1996 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship

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 SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 19 Katsuo Kobayashi Y All
Naohiro Furuya 1–3
Manabu Orido 4
Koma Mitsutake 5–6
Bros Factory Nissan Nissan Fairlady Z LM Nissan VH45DE 4.5 L V8 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 1–5
Naoki Nagasaka 5
Giampiero Simoni 6
Olivier Grouillard NC
David Dussau 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 BFR1244 5.7 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 4G63 2.0 L I4 14 Akira Nagai B 2
Takashige Kogayu 2
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 18 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
Fuminori Mizuno 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[N 1] 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 E36 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 Drivers' championship

Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 Pts.
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 25 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 Tatsuhiko Kaneumi 19Ret 0
43 36 Ukyo Katayama 4 0
44 39 Olivier Grouillard
David Dussau 		7 0
45 30 Kazuo Mogi 9 0
Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 Pts.

GT500 Teams' standings

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

Rank Team No. SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 Pts.
1 Team Lark McLaren GTR 60 1 Ret 15 Ret 1 1 98
61 2 1 8 2 Ret 4
2 Toyota Castrol Team 36 5 2 3 Ret 8 Ret 4 68
37 16 4 1 Ret 4 2 2
3 Calsonic Team Impul 1 8 5 5 1 2 Ret 5 54
4 Nismo 2 4 Ret 7 3 5 3 3 50
556 6 Ret 17 5 3 10 10
5 Hasemi Motorsports 3 3 6 2 14 6 5 1 47
6 Toyota Team SARD 39 17 3 4 9 7 8 7 31
7 FET Racing Team 8 10 13 6 4 14 7 21
8 Team Taisan Advan 34 9 9 Ret 12 12 6 8 12
35 12 7 Ret DNS 15 Ret
9 Limit Motor Sport 55 11 10 11 6 9 9
10 Team Kunimitsu 100 Ret 8 12 7 10 11 6 8
11 Team Take One 30 7 11 9 Ret Ret Ret 9 6
12 Team BMB Minijuke 43 Ret 12 13 8 13 Ret 3
13 Bros Factory 25 Ret Ret Ret 9 WD 2
14 Taku Motor Sports 5 13 14 10 Ret Ret 12 1
14 Prova Motorsport 15 15 16 Ret 15 Ret DNA 1
16 10 11 Ret
- JLOC 88 Ret Ret 11 Ret 13 0
- Kenji Kawagoe 69 14 15 14 DNA 0
Rank Team No. SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 Pts.

GT300 Drivers' championship

Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 Pts.
1 26 Keiichi Suzuki
Morio Nitta 		1 2 Ret 2 1 1 3 90
2 910 Seiichi Sodeyama 1 4 1 2 Ret 2 65
3 72 Norio Makiguchi
Takayuki Kinoshita 		3 4 1 Ret 10 4 53
4 910 Naoki Nagasaka 1 4 1 50
5 31 Katsunori Iketani
Kazuo Mogi 		2 7 Ret Ret 3 2 46
6 7 Shinichi Yamaji Ret 9 3 3 5 6 1 40
7 6 Tetsuya Kawasaki 4 3 2 9 13 39
8 70 Yoshimi Ishibashi
Kaoru Hoshino 		5 5 5 5 Ret DNA 4 32
8 21 Kenji Yamamoto 8 6 6 7 3 31
9 7 Haruhiko Matsumoto 3 5 6 1 26
10 6 Kazuteru Wakita 4 3 9 24
11 21 Mikio Hitotsuyama 6 3 18
11 6 Takeshi Tsuchiya 4 5 18
11 20 Kenji Takahashi
Hiroaki Suga 		6 Ret 4 11 9 18
14 6 Toshihiro Fukushima 2 13 15
14 910 Hideyuki Tamamoto 2 Ret 2 15
16 7 Hisashi Wada 9 3 14
17 91 Masahiro Matsunaga 9 8 6 11 11
18 28 Manabu Orido 4 10
18 21 Yasushi Hitotsuyama Ret 6 7 10
18 51 Masamitsu Ishihara
Hiroyuki Noji 		11 6 Ret 10 8 10
21 6 Yoshihiro Ohmonji 5 8
21 38 Adrian Fu 9 8 12 8 8
23 12 Mizuno Fumino 8 Ret Ret 12 7 7
24 91 Takahito Kawai 6 11 6
24 38 Masaoki Nagashima 12 DNA 8 12 8 6
26 95 Nobuyuki Ohyagi
Tsuneaki Mankumo 		7 Ret Ret 15 15 10 5
26 91 Junko Mihara 9 8 5
28 18 Shogo Kobayashi 7 Ret 4
28 18 Hiroyuki Enomoto 7 4
28 57 Toshihiro Fukazawa
Masaaki Nagashima 		7 12 4
28 12 Satoshi Motoyama DNA Ret Ret 12 7 4
32 11 Hiromoto Ishimori
Masuo Saito 		8 Ret 14 3
32 17 Toshihiko Nogami 10 Ret 11 9 3
Toshiaki Koshimizu
35 38 Rodney Jones 9 2
NC 28 Junichi Yamanashi 12 DNA 0
NC 9 Katsuhiko Okamoto
Tsunefumi Hioki 		13 0
NC 27 Toshikazu Kanamori
Mamoru Suzuki 		13 0
NC 7 Masato Yamamoto Ret 0
NC 14 Akira Nagai
Takashige Kogayu 		Ret 0
NC 17 Koshimizu Toshiaki Ret 0
NC 12 Yuji Ide DNA Ret 0
NC 18 Kazushige Saitou Ret 0
NC 50 Masahisa Nakada
Shinichi Katsura 		DNA DNS 0
NC 15 Toshiyuki Hirano
Yasuyuki Suzuki 		DNS 0
NC 76 Hirokiho Itagaki
Masami Yoshida 		DNA 0
Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 Pts.

GT300 Teams' standings

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

Rank Team No. SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 PTS
1 Team Taisan Jr. 26 1 2 Ret 2 1 1 3 93
28 12 4 DNA
38 9 DNA 8 12 DNA 8
2 910 Racing 910 1 4 1 2 Ret 2 65
3 Makiguchi Engineering 72 3 4 1 Ret 10 4 53
4 Cobra Racing Team 31 2 7 Ret Ret 3 2 49
51 11 6 Ret 10 8 DNA
5 imuraya Racing Team 6 4 3 2 9 13 5 47
6 RE Amemiya Racing 7 Ret 9 3 3 5 6 1 40
7 Team Gaikokuya 70 5 5 5 5 Ret DNA 4 32
8 Hitotsuyama Racing 21 8 Ret 6 6 7 3 31
9 AI Auto Racing 20 6 Ret 4 11 9 18
10 First Racing Team 91 9 8 6 11 11
11 Team Daishin 95 7 Ret Ret 15 15 10 5
12 Goldenbear Sportswear R.T. 18 7 Ret 4
13 Sports Factory R.T. 57 7 12 3
14 M Factory Racing 11 8 Ret 14 3
15 Kageisen Racing Team 17 10 Ret 11 9 3
- Hoshino Racing 12 DNA Ret Ret 12 7 0
- Schloss Motorsport 9 13 0
- NAC West 27 13 0
- Eimei Auto 14 Ret 0
- Rank Up Tomei Sports 50 DNA DNS 0
- Hirano Motorsport 24 DNS 0
- Team Spirit 76 DNA 0
Rank Team No. SUZ
 FUJ
 SEN
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 CEN
 PTS

Notes

  1. ^ Nationality unknown
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