All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship

All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the Zen Nihon GT Senshuken (全日本GT選手権), generally referred to as either the JGTC the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car racing in Japan.

All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
CategoryGran Turismo
CountryJapan
Inaugural season1993
Folded2004
Last Drivers' championGT500:
Japan Satoshi Motoyama
United Kingdom Richard Lyons
GT300:
Japan Tetsuya Yamano
Japan Hiroyuki Yagi
Last Makes' championGT500: Nissan
GT300: Honda
Last Teams' championGT500: Nismo Xanavi/Motul Pitwork
GT300: M-TEC
Official websiteSuper GT.net

The series was sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ran by the GT Association (GTA). Autobacs has served as the title sponsor of the series since 1998.

History

The JGTC (Japanese Grand Touring Championship)[1] was established in 1993[2][3] by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) via its subsidiary company the GTA (GT Association), replacing the defunct All Japan Sports Prototype Championship for Group C cars and the Japanese Touring Car Championship for Group A touring cars, which instead would adopt the supertouring formula. Seeking to prevent the spiraling budgets and one-team/make domination of both series, JGTC imposed strict limits on power, and heavy weight penalties on race winners in an openly stated objective to keep on-track action close with an emphasis on keeping fans happy.

2003 Xanavi nismo GT-R (R34).

In its first season, the JGTC grid mostly consisted of Japan Super Sport Sedan cars, with the only genuine JGTC cars being a Nismo-entered Nissan Skyline GT-R and Nissan Silvia S13, of which the GT-R was a modified AWD Group A car. An exception was the first race of the season, which was also an exhibition race of the IMSA GT Championship, and therefore saw a contingent of GTS and GTU cars from the American series join the field. The 1000 km Suzuka also saw a greater variety of competitors, with Group C prototypes, Group N touring cars, and GT cars from Europe and IMSA all joining the field.

For the following season, the series would undergo a rules overhaul, creating a class for the FIA's GT1 category, and another for the GT2 category. The JSS series would altogether dissolve into the latter category. What made the series more significant was that compared to other racing series, JGTC teams at the time had the freedom to enter whichever cars they preferred, even if it was the JSS cars from the inaugural season or spaceframe racers from the IMSA GTS class. However, the Group C prototypes, whilst easily showing dominant form, were banned from the series from the 1995 season onwards.

By the end of the 1995 season, as the cost of obtaining and running a GT1 car had dramatically increased, the JGTC would go through another rules overhaul in order to lower costs and avoid the fate of the JSPC series it had replaced. The newly formed GT500 and GT300 regulations were adopted, which capped cars with air restrictors depending on their weight and power. While the regulations would continuously evolve, the GT500 and GT300 classes continue to form the top level of Japanese sports car racing today.

The cars

The cars are divided into two groups; GT300 and GT500. The names of the categories derive from their traditional maximum horsepower limit - in the early years of the series, GT500 cars would have no more than 500 horsepower while GT300 cars would max out at around 300 hp and have far less downforce than their GT500 counterparts. While the current generation of engines in GT500 and GT300 cars produced a power output in excess of the traditional limit, the limit stayed in place throughout the entirety of the JGTC era.

In both groups, the car number is assigned to the team, in which each team is allowed to choose whichever number they want as long as the number isn't already used by any other team. The number assigned to each team is permanent, and may only change hands when the team exits the series. In addition, only defending team champions in GT500 are allowed to use number 1, although it isn't mandatory for defending champions to use those number.

For easy identification, GT500 cars run white headlight covers, windshield decals, and number panels, while GT300 cars run yellow versions of those items.

