Super Taikyu Series

Super Taikyu Series
Category	GT3, GT4, TCR, Group N
Country	Japan
Inaugural season	1991
Classes	ST-X, ST-Z, ST-TCR, ST-Q, ST-1, ST-2, ST-3, ST-4, ST-5
Drivers' champion	Satoshi Hoshino; Tomonobu Fujii; Tsubasa Kondo
Teams' champion	D'station Racing
Official website	SuperTaikyu.com

Super Taikyu (スーパー耐久, Super Endurance), formerly known as the Super N1 Taikyu Series prior to 2005 and N1 Endurance Series prior to 1995, and currently named the Eneos Super Taikyu Series Powered by Hankook for sponsorship reasons, is a Japanese racing series that began in 1991. In contrast to the Super GT Series, the Super Taikyu Series is a pro-am racing series for commercially-available racing vehicles such as GT3, GT4, and TCR cars, and minimally-modified production vehicles mainly from the Japanese domestic market.

Super Taikyu races are held across all of Japan's major motor racing circuits, with formats including a single five-hour race, and a double-header format of two three-hour races. The series' largest event is the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours, which is held annually at Fuji Speedway since its revival in 2018. Prior to that, the Tokachi 24 Hours was the series' largest event, held annually from 1994 until 2008.

Yokohama Rubber was the series' official tyre supplier until the end of 2017. In 2018, Pirelli became the series' new tyre supplier as part of a three-year contract. In 2021, Hankook Tire became the series' new tyre supplier. Their contract is for three years, ending in 2023, with the option to extend the contract through the end of the 2025 season.^[1] In 2022, Eneos became the new title sponsor of the series.^[2]

Classes[]

The series has nine classes of vehicles, ranging from FIA GT3 cars to commercially available cars with effective displacements of under 1,500 cc. GT3 cars were introduced with the introduction of the ST-X class in 2011 (named ST-GT3 from 2012 to 2013). In 2017, the series introduced the ST-Z class for GT4 cars, and the ST-TCR class for TCR touring cars (initially named ST-R for the first round of the 2017 season).

The ST-1, ST-2, ST-3, and ST-4 classes have all existed since the first year of the series in 1991, based on the original Group N regulations and with various displacement and drivetrain limits in place. A fifth production class was introduced with the addition of ST-5 in 2010.

In 2021, the ST-Q class was introduced for manufacturer-developed, non-homologated special racing vehicles, similar to Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie's SPX class.^[3] Toyota and ROOKIE Racing entered a modified Corolla Sport hatchback, equipped with a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine, in this class beginning in 2021.^[4] In the 2021 season finale, Mazda entered a modified version of their Demio subcompact, powered by biofuel.^[5] In 2022, Toyota and Subaru will enter special versions of their GR86 and BRZ sports cars, adapted to run on carbon-neutral synthetic fuel.^[6]

Name	Regulation	Example Vehicles
ST-X	FIA GT3 homologated vehicles	Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Lexus RC F GT3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT3
ST-Z	RACB GT4 homologated vehicles	Mercedes-AMG GT4 Porsche 718 Cayman MR Clubsport Toyota GR Supra GT4
ST-TCR	TCR homologated vehicles	Audi RS3 LMS TCR Honda Civic Type R TCR
ST-Q	Approved racing vehicles not belonging to any other category	Toyota Corolla Sport H2 Concept Mazda Bio Concept Demio Toyota GR86 / Subaru BRZ CNF Concept Toyota Supra GT4 Prototype
ST-1	Approved vehicles with 3,501 cc of displacement or above	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup KTM X-Bow GTX Toyota GR Supra Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo
ST-2	2,001 cc - 3,500 cc 4WD and front-wheel drive vehicles	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Subaru Impreza WRX STI Toyota GR Yaris Honda Civic Type R (FK8)
ST-3	2,001 cc - 3,500 cc rear-wheel drive vehicles	Lexus RC 350 Nissan Fairlady Z34/Z33 Toyota Crown RS
ST-4	1,501 cc - 2,000 cc vehicles	Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ Honda Integra Type R Honda S2000
ST-5	1,500 cc or below	Honda Fit RS Mazda Demio / Mazda2 Toyota Vitz Mazda Roadster (ND)

Champions[]

ST-X/GT3 Class (2011-present)[]

Bold drivers indicate a driver that was entered in every race for their respective team. Drivers listed in italics competed in a select number of rounds for their respective team.


Year	Team	Vehicle	Drivers
2022
2021	D'station Racing	Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT3	Satoshi Hoshino Tomonobu Fujii Tsubasa Kondo
2020	Mercedes-AMG Team Hirix Racing	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	Daisuke Yamawaki Shaun Thong Shinichi Takagi (Rd. 1-3) Yuki Nemoto (Rd. 1, 4-5)
2019	GTNET Motor Sports (Rd. 1-4, 6)	Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3	Teruhiko Hamano Kazuki Hoshino Kiyoto Fujinami Kazuki Hiramine (Rd. 3)
2018	GTNET Motor Sports	Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3	Teruhiko Hamano Kazuki Hoshino Kiyoto Fujinami Hironobu Yasuda (Rd. 3) Sun Zheng (Rd. 3)
2017	ARN Racing	Ferrari 488 GT3	Hiroaki Nagai Kota Sasaki Tsubasa Mekaru (Rd. 5)
2016	Kondo Racing	Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3	Yudai Uchida Tomonobu Fujii Kazuki Hiramine
2015	Endless Sports	Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3	Yukinori Taniguchi Kyosuke Mineo Yuya Motojima
2014	GTNET Motor Sports (Rd. 2-6)	Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3	Kazuki Hoshino Naofumi Omoto Takayuki Aoki
2013	Petronas Syntium Team	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	Melvin Moh Dominic Ang (Rd. 1-4, 6-7) Nobuteru Taniguchi (Rd. 1-6)
2012	Petronas Syntium Team (Rd. 1-3, 5-6)	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	Nobuteru Taniguchi Fariqe Hairuman Dominic Ang
2011	Audi Team Hitotsuyama (Rd. 1-3)	Audi R8 LMS GT3	Tomonobu Fujii Akihiro Tsuzuki Michael Kim

