1996 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship

1996 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship

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The 1996 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship was the fourth season of Japan Automobile Federation GT premiere racing. It was marked as well as the fourteenth season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The GT500 class champion was the #61 Team Lark McLaren F1 GTR driven by David Brabham and John Nielsen, and the GT300 class champion was the #26 Team Taisan Jr Porsche 964 driven by Keiichi Suzuki and Morio Nitta.

For the 1996 season, the names of the two classes of the JGTC were changed to GT500 and GT300, replacing the previous GT1 and GT2 names from the 1994 and 1995 season. This season also mandated two-driver teams for all races. On November 17, the series held its first non-championship "All-Star Race" at Central Circuit.

The arrival of the McLaren F1 GTRs, prepared by Team Goh, was the biggest story of the 1996 season. The number 60 McLaren of Naoki Hattori and Ralf Schumacher led a 1-2 finish at the season opening round at Suzuka. However, despite winning three races, Hattori and Schumacher also suffered three retirements, and were beaten to the title by their senior teammates, Brabham and Nielsen. Despite massive performance handicaps instituted by the GTA, the two McLaren F1 GTRs combined to win four of the six championship races, and won pole position and set fastest lap in all six. At odds with the GTA over further performance handicaps that were to be proposed, Team Goh withdrew from the series after the championship finale at Miné Circuit, and after an aborted attempt to return in 2006, they would not return to the series until 2019.

The season also featured the debut of the Honda NSX in the series, although direct factory support would not appear until the following season; as such, the car entered by Team Kunimitsu was mostly mechanically identical to the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans GT2 class winner.

Drivers and teams

GT500

Team	Make	Car	Engine	No.	Drivers	Tyre	Rounds
Calsonic Team Impul	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	Nissan RB26DETT 2.6 L Twin Turbo I6	1	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	B	All
					Masahiko Kageyama		All
Team ZEXEL	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	Nissan RB26DETT 2.6 L Twin Turbo I6	2	Aguri Suzuki	B	All
					Hideo Fukuyama		All
Hasemi Motorsport	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	Nissan RB26DETT 2.6 L Twin Turbo I6	3	Masahiro Hasemi	B	All
					Tetsuya Tanaka		All
Taku Motor Sports	Porsche	Porsche 993 GT2	Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Turbo F6	5	Kaoru Iida	B	All
					Tetsuya Ota		1–3, 5–6
					Michael Krumm		4
FET Racing Team	Toyota	Toyota Supra	Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4	8	Tom Kristensen	B	All
					Tatsuya Tanigawa		1–3
					Bertrand Gachot		4–6
Prova Motorsport	Porsche	Porsche 964 Turbo	Porsche M64/60 3.6 L Turbo F6	15	Motoji Sekine	D	All
					Scott Maxwell		1
					Taro Mitsuno		2
					Takahiro Ito		3–6
		Porsche 993 GT2	Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Turbo F6	16	Satoshi Toda		4–5
					Taro Mitsuno		4
					Eiji Yamada		5
					Osamu Nakajima		6
					Ichiro Iijima		6
Team Jun	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	Nissan RB26DETT 2.6 L Twin Turbo I6	19	Katsuo Kobayashi	Y	All
					Naohiro Furuya		1–3
					Manabu Orido		4
					Koma Mitsutake		5–6
Bros Factory	Nissan	Nissan Fairlady Z GTS	Nissan VG30DE 3.0 L V6	25	Masami Kageyama	Y	2–3, 5–6, NC
					Yuji Tachikawa		2–3, 5–6, NC
Team Take One	Porsche	Porsche 993 GT2	Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Turbo F6	30	Yoji Yamada	B	All
					Eiichi Tajima		1–6
					Kazuo Mogi		NC
Team Taisan Advan	Porsche	Porsche 993 GT2	Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Turbo F6	34	Hideshi Matsuda	B	3–4
					Osamu Nakako		3–4
				35	Takeshi Tsuchiya		1–4
					Anthony Reid		1
					Oscar Larrauri		2–4
	Ferrari	Ferrari F40 LM	Ferrari F120B 2.9 L Twin Turbo V8		Oscar Larrauri		5–6
					Anthony Reid		5
					Mitsuhiro Kinoshita		6
Toyota Castrol Team TOM'S	Toyota	Toyota Supra	Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4	36	Masanori Sekiya	B	All
					Pedro de la Rosa		1–6
					Ukyo Katayama		NC
Toyota Castrol Team Cerumo	Toyota	Toyota Supra	Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4	37	Érik Comas	B	All
					Hidetoshi Mitsusada		1–2
					Hironori Takeuchi		3–6, NC
Toyota Team SARD	Toyota	Toyota Supra	Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4	39	Wayne Gardner	D	1–4, 6
					Alain Ferté		2
					Naoki Nagasaka		5
					Gianpiero Simoni		6
					Olivier Grouillard		NC
					David Dusseau		NC
Team BMB Minijuke	Porsche	Porsche 964 RS	Porsche M64/04 3.8 L F6	43	Yukio Okamoto	Y	All
					Yasutaka Hinoi		All
Limit Motor Sport	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	Nissan RB26DETT 2.6 L Twin Turbo I6	55	Kenji Tohira	B	1–5
					Hiroyuki Kawai		1–5
Team Lark McLaren GTR	McLaren	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12	60	Naoki Hattori	B	All
					Ralf Schumacher		All
				61	David Brabham		All
					John Nielsen		All
Kenji Kawagoe	Porsche	Porsche 993 GT2	Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Twin Turbo F6	69	Kenji Kawagoe	D	1–4
					Shunji Kasuya		1–4
Kenwolf with JLOC Corsa	Lamborghini	Lamborghini Diablo Jota	Lamborghini L532 6.0 L V12	88	Takao Wada	Y	1–2, 4–6
					Tatsuhiko Kaneumi		1
					Satoshi Ikezawa		2, 4–6
Team Kunimitsu	Honda	Honda NSX	Honda C30A 3.0 L V6	100	Kunimitsu Takahashi	Y	All
					Keiichi Tsuchiya		All
Kure Racing with Nismo	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	Nissan RB26DETT 2.6 L Twin Turbo I6	556	Toshio Suzuki	B	All
					Masahiko Kondo		All

