1999 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship

The 1999 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship was the seventh season of Japan Automobile Federation GT premiere racing. It was marked as well as the seventeenth season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The GT500 class champion of that season was the Pennzoil Nismo GT-R driven by Érik Comas and Satoshi Motoyama and the GT300 class champion was the MOMOCORSE A'PEX MR2 driven by Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi. Both Comas and Nitta won their respective driver's title on their own since Motoyama and Takagi missed a round each; Motoyama skipped the second round at Fuji because he was participating in the pre-qualifying session of that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans while Takagi missed the first round at Suzuka because he was in the United States on a bid to find a seat in Indy Lights.[1]

The season was marred by the death of reigning GT300 Champion, Shingo Tachi, in a pre-season testing crash at TI Circuit Aida on March 11, 1999. Tachi was to drive the number 6 Esso Toyota Supra for Toyota Team LeMans.[2] Kunimitsu Takahashi retired from his racing career at the end of the season at aged 59.

Drivers and teams edit

GT500 edit

Team Make Car Engine No. Drivers Tyre Rounds
Pennzoil Nismo GT-R Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 1   Érik Comas B All
  Satoshi Motoyama 1, 3–7, NC
  Anders Olofsson 2
ARTA Zexel Skyline/Nismo Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 2   Aguri Suzuki All
  Michael Krumm 1, 3–7, NC
  Armin Hahne 2
Hasemi Motorsport Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33) Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 3   Masahiro Hasemi B All
  Tetsuya Tanaka All
Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 6   Wayne Gardner B 2–7, NC
  Hideki Noda 2–7, NC
Endless Sports Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33) Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 11   Takao Wada B 1–3, 5
  Mitsuhiro Kinoshita 1–3, 5
Calsonic Team Impul Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 12   Kazuyoshi Hoshino B All
  Masami Kageyama All
Castrol Mugen NSX/Mugen x Dome Project Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 16   Ryo Michigami B All
  Osamu Nakako All
Takata Dome NSX/Mugen x Dome Project Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 18   Katsutomo Kaneishi All
  Juichi Wakisaka All
Team Take One McLaren McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12 30   Hideki Okada B All
  Yoji Yamada All
Toyota Team Cerumo Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 32   Masahiko Kondo B All
  Takayuki Kinoshita All
38   Yuji Tachikawa All
  Hironori Takeuchi All
Toyota Team TOM'S Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 35   Shinichi Yamaji M All
  Pierre-Henri Raphanel All
36   Masanori Sekiya All
  Takuya Kurosawa All
37   Toshio Suzuki All
  Ukyo Katayama 1, 3–7, NC
  Darren Manning 2
Denso Toyota Team SARD Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 39   Keiichi Tsuchiya Y All
  Masahiko Kageyama All
Team Taisan Advan Dodge Dodge Viper GTS-R Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 55   Eiichi Tajima Y 1–2, 4, NC
  Hideshi Matsuda 1–2, 4
  Dominik Schwager 3
  Yasuyuki Honjo NC
Mobil 1 Nakajima Racing Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 64   Tom Coronel B All
  Koji Yamanishi 1–4
  Hidetoshi Mitsusada 5–7, NC
JLOC Lamborghini Lamborghini Diablo GT-1 Lamborghini L532 6.0 L V12 88   Naohiro Furuya T All
  Hisashi Wada All
Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 100   Kunimitsu Takahashi B All
  Akira Iida All

