All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the , the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car racing in Japan.

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) was established in 1993 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 horsepower, 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.

In its first season, the JGTC grid mostly consisted of 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 amount of weight and horsepower. 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 horsepower 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 that 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 MakeNissanSkyline GT-R350Z300ZXToyotaSupraHondaNSXMcLaren F1 GTR F1 GTR Porsche911 GT2 LamborghiniDiablo MurciélagoFerrariF40 550 GTSBMWM3Dodge ViperRGS GT1Mercedes-Benz CLKVemac 350R408R

GT300 Make Car Category Years competed Image NoteASLASL ARTA GaraiyaJAF-GT2003–2004BMWBMW 318i CoupeJAF-GT1996–1997BMW M3JAF-GT1996 (E30 generation)1996–1999 (E36 generation)2002–2003 (E46 generation)ChevroletChevrolet Corvette C4JAF-GT2002DodgeDodge ViperFIA GT22000–2002 (first generation)2003 (second generation)Initially competed as a detuned GT500 carFerrariFerrari F355JAF-GT1997–2000Ferrari 360JAF-GT2001–2004HondaHonda NSXJAF-GT1998, 2001–2004From 2001 to 2002, Verno Tokai Dream28 raced with a detuned 1999-spec Honda NSX GT500 carM-Tec raced a detuned 2003-spec Honda NSX GT500 car in 2004MazdaMazda RX-7JAF-GT1996–1997 (FC3S generation)1996–2004 (FD3S generation)Mazda RoadsterJAF-GT1997–1998MitsubishiMitsubishi Mirage C53AJAF-GT1996Entered by a privateerMitsubishi FTOJAF-GT1998–1999Front-wheel driveMoslerMosler MT900JAF-GT2001–2004NissanNissan SilviaJAF-GT1996–1997 (S13 generation)1996–1999 (S14 generation)1999–2004 (S15 generation)Nissan SkylineJAF-GT1996–1998 (R31 generation)1996–1999 (R32 generation)Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33)JAF-GT2003–2004PorschePorsche 911 GT2FIA GT2JAF-GT1996–2001Porsche 911 GT3FIA GT3JAF-GT1999–2004Introduced by Team Taisan on Rd. 5 of the 1999 seasonPorsche BoxsterJAF-GT2000Porsche 968JAF-GT2004Built by Arktech MotorsportsRenaultRenault Sport SpiderJAF-GT1997Entered by a privateerRGSRGS Mirage GT-1FIA GT12003Lamborghini Countach kit car powered by a Chevrolet LS1 engine; the same car that ran in GT500 in 2000ToyotaToyota MR2JAF-GT1996–1999Toyota CavalierJAF-GT1997–1998Front-wheel driveToyota CelicaJAF-GT1998–2000 (first generation)2003–2004 (second generation)First generation car is front-wheel driveSecond generation car was introduced by Racing Project Bandoh on Rd. 3 of the 2003 seasonToyota AE86JAF-GT1999–2001Toyota Corolla (AE101)JAF-GT2000Toyota MR-SJAF-GT2000–2004SubaruSubaru Impreza WRX STiJAF-GT1997–2001 (first generation)2002–2004 (second generation)Second generation car is a four-door sedanVemacVemac RD320RJAF-GT2002–2004

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 ().

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.

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

References

External links Super GT website