1998 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship

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The 1998 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship was the sixth season of Japan Automobile Federation GT premiere racing. It was marked as well as the sixteenth season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The GT500 class champion was the #23 Pennzoil NISMO Nissan Skyline GT-R driven by Érik Comas and Masami Kageyama, and the GT300 class champion was the #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR2 driven by Keiichi Suzuki and Shingo Tachi, who won a record five championship races, plus the post-season all-star race, giving them a total of six wins in 1998.

Contents

The season was marred by a horrific crash at the All Japan Fuji GT Race on May 3, 1998, when Ferrari Club of Japan driver Tetsuya Ota lost control of his Ferrari F355 in heavy rain and fog, and crashed into the stationary Porsche 911 of Tomohiko Sunako. Ota's car erupted into flames upon impact, and fellow racer Shinichi Yamaji rushed to extinguish the fire. Ota suffered severe burns and nerve damage that would force him to retire from full-time racing. Sunako suffered a broken leg, but would continue to race in the series later on.

1998 also saw the first GT500 class victory for Honda, at the Japan Special GT Cup at Fuji Speedway.

Drivers and teams

GT500

TeamMakeCarEngineNo.DriversTyreRounds
Nismo Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 2 Flag of Japan.svg Masahiko Kageyama B All
Flag of Japan.svg Aguri Suzuki 1, 3–7, NC
Flag of Spain.svg Pedro de la Rosa 2
23 Flag of Japan.svg Masami Kageyama All
Flag of France.svg Érik Comas 1, 3–7, NC
Flag of Ireland.svg Ralph Firman 2
Hasemi Motorsport Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 3 Flag of Japan.svg Masahiro Hasemi B All
Flag of Japan.svg Tetsuya Tanaka All
Team 5ZIGEN Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marc Goossens D All
Flag of Japan.svg Yasutaka Hinoi 1–3
Flag of Japan.svg Eiichi Tajima 4–7
INGING Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 6 Flag of Japan.svg Shinichi Takagi B All
Flag of France.svg Pierre-Henri Raphanel 1, 3–7
Flag of Sweden.svg Anders Olofsson 2
Team Power Craft Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Gardner B 1–4, 6–7
Flag of Japan.svg Minoru Tanaka 1–4, 6–7
Calsonic Team Impul Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 12 Flag of Japan.svg Takuya Kurosawa B All
Flag of Japan.svg Kazuyoshi Hoshino 1, 3–7, NC
Flag of Germany.svg Michael Krumm 2
Endless Sports Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 13 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsuhiro Kinoshita Y All
Flag of Japan.svg Mitsuo Fujimura All
Castrol Mugen Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 16 Flag of Japan.svg Ryo Michigami B All
Flag of Japan.svg Osamu Nakako All
Dome Racing Team Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 18 Flag of Japan.svg Katsutomo Kaneishi B All
Flag of Japan.svg Katsumi Yamamoto 1–5
Flag of Japan.svg Juichi Wakisaka 6–7, NC
Team Take One Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Twin Turbo F6 30 Flag of Japan.svg Hideki Okada B All
Flag of Japan.svg Yoji Yamada All
Toyota Team TOM'S Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 36 Flag of Japan.svg Masanori Sekiya D All
Flag of Argentina.svg Norberto Fontana All
37 Flag of Japan.svg Toshio Suzuki All
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Kelvin Burt All
Toyota Team Cerumo Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 38 Flag of Japan.svg Hironori Takeuchi B All
Flag of Japan.svg Hideki Noda All
Denso Toyota Team SARD Toyota Toyota Supra Toyota 3S-GT 2.0 L Turbo I4 39 Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Tsuchiya Y All
Flag of Japan.svg Tatsuya Tanigawa All
Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Nissan Nissan Skyline GT-R Nissan RB26DETT 2.7 L Twin Turbo I6 50 Flag of Japan.svg Takeshi Tsuchiya B All
Flag of Japan.svg Satoshi Motoyama 1, 3–7, NC
Flag of Japan.svg Hiroki Katoh 2
Team Taisan Advan Chrysler Chrysler Viper GTS-R Chrysler Viper 8.0 L V10 55 Flag of Japan.svg Hideshi Matsuda Y 1–2, 4, 7, NC
Flag of Japan.svg Eiichi Tajima 1–2
Flag of Japan.svg Fuminori Mizuno  [ ja ]4
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Anthony Reid 7
Flag of Japan.svg Mitsuhiro Kinoshita NC
Mobil 1 Nakajima Racing Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 64 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom Coronel B All
Flag of Japan.svg Koji Yamanishi 1–2, 4–7, NC
Flag of Japan.svg Koji Sato  [ ja ]3
JLOC Corsa Lamborghini Lamborghini Diablo GT-1 Lamborghini L532 6.0 L V12 88 Flag of Japan.svg Naohiro Furuya D All
Flag of Japan.svg Hisashi Wada All
Lamborghini Diablo Jota 777 Flag of Japan.svg Takao Wada 2, 4–5, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Masami Sugiyama 2, 4–5, 7
Kenji Kawagoe Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Twin Turbo F6 89 Flag of Japan.svg Kenji Kawagoe D 2
Flag of Japan.svg Toshikazu Kanamori 2
Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 100 Flag of Japan.svg Kunimitsu Takahashi B All
Flag of Japan.svg Akira Iida All

