Team LeMans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Le Mans Ltd.
TypeInc.
Founded1967
HeadquartersShibuya, Tokyo
Websitehttp://www.lemans.co.jp/
Japan Team LeMans
Founded1969
BaseGotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture
Team principal(s)Juichi Wakisaka
Current seriesSuper Formula
Super GT
Former seriesAll-Japan Formula Three Championship
All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship
Fuji Grand Champion Series
Current driversSweden Felix Rosenqvist
Japan Kazuya Oshima
Teams'
Championships
Super Formula:
1996, 1999
Drivers'
Championships
Super Formula:
1979: Keiji Matsumoto
1996: Ralf Schumacher
1998: Satoshi Motoyama
All-Japan Formula Three Championship:
1986: Akio Morimoto
Fuji Grand Champion Series:
1983: Keiji Matsumoto
1988-89: Geoff Lees
Super GT:
2002: Juichi Wakisaka, Akira Iida
2019: Kenta Yamashita, Kazuya Oshima
WebsiteTeam Le Mans
ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 (2011)

Le Mans Ltd., headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo is an automobile parts manufacturer founded in 1967. The original company name was Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. The company is mainly engaged in the development and sales of motorsport parts and the import and sale of race cars overseas.

They also have a racing division called Team LeMans. The origin of the team name comes from 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Team LeMans[]

In 1969 Team LeMans was established as a racing department of Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. It has been active in a variety of categories since the 1970s as one of the top teams of Japan.

The team has competed in single-seaters since 1976, when they entered the All-Japan F2000 Championship. They served as the Japanese distributor of Reynard products until 2002. In 1991, Michael Schumacher, before his Formula One debut, raced with the team in the Sportsland SUGO round of the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, while in 1996 his brother Ralf became the champion with the same team.

They also developed their own racing machine, that complied to Group C regulations.

In 2012 in collaboration with Hideki Noda they founded "NODA racing Academy Senior High School", several engineers such as Donuma Hiroyoshi, the team principal, have served as lecturers at the school.[1]

History[]

All-Japan F2000/F2/F3000 Championship[]

Their participation in the All Japan F2000 Championship started with Keiji Matsumoto in 1976. In 1979 he won the championship title. In 1988-89 Geoff Lees and Emanuele Pirro raced for the team, both winning one race.

Formula Nippon[]

In 1996, the team had its most successful year in Japan's top level open wheel series, when Ralf Schumacher and Naoki Hattori took the first two spots in the drivers' championship, also winning the first team title. The team repeated wins in the drivers and team championship with Satoshi Motoyama in 1998.

Fuji GC[]

The team achieved titles in The Fuji Grand Champion Series (Fuji GC) with in Keiji Matsumoto in 1983 and Geoff Lees in 1988 and 1989.

24 Hours of Le Mans[]

Team LeMans first entered the 24 Hours of Lemans in 1987 under the name Italya Sports. They competed in the race through 1990 without a single finish.

All-Japan GT Championship/Super GT[]

ESSO Ultraflo Supra (2002)

In 2002, the team won drivers' championship in the GT500 Class of the All-Japan GT Championship with Akira Iida and Juichi Wakisaka, who competed in a Toyota Supra race car.[2]

Team LeMans Results[]

Super GT (JGTC)[]