ST-Z Class (2017-present)[]

Bold drivers indicate a driver that was entered in every race for their respective team. Drivers listed in italics competed in a select number of rounds for their respective team.

Year	Team	Vehicle	Drivers
2021	Endless Sports	Mercedes-AMG GT4	Yudai Uchida Hideki Yamauchi Togo Suganami Ryo Ogawa (Rd. 1, 3-5)
2020	Endless Sports	Mercedes-AMG GT4	Yudai Uchida Hideki Yamauchi Tsubasa Takahashi Shinnosuke Yamada (Rd. 1) Ryuichiro Tomita (Rd. 1) Togo Suganami (Rd. 4-5)
2019	Endless Sports	Mercedes-AMG GT4	Yudai Uchida Hideki Yamauchi Tsubasa Takahashi Shinnosuke Yamada (Rd. 3)
2018	BEND (Rd. 3, 5)	Porsche Cayman GT4	Masamitsu Ishihara Daisuke Ikeda Yuya Sakamoto Shinya Hosokawa (Rd. 3) Atsushi Yogo (Rd. 3)
2017	no entries

ST-TCR Class (2017-present)[]

Year	Team	Vehicle	Drivers
2021	Team Noah	Honda Civic Type R TCR	Yoshikazu Sobu Shigetomo Shimono Kuniyuki Haga (Rd. 1, 3, 5) Riki Tanioka (Rd. 1, 3) Toshiro Tsukada (Rd. 2-4, 6) Yuji Kiyotaki (Rd. 2-4, 6) Shingo Wada (Rd. 5)
2020	Floral Racing with Uematsu	Honda Civic Type R TCR	Tadao Uematsu Yuji Ide Shintaro Kawabata Tomoki Nojiri (Rd. 1)
2019	Birth Racing Project	Audi RS 3 LMS TCR	Takeshi Matsumoto Takuro Shinohara "Hirobon" (Rd.1) Yuya Ohta (Rd. 2-6) Kouichi Okumura (Rd. 3)
2018	Modulo Racing with Dome	Honda Civic Type R TCR	Tadao Uematsu Shinji Nakano Hiroki Otsu Takashi Kobayashi (Rd. 1, 3-6) Keishi Ishikawa (Rd. 3)
2017	Motul Dome Racing Project	Honda Civic Type R TCR	Takuya Kurosawa Keishi Ishikawa Hiroki Katoh Hiroki Yoshida (Rd. 5)

Incidents[]

During a 2012 race at Suzuka Circuit (a support event for the 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Japan), Osamu Nakajima, driving a Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33), died after he crashed into a barrier on the first turn of the circuit.^[7]

References[]

^ "スーパー耐久シリーズ 2021年からハンコックをタイヤサプライヤーに決定 | 【公式】スーパー耐久シリーズ Powered by Hankook". supertaikyu.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
^ "Eneos Becomes Title Sponsor Of The Super Taikyu Series | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
^ "Super Taikyu Completes Official Pre-Season Test At Fuji | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
^ CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR. "Toyota Developing Hydrogen Engine Technologies Through Motorsports | Corporate | Global Newsroom". Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
^ "MAZDA NEWSROOM｜Mazda to Participate in Motor Sports Race Powered by Next-Generation Biodiesel Fuel｜NEWS RELEASES". Mazda News Releases. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
^ CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR. "Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, and Yamaha Take on Challenge to Expand Options for Producing, Transporting, and Using Fuel Toward Achieving Carbon Neutrality | Corporate | Global Newsroom". Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
^ "Osamu Nakajima". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 2013-07-22.

External links[]

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[1] "スーパー耐久シリーズ 2021年からハンコックをタイヤサプライヤーに決定 | 【公式】スーパー耐久シリーズ Powered by Hankook". supertaikyu.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.

[2] "Eneos Becomes Title Sponsor Of The Super Taikyu Series | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.

[3] "Super Taikyu Completes Official Pre-Season Test At Fuji | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.

[4] CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR. "Toyota Developing Hydrogen Engine Technologies Through Motorsports | Corporate | Global Newsroom". Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website. Retrieved 2021-10-13.

[5] "MAZDA NEWSROOM｜Mazda to Participate in Motor Sports Race Powered by Next-Generation Biodiesel Fuel｜NEWS RELEASES". Mazda News Releases. Retrieved 2022-01-22.

[6] CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR. "Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, and Yamaha Take on Challenge to Expand Options for Producing, Transporting, and Using Fuel Toward Achieving Carbon Neutrality | Corporate | Global Newsroom". Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website. Retrieved 2022-01-22.

[7] "Osamu Nakajima". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 2013-07-22.

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