GT300 edit

Team Make Car Engine No. Drivers Tyre Rounds
RE Amemiya Racing Mazda Mazda RX-7 Mazda RE20B 2.0 L 3-rotor 7   Tetsuya Yamano Y All
  Haruhiko Matsumoto All
Team Daikokuya Porsche Porsche 993 RSR Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6 9   Teruyuki Tokada D 1, 3, 5
  Yukihiro Hane 1, 3, 5
99   Akira Yoshitomi All
  Tsunefumi Hioki 1–2, 4–7
  Kiichi Takahashi 3
Ability Motorsport Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/82 3.6 L Turbo F6 10   Yasutaka Hinoi Y All
  Hidehiko Aso All
Alta Racing Team Nissan Nissan Silvia (S14) Nissan SR20DET 2.1 L Turbo I4 14   Tetsuo Kozai Y 1–3, 5, 7
  Nobuo Komiya 1–3, 5, 7
Nismo Nissan Nissan Silvia (S15) Nissan SR20DET 2.1 L Turbo I4 15   Takeshi Tsuchiya Y All
  Yuji Ide All
Racing Project Bandoh Toyota Toyota Celica Toyota 3S-GE 2.0 L I4 19   Manabu Orido Y All
  Takahiro Hara All
TOM'S Spirit Toyota Toyota Celica Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I4 20   Masahiro Matsunaga Y 2, 4–7
  Yasuhisa Fujiwara 2, 4
  Kumi Sato 5–7
Hitotsuyama Racing BMW BMW M3 (E36) BMW S14 2.2 L Turbo I4 21   Daisuke Itō T All
  Yasushi Hitotsuyama 1–3, 5
  Mikio Hitotsuyama 4, 6–7
Hirano Motorsport Nissan Nissan Skyline GTS-i (R32) Nissan RB20DETT 2.0 L Twin Turbo I6 24   Toshiyuki Hirano Y 2, 5
  Teruhiko Someba 2, 5
Momo Corse Racing Team with Tsuchiya Toyota Toyota MR2 Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I4 25   Morio Nitta Y All
  Yasushi Kikuchi 1
  Shinichi Takagi 2–7, NC
Team Taisan Porsche Porsche 993 GT3-R (Rd. 1–4)
Porsche 996 GT3-R (Rd. 5–7)
Porsche M96/77 3.6 L F6 26   Hiroaki Suga Y 1–4
  Dilantha Malagamuwa 2–3
  Dominik Schwager 4–7, NC
  Hideshi Matsuda 5–7, NC
  Tomohiko Sunako 1
Porsche 993 GT3-R Porsche M64/75 3.6 L F6 55   Hiroaki Suga 5–7
  Eiichi Tajima 5–7
Team Taeivon Ralliart Mitsubishi Mitsubishi FTO Mitsubishi 4G63 2.0 L Turbo I4 61   Ralph Firman T All
  Akihiko Nakaya 1, 3–7
  Rubén Derfler 2
Team Gaikokuya Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/82 3.6 L Turbo F6 70   Yoshimi Ishibashi Y All
  Patrick van Schoote 1, 5, 7
  Kaoru Hoshino 2, 6
  Hiroshi Sakai 3–4
SigmaTec Racing Team Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/82 3.6 L Turbo F6 71   Masaki Jyonai Y All
  Naohiro Kawano All
Okura Rotary Racing Mazda Mazda RX-7 Mazda RE20B 2.0 L 3-rotor 72   Akira Ishikawa Y All
  Koh Hirano All
Cusco Racing Subaru Subaru Impreza WRX STI Subaru EJ20 2.0 L Turbo F4 77   Katsuo Kobayashi Y All
  Tatsuya Tanigawa All
Team Daishin Nissan Nissan Silvia (S15) Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 81   Hideo Fukuyama Y All
  Nobuyuki Ohyagi All
I.A. Tec Racing Team Nissan Nissan Silvia (S14) Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 84   Seiichi Sodeyama Y 2, 5–7
  Yoshikuni Nakamura 2, 5–7
KRAFT Toyota Toyota Corolla Sprinter Trueno (AE86) Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I4 86   Minoru Tanaka T 2–7
  Eiki Amemiya 2–7
Team Gainer Ferrari Ferrari F355 GT Ferrari F129B 3.5 L V8 111   Junichi Ikura Y 2, 5–7
  Yusei Maki 2, 5–7
Club: Yellow Magic Ferrari Ferrari F355 GT Ferrari F129B 3.6 L V8 355   Taki Inoue Y 2–3, 5, 7
  Tsuyoshi Takahashi 2–3, 5, 7
910 Racing Porsche Porsche 993 RSR Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6 910   Atsushi Yogo Y 1–3, 5–7
  Hideyuki Tamamoto 1–3
  Dilantha Malagamuwa 5–6
  Tomohiko Sunako 7
911   Masamitsu Ishihara 5
  Hiroyuki Noji 5