GT500

Make
Nissan Skyline GT-R350Z
300ZX
Toyota Supra
Honda NSX
McLaren F1 GTRF1 GTR
Porsche 911 GT2
Lamborghini Diablo
Murciélago
Ferrari F40550 GTS
BMW M3
Dodge Viper
RGS GT1
Mercedes-Benz CLK
Vemac 350R408R

GT300

Make Car Category Years competed Image Note
ASL ASL ARTA Garaiya JAF-GT 2003–2004
BMW BMW 318i Coupe JAF-GT 1996–1997
BMW M3 JAF-GT 1996 (E30 generation)
1996–1999 (E36 generation)
2002–2003 (E46 generation)
Chevrolet Chevrolet Corvette C4 JAF-GT 2002
Dodge Dodge Viper FIA GT2 2000–2002 (first generation)
2003 (second generation)
Initially competed as a detuned GT500 car
Ferrari Ferrari F355 JAF-GT 1997–2000
Ferrari 360 JAF-GT 2001–2004
Honda Honda NSX JAF-GT 1998, 2001–2004 From 2001–2002, Verno Tokai Dream28 raced with a detuned 1999-spec Honda NSX GT500 car
M-Tec raced a detuned 2003-spec Honda NSX GT500 car in 2004
Mazda Mazda RX-7 JAF-GT 1996–1997 (FC3S generation)
1996–2004 (FD3S generation)
Mazda Roadster JAF-GT 1997–1998
Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Mirage C53A JAF-GT 1996 Entered by a privateer
Mitsubishi FTO JAF-GT 1998–1999 Front-wheel drive
Mosler Mosler MT900 JAF-GT 2001–2004
Nissan Nissan Silvia JAF-GT 1996–1997 (S13 generation)
1996–1999 (S14 generation)
1999–2004 (S15 generation)
Nissan Skyline JAF-GT 1996–1998 (R31 generation)
1996–1999 (R32 generation)
Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) JAF-GT 2003–2004
Porsche Porsche 911 GT2 FIA GT2
JAF-GT
1996–2001
Porsche 911 GT3 FIA GT3
JAF-GT
1999–2004 Introduced by Team Taisan on Rd. 5 of the 1999 season
Porsche Boxster JAF-GT 2000
Porsche 968 JAF-GT 2004 Built by Arktech Motorsports
Renault Renault Sport Spider JAF-GT 1997 Entered by a privateer
RGS RGS Mirage GT-1 FIA GT1 2003 Lamborghini Countach kit car powered by a Chevrolet LS1 engine; the same car that ran in GT500 in 2000
Toyota Toyota MR2 JAF-GT 1996–1999
Toyota Cavalier JAF-GT 1997–1998
Toyota Celica JAF-GT 1998–2000 (first generation)
2003–2004 (second generation)
Second generation car was introduced by Racing Project Bandoh on Rd. 3 of the 2003 season
Toyota AE86 JAF-GT 1999–2001
Toyota Corolla (AE101) JAF-GT 2000
Toyota MR-S JAF-GT 2000–2004
Subaru Subaru Impreza WRX STi JAF-GT 1997–2001 (first generation)
2002–2004 (second generation)
Second generation car is a four-door sedan
Vemac Vemac RD320R JAF-GT 2002–2004

Controversies

1998 JGTC Fuji incident

Japanese driver Tetsuya Ota is notable for surviving a fiery multi-car pileup he was involved in during a JGTC race at Fuji Speedway on May 3, 1998. The accident was initially caused by an oversaturated track. Ota then aquaplaned and left the track which put him directly into an already crashed Porsche. At the time of the accident, the Ferrari Ota was driving had a full cell of fuel which was ignited by the impact. Ota was severely injured due to third-degree burns on a good percentage of his body which may have been prevented if JGTC, at the time, had sufficient emergency response. Ota filed a lawsuit against the racing club plus organizers for negligence and won the sum of ¥90 million (US$800,000).

Death of Shingo Tachi

Although there are presently no fatalities during a JGTC or Super GT race meeting, Shingo Tachi, the 1998 GT300 champion, was killed during a testing accident in TI Circuit Aida on March 11, 1999. Tachi's GT500 Toyota Supra, belonging to Team LeMans, suffered a technical failure and was unable to slow down for the first corner; Tachi crashed into the tyre wall at unabated speed, suffering massive chest injuries from the steering wheel and was pronounced dead an hour later.[4]

Champions

Masahiko Kageyama and Morio Nitta are tied for the record of most drivers championship won in GT1/GT300 class with three. Masahiko Kageyama was the first driver to win multiple championship as well as the sport's first two-time and three-time champion, all of them won consecutively.