Year Class Car Drivers Drivers' rankings
1999 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra AustraliaWayne Gardner /  JapanHideki Noda 12th
2000 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra AustraliaWayne Gardner /  JapanHideki Noda 9th
2001 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra JapanHideki Noda / JapanJuichi Wakisaka 7th
2002 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra JapanAkira Iida / JapanJuichi Wakisaka 1st
2003 GT500 #1 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra JapanAkira Iida / JapanJuichi Wakisaka 2nd
2004 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra JapanAkira Iida / JapanJuichi Wakisaka 3rd
2005 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra JapanAkira Iida / JapanJuichi Wakisaka 6th
2006 GT500 #6 Mobil 1 Toyota Team LeMans Lexus SC430 JapanAkira Iida / JapanTatsuya Kataoka / SwedenBjörn Wirdheim 12th
2007 GT500 #6 Forum Engineering Toyota Team LeMans Lexus SC430 JapanTatsuya Kataoka / SwedenBjörn Wirdheim 9th
2008 GT500 #6 ENEOS Toyota Team LeMans JapanDaisuke Ito / SwedenBjörn Wirdheim / JapanAkira Iida /  BrazilRoberto Streit 13th
2009 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 JapanDaisuke Ito / SwedenBjörn Wirdheim 12th
2010 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 JapanDaisuke Ito / SwedenBjörn Wirdheim 4th
2011 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 JapanDaisuke Ito / JapanKazuya Oshima 11th
2012 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 JapanDaisuke Ito / JapanKazuya Oshima 10th
2013 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 JapanKazuya Oshima / JapanYuji Kunimoto 5th
2014 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus RC F JapanYuji Kunimoto / JapanKazuya Oshima 7th
2015 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus RC F JapanYuji Kunimoto / JapanKazuya Oshima 9th
2016 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus RC F ItalyAndrea Caldarelli / JapanKazuya Oshima 2nd
2017 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus LC 500 GT500 ItalyAndrea Caldarelli / JapanKazuya Oshima 3rd
2018 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus LC 500 GT500 Sweden Felix Rosenqvist / JapanKazuya Oshima 10th
2019 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus LC 500 GT500 Japan Kenta Yamashita / JapanKazuya Oshima 1st
2020 GT500 #14 TGR Team WAKO'S Rookie Toyota GR Supra GT500 Japan Kenta Yamashita / JapanKazuya Oshima 7th
2021 GT500 #14 TGR Team Eneos Rookie Toyota GR Supra GT500 Japan Kenta Yamashita / JapanKazuya Oshima

All Japan Sports Prototype Championship[]

Year Car Drivers
1984 Nissan Skyline Turbo C (LM04C) Japan / JapanOsamu Nakako / JapanToshio Suzuki
1985 Nissan LM04C

Nissan LM05C

JapanKeji Matsumoto / JapanOsamu Nakako / JapanAkio Morimoto
1986 Nissan March 86G JapanKeji Matsumoto / JapanAguri Suzuki
1987 Nissan March 86G SwedenAnders Olofsson / JapanTakao Wada
1988 #86 Nissan March 88G SwedenAnders Olofsson / JapanTakao Wada
1989 #85 Nissan March 88G JapanOsamu Nakako / JapanAkio Morimoto / Japan
1990 #85 Nissan R89C JapanOsamu Nakako / JapanTakao Wada / BrazilMaurizio Sandro Sala
1991 #25 Nissan R89C

#25 Nissan R90CP

JapanHideki Okada / JapanTakao Wada

JapanMasahiko Kageyama / BrazilMaurizio Sandro Sala

24 Hours of Le Mans[]

Year Car Drivers Rankings
1987 #29 Nissan R86V SwedenAnders Olofsson / FranceAlain Ferté / FrancePatrick Gonin 32nd DNF
1988 #85 March 88S FranceMichel Trollé / JapanToshio Suzuki / United StatesDanny Ongais 42nd DNF
#86 March 88S ItalyLamberto Leoni / JapanAkio Morimoto / SwedenAnders Olofsson 43rd DNF
1989 #32 March 88S JapanTakao Wada / JapanAkio Morimoto / SwedenAnders Olofsson 27th DNF
1990 #85 Nissan R89C JapanTakao Wada / JapanAkio Morimoto / BrazilMaurizio Sandro Sala 35th DNF

Super Formula (Formula Nippon, Japanese Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 2000)[]