GT300

Team	Make	Car	Engine	No.	Drivers	Tyre	Rounds
imuraya Racing Team	Toyota	Toyota MR2	Toyota 3S-GE 2.0 L I4	6	Tetsuya Kawasaki	D	1–5
					Kazuteru Wakita		1–2, 4–5
					Nendai Fukushima		3
					Takeshi Tsuchiya		6
					Yoshihiro Daimonji		6
RE Amemiya Racing	Mazda	Mazda RX-7 (FD3S)	Mazda RE13B 1.3 L 2-rotor	7	Shinichi Yamaji	D	All
					Masato Yamamoto		1
					Hisashi Wada		2–3
					Haruhiko Matsumoto		4–6, NC
Schloss Motorsport	Porsche	Porsche 993 RS	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	9	Katsuhiko Okamoto	D	1
					Tsunefumi Hioki		1
M Factory Racing	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GTS-R (HR31)	Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4	11	Hiromoto Ishimori	B	2–4
					Masuo Saito		2–4
Hoshino Racing	Nissan	Nissan Silvia (S14)	Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4	12	Satoshi Motoyama	B	3–6
					Yuji Ide		3
					Fuminori Mizuno		4–6
Eimei Auto	Mitsubishi	Mitsubishi Mirage C53A	Mitsubishi 4G61 1.6 L I4	14	Akira Nagai	B	2
					Takashige Kogayu		2–4
Team Power Magic	BMW	BMW 318i Coupe	BMW M43B18 1.8L I4	16	Motoji Sekine	Y	5
					Toshiya Fujishima		5
Kageisen Racing Team	Mazda	Mazda RX-7 (FC3S)	Mazda RE13B 1.3 L 2-rotor	17	Toshihiko Nogami	D	1–2, 4–5
					Toshiaki Koshimizu		1–2, 4–5
Goldenbear Sportswear R.T.	Porsche	Porsche 993 RS	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	9	Shogo Kobayashi	D	3–4
					Hiroyuki Enomoto		3–4
AI Auto Racing	Porsche	Porsche 993 RS	Porsche M64/70 3.8 L F6	20	Kenji Takahashi	Y	All
					Hiroaki Suga		All
Hitotsuyama Racing	BMW	BMW M3 (E36)	BMW S14 2.2 L Turbo I4	21	Kenji Yamamoto	D	1, 3–6
					Mizuno Fuminori		1–2
					Yasushi Hitotsuyama		2, 4–5
					Mikio Hitotsuyama		3, 6
Hirano Motorsport	Nissan	Nissan Skyline GTS-i (R32)	Nissan RB20DET 2.0 L Turbo I6	24	Toshiyuki Hirano	Y	4
					Yasuyuki Suzuki		4
Team Taisan Jr.	Porsche	Porsche 964 RSR	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	26	Keiichi Suzuki	Y	All
					Morio Nitta		All
	BMW	BMW M3 (E30)	BMW S14 2.5 L I4	28	Masaoki Nagashima		1
					Junichi Yamanashi		1
	Toyota	Toyota MR2	Toyota 3S-GE 2.0 L I4		Manabu Orido		5–6
					Takeshi Tsuchiya		5–6
	Porsche	Porsche 993 RSR	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	38	Adrian Fu		1, 3–6
					Rodney Jones		1
					Masaoki Nagashima		3–6
NAC West	Nissan	Nissan Silvia (S13)	Nissan FJ20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4	27	Toshikazu Kanamori	D	4
					Mamoru Suzuki		4
Cobra Racing Team	Porsche	Porsche 993 RSR	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	31	Katsunori Iketani	Y	All
					Kazuo Mogi		All
				51	Masamitsu Ishihara		All
					Hiroyuki Noji		All
Rank Up Tomei Sports	Porsche	Porsche 993 RSR	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	50	Masahisa Nakada	Y	3–4
					Shinichi Katsura		3–4
Sports Factory R.T.	Mazda	Mazda RX-7 (FD3S)	Mazda RE13B 1.3 L 2-rotor	57	Toshihiro Fukazawa	D	4
					Masaaki Nagashima		4
Team Gaikokuya	Porsche	Porsche 993 RSR	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	70	Yoshimi Ishibashi	Y	All
					Kaoru Hoshino		All
Makiguchi Engineering	BMW	BMW M3 (E30)	BMW S14 2.5 L I4	72	Norio Makiguchi	Y	All
					Takayuki Kinoshita		All
First Racing Team	Toyota	Toyota MR2	Toyota 3S-GE 2.0 L I4	91	Masahiro Matsunaga	Y	3–6
					Junko Mihara		3–4
					Takahito Kawai		5–6
Team Daishin	Nissan	Nissan Silvia (S13)	Nissan FJ20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4	95	Nobuyuki Ohyagi	B	All
					Tsuneaki Mankumo		All
910 Racing	Porsche	Porsche 993 RSR	Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6	910	Seiichi Sodeyama	D	2–6, NC
					Naoki Nagasaka		2–4
					Hideyuki Tamamoto		5–6, NC

