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

GT500

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 Viper 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

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

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

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

GT500

Drivers

Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 FUJ
 TAI
 MOT
 AUT
 Pts.
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
Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 FUJ
 TAI
 MOT
 AUT
 Pts.


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
 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 Drivers' championship

Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 FUJ
 TAI
 MOT
 AUT
 Pts.
1 25 Morio Nitta 8 1 2 2 5 Ret 3 6 73
2 15 Takeshi Tsuchiya
Yuji Ide 		9 Ret 1 1 NC 1 4 3 72
3 19 Manabu Orido
Takahiko Hara 		1 2 Ret 3 Ret 5 2 5 70
3 25 Shinichi Takagi 1 2 2 5 Ret 3 6 70
5 7 Tetsuya Yamano
Haruhiko Matsumoto 		4 4 Ret 12 2 2 5 2 58
6 61 Ralph Firman 2 Ret 5 Ret 3 8 7 42
6 61 Akihiko Nakaya 2 5 Ret 3 8 7 42
8 26 Dominik Schwager Ret 1 Ret 1 7 40
8 26 Hideshi Matsuda 1 Ret 1 7 40
10 81 Hideo Fukuyama
Nobuyuki Oyagi 		10 Ret 3 Ret 4 4 Ret 4 33
11 77 Katsuo Kobayashi
Tatsuya Tanigawa 		Ret NC 4 8 18 3 6 1 31
12 14 Tetsuo Kozai
Nobuo Komiya 		6 5 7 6 8 27
13 70 Yoshimi Ishibashi 7 6 8 4 11 10 13 24
14 910 Atsushi Yogo 3 7 Ret 8 9 9 23
15 71 Masaki Jyonai
Naohiro Kawano 		DSQ 3 6 11 19 Ret Ret 18
16 26/55 Hiroaki Suga 5 Ret Ret Ret 7 6 11 18
17 910 Hideyuki Tamamoto 3 7 Ret 16
18 70 Hiroshi Sakai 8 4 13
19 86 Minoru Tanaka
Eiki Amemiya 		DNP 11 5 10 7 Ret 13
20 26/910 Tomohiko Sunako 5 9 10
21 55 Eiichi Tajima 7 6 11 10
22 70 Kaoru Hoshino 6 10 7
23 20 Masahiro Matsunaga 11 6 Ret DNS 14 6
23 20 Yasuhisa Fujiwara 11 6 6
25 21 Daisuke Itō 12 NC 12 7 9 14 DNA 6
26 26/910 Dilantha Malagamuwa Ret Ret 8 9 5
27 70 Patrick van Schoote 7 11 13 4
27 21 Mikio Hitotsuyama 7 14 DNA 4
29 99 Akira Yoshitomi 11 9 13 9 17 11 12 4
29 99 Tsunefumi Hioki 11 9 9 17 11 12 4
31 10 Yasutaka Hinoi
Hidehiko Aso 		DNQ 10 9 Ret 15 12 10 4
32 25 Yasushi Kikuchi 8 3
32 355 Taki Inoue
Tsuyoshi Takahashi 		8 Ret 12 Ret 3
34 21 Yasushi Hitotsuyama 12 NC 12 9 2
35 9 Teruyuki Tokada
Yukihiro Hane 		Ret 10 13 1
35 72 Akira Ishikawa
Koh Hirano 		Ret Ret DNA 10 13 Ret Ret Ret 1
NC 99 Kiichi Takahashi 13 0
NC 20 Kumi Sato Ret DNS 14 0
NC 911 Masamitsu Ishihara
Hiroyuki Noji 		14 0
NC 111 Junichi Ikura
Yusei Maki 		Ret 16 NC Ret 0
NC 84 Seiichi Sodeyama
Yoshikuni Nakamura 		Ret DNQ DNA 0
NC 61 Rubén Derfler Ret 0
NC 24 Toshiyuki Hirano
Teruhiko Someba 		DNS DNQ 0
Rank No. Driver SUZ
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 FUJ
 TAI
 MOT
 AUT
 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
 SUG
 MIN
 FUJ
 TAI
 MOT
 AUT
 Pts.
1 Momo Corse Racing Team with Tsuchiya 25 8 1 2 2 5 Ret 3 6 73
2 Xanavi Nismo 15 9 Ret 1 1 NC 1 4 3 72
3 Racing Project Bandoh 19 1 2 Ret 3 Ret 5 2 5 70
4 RE Amemiya Racing 7 4 4 Ret 12 2 2 5 2 58
5 Team Taisan Jr. with Advan 26 5 Ret Ret Ret 1 Ret 1 7 48
6 Team Taeivon Ralliart 61 2 Ret 5 Ret 3 8 7 42
7 Team Daishin 81 10 Ret 3 Ret 4 4 Ret 4 33
8 Cusco Racing 77 Ret NC 4 8 18 3 6 1 31
9 Alta Racing Team 14 6 5 7 6 8 27
10 Team Gaikokuya 70 7 6 8 4 11 10 13 24
11 910 Racing 910 3 7 Ret 8 9 9 23
911 14
12 SigmaTec Racing Team 71 DSQ 3 6 11 19 Ret Ret 18
13 KRAFT 86 DNP 11 5 10 7 Ret 13
14 Team Taisan with Advan 55 7 6 11 10
15 TOM'S Spirit 20 11 6 Ret DNS 14 6
16 Hitotsuyama Racing 21 12 NC 12 7 9 14 DNA 6
17 Team Daikokuya 9 Ret 10 13 5
99 11 9 13 9 17 11 12
18 Ability Motorsport 10 DNQ 10 9 Ret 15 12 10 4
19 Club: Yellow Magic 355 8 Ret 12 Ret 3
20 Okura Rotary Racing 72 Ret Ret DNA 10 13 Ret Ret Ret 1
- Team Gainer 111 Ret 16 NC Ret 0
- I.A. Tec Racing Team 84 Ret DNQ DNA 0
- Hirano Motorsport 24 DNS DNQ 0
Rank Team No. SUZ
 FUJ
 SUG
 MIN
 FUJ
 TAI
 MOT
 AUT
 Pts.


References

  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.
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