Schedule edit

Round Race Circuit Date
1 Suzuka GT 300   Suzuka Circuit March 21
2 All Japan Fuji GT Race   Fuji Speedway May 2
3 SUGO GT Championship   Sportsland SUGO May 30
4 CP Mine GT Race   Mine Circuit July 11
5 JPN Special GT Cup   Fuji Speedway August 8
6 GT Championship in TI   TI Circuit September 26
7 Motegi GT Championship Race   Twin Ring Motegi October 24
NC Nicos Cup GT AllStar   Autopolis November 28

Season results edit

Round Circuit GT500 Winning Team GT300 Winning Team
GT500 Winning Drivers GT300 Winning Drivers
1 Suzuka   #18 Takata Honda NSX   #19 Racing Project Bandoh Toyota Celica
  Juichi Wakisaka
  Katsutomo Kaneishi
  Takahiko Hara
  Manabu Orido
2 Mt. Fuji   #100 Raybrig Honda NSX   #25 MOMOCORSE A'PEX Toyota MR2
  Kunimitsu Takahashi
  Akira Iida
  Shinichi Takagi
  Morio Nitta
3 Sportsland SUGO   #36 Castrol TOM'S Toyota Supra   #15 Xanavi ARTA Nissan Silvia
  Takuya Kurosawa
  Masanori Sekiya
  Yuji Ide
  Takeshi Tsuchiya
4 Mine Circuit   #1 Pennzoil Nissan Skyline GT-R   #15 Xanavi ARTA Nissan Silvia
  Satoshi Motoyama
  Érik Comas
  Yuji Ide
  Takeshi Tsuchiya
5 Mt. Fuji   #6 ESSO Team LeMans Toyota Supra   #26 STP Advan Taisan Porsche 911 GT3 R
  Hideki Noda
  Wayne Gardner
  Hideshi Matsuda
  Dominik Schwager
6 TI Circuit   #64 Mobil 1 Honda NSX   #15 Xanavi ARTA Nissan Silvia
  Hidetoshi Mitsusada
  Tom Coronel
  Yuji Ide
  Takeshi Tsuchiya
7 Twin Ring Motegi   #36 Castrol TOM'S Toyota Supra   #26 STP Advan Taisan Porsche 911 GT3 R
  Takuya Kurosawa
  Masanori Sekiya
  Hideshi Matsuda
  Dominik Schwager
NC Autopolis   #64 Mobil 1 Honda NSX   #77 Cusco Subaru Impreza
  Hidetoshi Mitsusada
  Tom Coronel
  Tatsuya Tanigawa
  Katsuo Kobayashi

Point Ranking edit

GT500 edit

Drivers edit

Rank No. Driver SUZ FUJ SUG MIN FUJ TAI MOT AUT Points
1 1 Érik Comas 2 5 6 1 3 7 3 4 77
2 36 Takuya Kurosawa

Masanori Sekiya

4 9 1 10 4 4 1 6 73
3 1 Satoshi Motoyama 2 6 1 3 7 3 4 69
4 18 Juichi Wakisaka

Katsutomo Kaneishi

1 19Ret 18Ret 11 2 3 16Ret Ret 47
5 64 Tom Coronel 11 14 4 16Ret 8 1 5 1 41
6 2 Aguri Suzuki 5 11 9 12 12 2 2 3 40
6 2 Michael Krumm 5 9 12 12 2 2 3 40
8 12 Kazuyoshi Hoshino

Masami Kageyama

10 3 5 6 5 10 7 11 40
9 37 Toshio Suzuki 3 4 11 2 15 15 10 Ret 38
10 16 Osamu Nakako

Ryo Michigami

14 12 3 3 9 16 4 5 36
11 100 Kunimitsu Takahashi

Akira Iida

18Ret 1 13 15 7 5 9 2 34
12 6 Hideki Noda

Wayne Gardner

8 16 5 1 9 13 15 33
13 64 Hidetoshi Mitsusada 8 1 5 1 31
14 38 Hironori Takeuchi

Yuji Tachikawa

7 2 17Ret 8 6 8 12 7 31
15 37 Ukyo Katayama 3 11 2 15 15 10 Ret 28
16 35 Pierre-Henri Raphanel