GT300

TeamMakeCarEngineNo.DriversTyreRounds
RE Amemiya Racing Mazda Mazda RX-7 Mazda RE20B 2.0 L 3-rotor 7 Flag of Japan.svg Shinichi Yamaji D All
Flag of Japan.svg Haruhiko Matsumoto  [ ja ]All
Team Daikokuya Porsche Porsche 993 RSR Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6 9 Flag of Japan.svg Shuroku Sasaki  [ ja ] D 1–2
Flag of Japan.svg Tsunefumi Hioki 1, 3
Flag of Japan.svg Yukihiro Hane 3–5, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Naohiro Kawano 4–5, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Hideaki Ichimura 2
99 Flag of Japan.svg Tsunefumi Hioki 5–6
Flag of Japan.svg Kiichi Takahashi 5
Flag of Japan.svg Akira Yoshitomi 6
Ability Motorsport Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/82 3.6 L Turbo F6 10 Flag of Japan.svg Hidehiko Aso D All
Flag of Japan.svg Akira Ishikawa  [ ja ]All
M Factory Racing Club Nissan Nissan Skyline GTS-R (HR31) Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 11 Flag of Japan.svg Hiromoto Ishimori B 2, 4
Flag of Japan.svg Kazuo Miura 2, 4
Xanavi Racing with Nismo Jr. Nissan Nissan Silvia (S14) Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 15 Flag of Japan.svg Masahiko Kondo B All
Flag of Japan.svg Takayuki Aoki All
Kageisen Racing Team Mazda Mazda Roadster (NA) Mazda RE13B 1.3 L 2-rotor 17 Flag of Japan.svg Toshihiko Nogami  [ ja ] D 1–2, 4–5, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Tomoyuki Hosono 1, 4
Flag of Japan.svg Masaaki Nagashima 2, 5, 7
Racing Project Bandoh Toyota Toyota Celica Toyota 3S-GE 2.0 L I4 19 Flag of Japan.svg Manabu Orido Y 4–7
Flag of Italy.svg Max Angelelli 4–6
Flag of Japan.svg Katsumi Yamamoto 7
Hitotsuyama Racing BMW BMW M3 (E36) BMW S14 2.2 L Turbo I4 21 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroki Katoh D 1, 3–7
Flag of Japan.svg Yasushi Hitotsuyama  [ ja ]1–2, 4, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Mikio Hitotsuyama  [ ja ]3, 5–6
Flag of Japan.svg Takayuki Kinoshita 2
Hirano Motorsport Nissan Nissan Skyline GTS-i (R32) Nissan RB20DET 2.0 L Turbo I6 24 Flag of Japan.svg Toshiyuki Hirano Y 2, 4
Flag of Japan.svg Teruhiko Someba 2, 4
Team Taisan Jr. with Tsuchiya Toyota Toyota MR2 Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I4 25 Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki Y All
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi All
Team Ferrari Club of Japan Ferrari Ferrari F355 GT Ferrari F129B 3.5 L V8 27 Flag of Japan.svg Tetsuya Ota Y 1–2
Flag of Sweden.svg Anders Olofsson 1
Flag of Sweden.svg Steven Andskär 2
28 Flag of Japan.svg Masahiro Yamazaki 2–3
Flag of Japan.svg Hiroaki Suga 5
A'PEX Toyota Toyota MR2 Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I4 44 Flag of Japan.svg Morio Nitta D All
Flag of Japan.svg Shota Mizuno 1–3
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Peter Dumbreck 4–7
Cobra Racing Team Porsche Porsche 993 RSR Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6 51 Flag of Japan.svg Katsunori Iketani Y All