Schedule

Round	Race	Circuit	Date
1	Suzuka GT 300	Suzuka Circuit	March 31
2	All Japan Fuji GT Race	Fuji Speedway	May 4
3	HiLand GT Championship	Sendai Hi-Land Raceway	June 30
4	Japan Special GT-Cup	Fuji Speedway	August 11
5	SUGO GT Championship	Sportsland SUGO	October 6
6	CP Mine GT Race	Mine Circuit	October 27
NC	Nicos Cup GT Allstar Race	Central Circuit	November 17

Season results

Round	Circuit	GT500 Winning Team	GT300 Winning Team
		GT500 Winning Drivers	GT300 Winning Drivers
1	Suzuka Circuit	#60 Team Lark McLaren F1 GTR	#26 Team Taisan Jr Porsche 964
		Naoki Hattori Ralf Schumacher	Keiichi Suzuki Morio Nitta
2	Mt. Fuji	#61 Team Lark McLaren F1 GTR	#910 910 Racing Porsche 993
		David Brabham John Nielsen	Seiichi Sodeyama Naoki Nagasaka
3	Sendai	#37 Castrol Cerumo Toyota Supra	#72 Makiguchi Engineering BMW M3
		Hironori Takeuchi Érik Comas	Morio Makiguchi Takayuki Kinoshita
4	Mt. Fuji	#1 Calsonic Hoshino Racing GT-R	#910 910 Racing Porsche 993
		Masahiko Kageyama Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Seiichi Sodeyama Naoki Nagasaka
5	Sportsland SUGO	#60 Team Lark McLaren F1 GTR	#26 Team Taisan Jr Porsche 964
		Naoki Hattori Ralf Schumacher	Keiichi Suzuki Morio Nitta
6	Mine Circuit	#60 Team Lark McLaren F1 GTR	#26 Team Taisan Jr Porsche 964
		Naoki Hattori Ralf Schumacher	Keiichi Suzuki Morio Nitta
NC	Central Circuit	#3 Hasemi Motorsports GT-R	#7 RE Amemiya Mazda RX-7
		Masahiro Hasemi Tetsuya Tanaka	Shinichi Yamaji Haruhiko Matsumoto

