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March 8, 2007 -
1992 was the definitive end of exciting Group C racing. One after
one the works teams retired. In 1989 Porsche AG, having raced with
success its 956 and 962 decided that its work cars could be sold to
privateers. The two following years Jaguar (with its XJR-9, XJR-12
and XJR-14) and Mercedes (with its C9, C11 and C291) continued their
fight, offering the public thrilling races, both at Le Mans as at
FIA's World Sportscar Championship. Two other works teams came
in competition: Mazda (with its 787B) and Peugeot (with its 905).
Private racers had not the smallest chance on a podium place against
those ultra sophisticated factory cars. So, both at Le Mans as at
the FIA Worlds, number of entrants sharply diminished. At most
rounds for the 1991 FIA Worlds there were hardly 15 entrants. At the
end of the year Mercedes, Jaguar and Mazda retired, letting Peugeot
alone. So 1992 was the real last year of the FIA World Sportscar
Championship (having started in 1953). Now there were hardly 10
entrants per round, at the least one on Magny Cours even only ...8.
Of course that Peugeot won all rounds with its fabulous 905. But
without any competition from other factory teams the commercial
return was much too low, so that they too retired.
THE
EARLY YEARS (1993-1996)
It was the end
of Group C racing. IMSA did some efforts to save the si-tuation,
however, at no avail. In Japan also the Group C championship was
stopped by the end of 1992. In 1993 the JAF (Japanese
Automobile Federation) decided to organise a series for touring
cars. This new All-Japan Grand Touring Championship (JGTC),
intended to replace the former
All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship
(1983-1992),
was inspired by the FIA Supertouring Championship.
Former sports cars were admitted in a new series over 4 rounds. One
of them, the Nissan R92C won even a round. The two Nissan Skyline
GT-R cars were the lonely genuine new entrants. They won three of
the four rounds.
The first years
of the JGTC were rather hectic, since the rules failed to guarantee
a competition with equal arms. In 1994 a Porsche 962C won one round,
to be beaten at the following rounds by a Ferrari F40, a Porsche
RSR. The real Grand Touring cars, entered by Nismo - the Nissans
Skyline GT-R thus - won two rounds. A division into two classes was
introduced, but it didn't work. The co-operation with IMSA was a
failure, since only at one round (Suzuka) European cars came at the
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In 1995 number of rounds was increased from fife to six
and Group C cars were no longer allowed to start. There were already
seven Nissan Skylines at the start. A second major automobile
manufacturer, Toyota, entered the JGTC with four Supras. One of them
won the round at Sendai. Nissan won two rounds. The three remaing
rounds were won by the new Porsche 911 GT2 of Taisan racing. The
races were more equal and the division in two classes seemed to work
after the rules were overhauled.
By the end of the
1995 season, the organising GT-A (a division of the JAF) realised that the JGTC had
to go its very own way, rather than copying the FIA GT series.
Indeed, the cost of such cars went dramatically through the roof. In
order to keep costs down and determined not to go the same was as
the JSPC series it replaced, the GT-A went through another
rules overhaul. This time was a change adoption of the newly formed
GT500 and GT300 regulation which capped cars depending
on weight and brake horsepower with an air restrictor. The principle
was quite simple: in GT500 bhp was restricted to 500, in GT300 to
300bhp. If FIA GT cars wanted to enter the JGTC they had to reduce
their horse power. That was what, in 1996, was done by Team Lark,
entering two short-tail FIA GT McLarens F1 GT-R in the series with
David Brabham/John Nielsen and Ralf Scumacher/Naoki Hatori as
racers. They won four of the six rounds, letting one to Nissan and
one to the new Toyota Supra. Brabham/Nielsen win the championship.
GROWTH
TO MATURITY (1997-2001)
In 1997 we see no more European FIA
GT cars at the start. There is a new factory entry: indeed Honda
comes with a racing version of its NSX. Up from now the JGTC enters
a new era with in GT500 only works cars from Nissan, Toyota and
Honda. This time the Supras dominate the series with five wins for
Toyota and only one for Nissan. The champion-ship is won by Michael
Krumm and Pedro de la Rosa. In 1998 there are already four Hondas
and they win four of the six rounds. The two other go to Nissan
winning the series with Eric Comas and Masami Kageyama. In 1999
Comas wins again the series for Nissan, despite that it is the
lonely Nismo victory this year. Toyota and Honda win each three
times now that there are no longer six, but seven rounds. In 2000
Honda wins four rounds and the championship with Ryo Michigami.