Flag of Japan.svg Seiichi Sodeyama 1
Flag of Japan.svg Masamitsu Ishihara 2–5, 7
Flag of Japan.svg "OSAMU" 6
KRAFT Toyota Toyota Cavalier Toyota 3S-GE 2.0 L I4 60 Flag of Japan.svg Kumi Sato  [ ja ] D All
Flag of Japan.svg Masaoki Nagashima  [ ja ]1
Flag of Japan.svg Junko Mihara 2
Flag of Japan.svg Akira Watanabe 3–7
Team Taeivon Ralliart Mitsubishi Mitsubishi FTO Mitsubishi 4G63 2.0 L Turbo I4 61 Flag of Japan.svg Akihiko Nakaya T All
Flag of Japan.svg Takahiko Hara All
Team Gaikokuya Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Turbo F6 70 Flag of Japan.svg Yoshimi Ishibashi Y All
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Patrick van Schoote All
SigmaTec Racing Team Porsche Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche M64/81 3.6 L Turbo F6 71 Flag of Japan.svg Kaoru Hoshino D All
Flag of Japan.svg Masaki Jyonai All
Okura Rotary Racing Mazda Mazda RX-7 Mazda RE20B 2.0 L 3-rotor 72 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mark Porter Y 3–7
Flag of Japan.svg Yoshimi Katayama 3–4
Flag of Japan.svg Isao Hirano 5–7
Cusco Racing Subaru Subaru Impreza WRX STI Subaru EJ20 2.0 L Turbo F4 77 Flag of Japan.svg Katsuo Kobayashi Y All
Flag of Japan.svg Hideyuki Tamamoto All
NAC West Nissan Nissan Silvia (S13) Nissan FJ20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 79 Flag of Japan.svg Masanori Sugiyama Y 2, 4
Flag of Japan.svg Hiroyasu Aoyagi 2, 4
Team Daishin Nissan Nissan Silvia (S14) Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 81 Flag of Japan.svg Hideo Fukuyama D All
Flag of Japan.svg Nobuyuki Oyagi  [ ja ]All
First Racing Team Toyota Toyota MR2 Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I4 91 Flag of Japan.svg Masahiro Matsunaga Y 1–3
Flag of Japan.svg Yasuhisa Fujiwara 1–3
Toyota Celica Flag of Japan.svg Masahiro Matsunaga 4–7
Flag of Japan.svg Yasuhisa Fujiwara 4–7
Alta Racing Team Mazda Mazda RX-7 Mazda RE20B 2.0 L 3-rotor 117 Flag of Japan.svg Toshihiro Fukazawa Y 2, 4–5, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Tetsuo Kozai 2, 4–5, 7
NSX Dream28 Competition Honda Honda NSX Honda C32B 3.5 L V6 280 Flag of Japan.svg Hajime Oshiro Y 4
Flag of Japan.svg Mamoru Suzuki 4
Yellow Magic Ferrari Ferrari F355 Ferrari F129B 3.6 L V8 355 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroaki Suga Y 4–5, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Takayuki Ohi  [ ja ]4
Flag of Japan.svg Tatsuyuki Fujiwara 5
Flag of Japan.svg Seiichi Sodeyama 7
910 Racing Porsche Porsche 993 RSR Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6 910 Flag of Japan.svg Atsushi Yogo  [ ja ] D All
Flag of Japan.svg Tomohiko Sunako 1–2
Flag of Japan.svg Shogo Kobayashi  [ ja ]3–4
Flag of Japan.svg Takayuki Kinoshita 5–7
911 Flag of Japan.svg Kiichi Takahashi 1–4, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Shogo Kobayashi 1
Flag of Japan.svg Kazushige Saito 2–3, 7
Flag of Japan.svg Hirotaka Nakajima 4