Season Category Drivers' Championship Teams' Championship
Driver(s) Car Team Car
1993 GT Japan Masahiko Kageyama Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 not awarded
1994 GT1 Japan Masahiko Kageyama Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 Calsonic Hoshino Racing Nissan Skyline GT-R R32
GT2 Japan Sakae Obata Porsche 964 Carrera RS Kegani Racing Porsche 964 Carrera RS
1995 GT1 Japan Masahiko Kageyama Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 Team Taisan Porsche 911 GT2
GT2 Japan Kaoru Hoshino
Japan Yoshimi Ishibashi
Nissan Skyline GTS-R Team Gaikokuya Nissan Skyline GTS-R
1996 GT500 Australia David Brabham
Denmark John Nielsen
McLaren F1 GTR-BMW Team Lark McLaren F1 GTR-BMW
GT300 Japan Keiichi Suzuki
Japan Morio Nitta
Porsche Carrera RSR Team Taisan Jr. Porsche 964 Carrera RSR
1997 GT500 Spain Pedro de la Rosa
Germany Michael Krumm
Toyota Supra Toyota Castrol Team TOM'S Toyota Supra
GT300 Japan Hideo Fukuyama
Japan Manabu Orido
Nissan Silvia S14 RS-R Racing Team with Bandoh Nissan Silvia S14
1998 GT500 France Érik Comas
Japan Masami Kageyama
Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 Pennzoil NISMO Nissan Skyline GT-R R33
GT300 Japan Keiichi Suzuki
Japan Shingo Tachi
Toyota MR2 Team Taisan Jr. with Tsuchiya Toyota MR2
1999 GT500 France Érik Comas Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 Toyota Castrol Team TOM'S Toyota Supra
GT300 Japan Morio Nitta Toyota MR2 Momocorse Racing with Tsuchiya Toyota MR2
2000 GT500 Japan Ryo Michigami Honda NSX Mugen × Dome Project Honda NSX
GT300 Japan Hideo Fukuyama Porsche 996 GT3R Team Taisan Advan Porsche 996 GT3R
2001 GT500 Japan Hironori Takeuchi
Japan Yuji Tachikawa
Toyota Supra Nismo Hiroto/Xanavi Nissan Skyline GT-R R34
GT300 Japan Nobuyuki Oyagi
Japan Takayuki Aoki
Nissan Silvia S15 Team Taisan Advan Porsche 911 GT3R
2002 GT500 Japan Juichi Wakisaka
Japan Akira Iida
Toyota Supra Mugen × Dome Project Honda NSX
GT300 Japan Morio Nitta
Japan Shinichi Takagi
Toyota MR-S Team Taisan Advan Porsche 911 GT3R
2003 GT500 Japan Satoshi Motoyama
Germany Michael Krumm
Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 Xanavi Nismo Nissan Skyline GT-R R34
GT300 Japan Mitsuhiro Kinoshita
Japan Masataka Yanagida
Nissan Fairlady Z Z33 Team Taisan Advan Chrysler Viper GTS-R
Porsche 911 GT3R
2004 GT500 Japan Satoshi Motoyama
United Kingdom Richard Lyons
Nissan Fairlady Z Z33 Nismo Xanavi/Motul Pitwork Nissan Fairlady Z Z33
GT300 Japan Tetsuya Yamano
Japan Hiroyuki Yagi
Honda NSX M-TEC Honda NSX

References

  1. "JGTC - Japan GT (Grand Touring) Championship". www.japanesesportcars.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  2. "History of JGTC". IMCA Slot Racing.
  3. "JGTC 1993 Season". WSPR Racing.
  4. O'Connell, R.J. "Remembering Shingo Tachi, 20 Years Later". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
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