Point Ranking

GT500 Class

Drivers

Rank	No.	Driver	SUZ	FUJ	SEN	FUJ	SUG	MIN	CEN	Points
1	61	John Nielsen David Brabham	2	1	8	2	20Ret	4		63
2	60	Naoki Hattori Ralf Schumacher	1	22Ret	15	19Ret	1	1		60
3	37	Érik Comas	16	4	1	16Ret	4	2	2	55
4	1	Masahiko Kageyama Kazuyoshi Hoshino	8	5	5	1	2	16Ret	5	54
5	3	Masahiro Hasemi Tetsuya Tanaka	3	6	2	14	6	5	1	47
6	2	Aguri Suzuki Hideo Fukuyama	4	19Ret	7	3	5	3	3	46
7	37	Hironori Takeuchi			1	16Ret	4	2	2	45
8	36	Masanori Sekiya	5	2	3	20Ret	8	17Ret	4	38
8	36	Pedro de la Rosa	5	2	3	20Ret	8	17Ret		38
9	39	Alain Ferté	17	3	4	9	7			28
10	39	Wayne Gardner	17	3	4	9		8		27
11	556	Toshio Suzuki Masahiko Kondo	6	18Ret	17	5	3	10	10	27
12	8	Tom Kristensen	10	13	6	4	14	7		21
13	8	Bertrand Gachot				4	14	7		14
14	37	Hidetoshi Mitsusada	16	4						10
15	34	Hideshi Matsuda Osamu Nakako	9	9	18Ret	12	12	6	8	10
16	55	Kenji Tohira Hiroyuki Kawai	11	10	11	6	9			9
17	100	Kunimitsu Takahashi Keiichi Tsuchiya	18Ret	8	12	7	10	11	6	8
18	8	Tatsuya Tanigawa	10	13	6					7
19	30	Yoji Yamada	7	11	9	18Ret	21Ret	20Ret	9	6
19	30	Eiichi Tajima	7	11	9	18Ret	21Ret	20Ret		6
20	35	Oscar Larrauri		7	20Ret		15	15Ret		4
20	35	Takeshi Tsuchiya	12	7	20Ret					4
20	39	Naoki Nagasaka					7			4
23	43	Yasutaka Hinoi Yukio Yamamoto	20Ret	12	13	8	13	18Ret		3
23	39	Giampiero Simoni						8		3
25	17	Masami Kageyama Yuji Tachikawa		20Ret	19Ret		22Ret	9		2
26	5	Kaoru Iida	13	14	10	17Ret	19Ret	12		1
26	5	Tetsuya Ota	13	14	10		19Ret	12		1
26	16	Tetsushi Toda				10	11			1
26	15	Mitsuno Taro		16						0
	16					10				1
27	88	Takao Wada	19Ret	21Ret		11	17Ret	13		0
28	88	Satoshi Ikezawa		21Ret		11	17Ret	13		0
29	16	Tarzan Yamada					11			0
30	35	Anthony Reid	12				15			0
31	19	Katsuo Kobayashi	21Ret	17	16	13	18Ret	14		0
32	19	Manabu Orido				13				0
33	69	Kenji Kawagoe Shunji Kasuya	14	15	14					0
34	19	Takeru Koma					18Ret	14		0
35	15	Sekine Motoshi	15	16	19Ret	15	16Ret			0
36	15	Takahiro Ito			19Ret	15	16Ret			0
37	15	Scott Maxwell	15							0
38	19	Naohiro Furuya	21Ret	17	16					0
39	35	Mitsuhiro Kinoshita						15Ret		0
40	5	Michael Krumm				17Ret				0
41	16	Osamu Nakajima Ijima Ichiro						19Ret		0
42	88	Kanaumi Tatsuhiko	19Ret							0
43	36	Ukyo Katayama							4	0
44	39	Olivier Grouillard David Dusseau							7	0
45	30	Kazuo Mogi							9	0

GT300 Class (Top 5)

Drivers

Rank	Drivers	Number/Team	Points	Wins
1	Keiichi Suzuki Morio Nitta	#26 Team Taisan Jr Porsche 964	90	3
2	Seiichi Sodeyama	#910 910 Racing Porsche 993	65	2
3	Morio Makiguchi Takayuki Kinoshita	#72 Makiguchi Engineering BMW M3	53	1
4	Naoki Nagasaka	#910 910 Racing Porsche 993	50	2
5	Katsunori Iketani Kazuo Mogi	#31 Cobra Racing Team Porsche 993	46	0

External links

• Super GT/JGTC official race archive (in Japanese)
• 1996 season results