Shinichi Yamaji

13 16Ret 2 14 13 6 6 27
17 3 Masahiro Hasemi

Tetsuya Tanaka

6 7 7 4 11 12 8 9 27
18 32 Takayuki Kinoshita

Masahiko Kondo

8 6 8 17Ret 18Ret 11 15 8 12
19 64 Koji Yamanishi 11 14 4 16Ret 10
19 37 Darren Manning 4 10
21 1 Anders Olofsson 5 8
22 39 Keiichi Tsuchiya

Masahiko Kageyama

16 15 19Ret 7 10 13 17Ret 13 5
23 30 Yoji Yamada

Hideki Okada

17 18Ret 12 9 14 14 11 14 2
23 55 Eiichi Tajima 9 13 15 13 10 2
23 55 Hideshi Matsuda 9 13 13 2
27 11 Takao Wada

Mitsuhiro Kinoshita

12 10 10 16 2
28 2 Armin Hahne 11 0
29 88 Hisashi Wada

Naohiro Furuya

15 17Ret 14 18Ret 17 17Ret 14 12 0
30 55 Dominik Schwager 15 0
31 55 Motoyuki Yasuyuki 10 0

Teams' standings edit

For teams that entered multiple cars, only the best result from each round counted towards the teams' championship.

Rank Team No. SUZ
 
FUJ
 
SUG
 
MIN
 
FUJ
 
TAI
 
MOT
 
AUT
 
PTS
1 Toyota Castrol Team TOM'S 36 4 9 1 10 4 4 1 6 97
37 3 4 11 2 15 15 10 Ret
2 Nismo 1 2 5 6 1 3 7 3 4 91
2 5 11 9 12 12 2 2 3
3 Mugen x Dome Project 16 14 12 3 3 9 16 4 5 81
18 1 Ret Ret 11 2 3 Ret Ret
4 Mobil 1 Nakajima Racing 64 11 14 4 Ret 8 1 5 1 41
5 Team Impul 12 10 3 5 6 5 10 7 11 40
6 Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft 100 Ret 1 13 15 7 5 9 2 34
7 Esso Ultron Toyota Team LeMans 6 DNP 8 16 5 1 9 13 15 33
8 Toyota Team Cerumo 38 7 2 Ret 8 6 8 12 7 31
9 MatsumotoKiyoshi Team TOM'S 35 13 Ret 2 14 13 6 6 27
10 Hasemi Motorsports 3 6 7 7 4 11 12 8 9 27
11 cdma One Toyota Team Cerumo with Key's 32 8 6 8 Ret Ret 11 15 8 12
12 Toyota Team SARD 39 16 15 Ret 7 10 13 Ret 13 5
13 Team Taisan Advan 55 9 13 15 13 10 2
14 Team Take One 30 17 Ret 12 9 14 14 11 14 2
15 Endless Sports 11 12 10 10 16 2
- JLOC 88 15 Ret 14 Ret 17 Ret 14 12 0
Rank Team No. SUZ
 
FUJ
 
SUG
 
MIN
 
FUJ
 
TAI
 
MOT
 
AUT
 
PTS

GT300 Class (Top 5) edit

Drivers edit

Rank Drivers Number/Team Points Wins
1   Morio Nitta #25 MOMOCORSE A'PEX Toyota MR2 73 1
2   Yuji Ide
  Takeshi Tsuchiya
#15 Xanavi ARTA Nissan Silvia 72 3
3   Takahiko Hara
  Manabu Orido
#19 Racing Project Bandoh Toyota Celica 70 1
4   Shinichi Takagi #25 MOMOCORSE A'PEX Toyota MR2 70 1
5   Tetsuya Yamano
  Haruhiko Matsumoto
#7 RE Amemiya Mazda RX-7 58 0


References edit

  1. ^ "Super GT's Uncrowned Champions". Super GT World. 2018-02-19. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Remembering Shingo Tachi, 20 Years Later". dailysportscar.com. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2022.

External links edit