring Car Championship's visits to Suzuka and Macau
The Swedish team announced it would part with Nykjaer - who has scored three wins this year and lies third in the drivers' championship - in the build up to this weekend's Suzuka round.
The 33-year-old Japanese driver has already made occasional appearances in the WTCC, having driven a SUNRED SEAT in each of the past two seasons at Suzuka.
GP2 podium finisher Yoshimoto, who leads the ST3 class of this year's Super Taikyu series, will miss the Shanghai WTCC round before returning for the Macau finale.
"We are obviously disappointed not to be able to complete the season with Michel, but we've already achieved great things together this season, which was meant to be a pure learning year," Nika team manager Nicklas Karlsson said.
Series regular Franz Engstler has meanwhile been forced to withdraw from Suzuka due to illness.
His eponymous team has drafted in Masaki Kano for the Japanese round, with Engstler expected to return at Shanghai in November.
Kano, 37, has never missed a WTCC event in Japan, and has contested his home race with the Engstler squad since 2008.
Previous article
Lada eyes third car in 2014 World Touring Car Championship expansion
Next article
Munnich could quit World Touring Car Championship after 2013
Why joker laps are entering the mainstream
This season the World Touring Car Championship looks certain to bring joker laps to a circuit-racing world championship for the first time. And it need not be the daft gimmick people may think
The making of the world's best tin-top driver
He has been overshadowed at Citroen for the last three seasons, but the retirement of Yvan Muller means the world says farewell to one of touring-car racing's finest talents
Volvo's plan to conquer the WTCC
Volvo gave the World Touring Car Championship a major boost when it announced it would enter the series, but its ambitions don't stop there. JACK COZENS examines its programme, the S60 and what its arrival means for the WTCC
The WTCC's Nordschleife gamble paid off
A 17-car field on a 13-mile track - the WTCC's Nurburgring Nordschleife gamble wasn't going to be easy to pull off. STUART CODLING explains how the series made it work
Insight from a Nordschleife master
World championship racing returns to the Nordschleife this weekend. STUART CODLING got a lesson from one of the legendary track's few masters
Becoming world champion for £100k
The 2012 World Touring Car champion says he never had the money to race cars. Yet 2015 is his 11th season in the WTCC. He talks STUART CODLING through his journey from motorsport fan to paid professional - for little more than £100,000
Can the vanquished champion bounce back?
The World Touring Car Championship kicks off in Argentina this weekend, and Yvan Muller bids to reclaim his throne from Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez. He talks to STUART CODLING
The top 10 WTCC drivers of 2014
Citroen had no rivals during the 2014 World Touring Car Championship, and 'rookie' Jose Maria Lopez hit the ground running to emerge as a worthy champion. PETER MILLS rates the field