Nissan wins twice, Toyota once. In 2001 McLaren - having been
present in 1999 and 2000 without succes - tries it again, now with
the SOK F1 GTR. The car wins unexpectedly one round. Honda wins
three times, Toyota two and Nissan one. The championship goes to Hironori Takeuchi/Yuji
Tachikawa on Toyota Supra.
THE SUCCESS YEARS
(2002-2007)
In 2002, the
GT-A, made another rule change, this time as the series had
intended to be a GT championship, this meant all competing cars must
remain as two doors. This had only effect for some GT300 cars, not
for the GT500s. Honda and Toyota won each four times (since number
of rounds was increased to eight). The driver's championship went to
Juichi Wakisaka/Akira
Iida. In 2003 Nissan, having no more won since
2001, went again to victory lane, three times. With
Satochi Motoyama/Michael
Krumm they won the driver's championship (for
Krumm already the second time). Toyota won also three rounds, Honda
two. In 2004 Nissan won again the championship, now with
Satochi Motoyama/Richard
Lyons at the wheel of the new Nissan Nismo
350Z-R. The new car won five rounds, against two for Toyota and one
for Honda. For Montoyama it was his second JGTC series win. Also in
2004 the JGTC went for the first time in its history abroad, by
organising one of the eight rounds at the new Sepang circuit in
Malaysia. Another round was scheduled in Shanghai as a street race,
but that could not be materialised. At the end of the year JGTC went
even overseas to America with a demonstration race, but it was far
from a success. On December 10 the name "JGTC" was dropped
and replaced by "Super GT".
In 2005 Toyota
won five rounds with its old Supra GT and the series with Yuji Tachikawa/Toranosuke
Takagi. For Tachikawa it was already his second series win. Honda
won twice, Nissan once. In 2006 number of rounds was
increased to nine. Toyota came with its new Lexus SC430 (four
cars). They won three rounds against two for Nissan and four for
Honda. Normally Sébastien Philippe and Shinya Hosokawa, drivers of
the Raibrig Honda, should have won the driver's championship, but a
stop and go penalty made them loose 2 points, so that they came 1
point short to beat Andre Lotterer and Juichi Wakisawa. For the last
named it was his second series win.
THE SPECIFICITY OF JGTC/SUPER
GT RACING
JGTC racing was created as a mix of
entertainment and merciless racing. The formula is highly
appreciated by the Japanese public. Inspired by the success of
Nascar racing, JGTC and Super GT has the same problems as Nascar:
the racers have their own fan club, are admired in the whole
country, but it's hard to "export" the formula abroad. Just like
Nascar seems damned to stay a big national circus, JGTC/Super GT
seems dam-ned to stay a typical Japanese event. Nevertheless JGTC/Super
GT racing is much more subtle than Nascar racing. Here there is not
a manipulated circus where "yellows" only serve to increase the
thrill and to bring the whole field again together. JGTC/Super GT is
not a circus like Nascar. Here very sophisticated rules ensure the
strict parity among the cars. Having round per round
an equal fight is the highest credo of JGTC/ Super GT. "Super
GT is fairly unique in its open and blunt statement that it is
committed to providing exciting racing first, at the expense of
runaway investment by works teams. Cars are therefore very heavily
tampered with by the governing body. At the start of the season,
each car is fitted with an air intake restrictor to limit power to
the stated class maximums, thus restricing excessing development to
make a more powerful engine. Pitstops and driver changes during the
race are done within mandatory windows, to prevent tactics from
dominating a race. (In 2004, during the exhibition race at the
California Speedway, a few teams were penalised after the race ended
when race officials, a mix of SCCA and JAF officials (SCCA is a
member of ACCUS/FIA, the American national govering body of the FIA;
the JAF is the Japanese governing arm of the FIA) discovered their
pit stop came one lap before the mandatory window had opened.) All
regulations and adjustments to the regulations are publicly
announced, in contrast to many other better-known racing
promotions."
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