Year Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rankings
1979 Team LeMans March 792 BMW M12/7 Japan Keiji Matsumoto 1st
1988 Team LeMans March Mugen Honda ItalyEmanuele Pirro / United Kingdom Geoff Lees 3rd
Reynard
1989 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda ItalyEmanuele Pirro / United Kingdom Geoff Lees 6th
1990 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda United KingdomJohnny Herbert / JapanTakuya Kurosawa 16th
1991 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda United States Ross Cheever / United KingdomJohnny Herbert / Germany Michael Schumacher 2nd
Ralt
1992 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda United States Ross Cheever 3rd
1993 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Japan Akira Ishikawa NA
1994 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda United States Ross Cheever / JapanNaoki Hattori / JapanMasami Kageyama 3rd
1995 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda JapanNaoki Hattori 8th
1996 X Japan Racing Team LeMans Reynard 96D Mugen MF308 JapanNaoki Hattori / Germany Ralf Schumacher 1st
1997 Team LeMans Reynard 96D

Reynard 97D

Mugen MF308 Argentina Norberto Fontana 3rd
1998 LEMONed Racing Team LeMans Reynard 97D Mugen MF308 Argentina Norberto Fontana /  JapanSatoshi Motoyama 1st
1999 Unlimited Racing Team LeMans Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 JapanSatoshi Motoyama /  JapanKoji Yamanishi 2nd
2000 Team LeMans Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 JapanHideki Noda / JapanYudai Igarashi 5th
2001 Team LeMans Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 MalaysiaAlex Yoong / JapanKoji Yamanishi / JapanYudai Igarashi 14th
2002 Team LeMans #7 Reynard 99L

#7 Reynard 01L

Mugen MF308 JapanMasami Kageyama / GermanyDominik Schwager 13th
#8 Reynard 01L JapanTakeshi Tsuchiya 4th
2003 Forum Engineering ARTA Team LeMans #7 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 JapanToshihiro Kaneishi 4th
#8 Lola B3/51 JapanTakeshi Tsuchiya 8th
2004 Team LeMans #7 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 JapanJuichi Wakisaka 5th
#8 Lola B3/51 JapanTakeshi Tsuchiya 13th
2005 Forum Engineering Team LeMans #7 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 JapanTatsuya Kataoka 11th
#8 Lola B3/51 JapanTakeshi Tsuchiya 8th
2006 Team LeMans #7 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J JapanTatsuya Kataoka 7th
#8 Lola FN06 JapanToranosuke Takagi 18th
2007 Forum Engineering Team LeMans #7 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J JapanTatsuya Kataoka 14th
#8 Lola FN06 JapanToranosuke Takagi 16th
2008 Team LeMans #7 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J JapanSatoshi Motoyama 11th
#8 Lola FN06 JapanHiroaki Ishiura 16th
2009 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K JapanKeisuke Kunimoto 13th
#8 Swift 017.n JapanHiroaki Ishiura 6th
2010 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K ItalyKei Cozzolino 10th
#8 Swift 017.n JapanHiroaki Ishiura 8th
2011 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K JapanKazuya Oshima 5th
Team Kygnus Sunoco #8 Swift 017.n JapanHiroaki Ishiura 6th
2012 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K JapanKazuya Oshima 7th
Team Kygnus Sunoco #8 Swift 017.n FranceLoïc Duval 6th
2013 Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K JapanRyō Hirakawa 11th
#8 Swift 017.n ItalyAndrea Caldarelli /FranceLoïc Duval 13th / 3rd
2014 Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A JapanRyō Hirakawa 8th
#8 Dallara SF14 ItalyAndrea Caldarelli /FranceLoïc Duval 12th / 4th
2015 Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A JapanRyō Hirakawa 8th
#8 Dallara SF14 JapanKamui Kobayashi 6th
2016 SUNOCO Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A IndiaNarain Karthikeyan 14th
#8 Dallara SF14 JapanKamui Kobayashi 17th
2017 SUNOCO Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A SwedenFelix Rosenqvist TBD
#8 Dallara SF14 JapanKazuya Oshima TBD

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ NODA racing Academy Senior High School
  2. ^ "All-Japan GT Championship — Class GT500 2002 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 19 October 2016.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""