Schedule

RoundRaceCircuitDate
1Suzuka GT 300 Flag of Japan.svg Suzuka Circuit March 22
2All Japan Fuji GT Race Flag of Japan.svg Fuji Speedway May 3
3HiLand GT Championship Flag of Japan.svg Sendai Hi-Land Raceway June 28
4Japan Special GT-Cup Flag of Japan.svg Fuji Speedway August 9
5Motegi GT Championship Race Flag of Japan.svg Twin Ring Motegi September 13
6CP Mine GT Race Flag of Japan.svg Mine Circuit October 11
7SUGO GT Championship Flag of Japan.svg Sportsland SUGO October 25
NCNicos Cup GT Allstar Race Flag of Japan.svg TI Circuit November 15

Season results

RoundCircuitGT500 Winning TeamGT300 Winning Team
GT500 Winning DriversGT300 Winning Drivers
1 Suzuka Circuit #23 Pennzoil NISMO GT-R #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2
Flag of Japan.svg Masami Kageyama
Flag of France.svg Érik Comas
Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi
- Mt. Fuji Race abandoned because of crash at start and subsequent fog. [1]
2 Sendai #23 Pennzoil NISMO GT-R #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2
Flag of Japan.svg Masami Kageyama
Flag of France.svg Érik Comas
Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi
3 Mt. Fuji #64 Mobil 1 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom Coronel
Flag of Japan.svg Koji Yamanishi
Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi
4 Twin Ring Motegi #16 Castrol Mugen Honda NSX #77 Cusco Subaru Impreza
Flag of Japan.svg Ryo Michigami
Flag of Japan.svg Osamu Nakako
Flag of Japan.svg Katsuo Kobayashi
Flag of Japan.svg Hideyuki Tamamoto
5 Mine Circuit #100 Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2
Flag of Japan.svg Kunimitsu Takahashi
Flag of Japan.svg Akira Iida
Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi
6 Sportsland SUGO #16 Castrol Mugen Honda NSX #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2
Flag of Japan.svg Ryo Michigami
Flag of Japan.svg Osamu Nakako
Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi
NC TI Circuit #64 Mobil 1 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom Coronel
Flag of Japan.svg Koji Yamanishi
Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi

Point Ranking

GT500

Drivers

RankNo.DriverSUZFUJSENFUJMOTMINSUGTAIPoints
123 Masami Kageyama 1C1104461067
123 Érik Comas 11104461067
264 Koji Yamanishi 2C1Ret2DNS150
264 Tom Coronel 2CRet1Ret2DNS150
312 Kazuyoshi Hoshino 1153274449
312 Takuya Kurosawa 11C53274549
416 Osamu Nakako

Ryo Michigami

RetCRet51111748
53 Masahiro Hasemi

Tetsuya Tanaka

5CRet2885437
639 Keiichi Tsuchiya

Tatsuya Tanigawa

3C49Ret3Ret336
736 Masanori Sekiya

Norberto Fontana

6C38316RetRet33
82 Aguri Suzuki Ret271159Ret29
82 Masahiko Kageyama RetC271159Ret29
937 Toshio Suzuki

Kelvin Burt

7C611Ret102626
10100 Kunimitsu Takahashi

Akira Iida

10C12Ret71Ret225
1138 Hironori Takeuchi

Hideki Noda

9CRetRet5123Ret22
1250 Satoshi Motoyama 13116698Ret17
1250 Takeshi Tsuchiya 13C116698Ret17
135 Marc Goossens 4C7RetRetRetRet14
145 Yasutaka Hinoi 4C714
1518 Katsutomo Kaneishi RetCRet4Ret15DSQRet10
1618 Katsumi Yamamoto RetCRet4Ret10
178 Wayne Gardner

Minoru Tanaka

8C1012Ret78
186 Pierre-Henri Raphanel RetRet13Ret6DNQ6
186 Shinichi Takagi RetCRet13Ret6DNQ6
1930 Yoji Yamada

Hideki Okada

12C815914Ret95
2088 Hisashi Wada

Naohiro Furuya

RetC9181013113
2155 Hideshi Matsuda 14C141081
2255 Anthony Reid 101
55 Eiichi Tajima 14C0
5RetRetRetRet0
55 Fuminori Mizuno  [ ja ]140
13 Mitsuhiro Kinoshita CRet161217Ret0
5580
13 Mitsuo Fujimura CRet161217Ret0
777 Takao Wada

Masayoshi Sugiyama

15C17RetRet0
18 Juichi Wakisaka 15DSQRet0
64 Koji Sato  [ ja ]Ret0
2 Pedro de la Rosa C0
23 Ralph Firman C0
50 Hiroki Katoh C0
12 Michael Krumm C0
6 Anders Olofsson C0
89 Kenji Kawagoe

Tonichi Kanamori

C0

GT300 Class (Top 5)

Drivers

RankDriversNumber/TeamPointsWins
1 Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Shingo Tachi
#25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2 1065
2 Flag of Japan.svg Manabu Orido #19 Racing Project Bandoh Toyota Celica 460
3 Flag of Japan.svg Morio Nitta #44 MOMOCORSE A'PEX MR-2 450
4 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroki Katoh #21 Hitotsuyama Racing BMW M3 440
5 Flag of Japan.svg Akihiko Nakaya
Flag of Japan.svg Takahiko Hara
#61 Team Taeivon Ralliart Mitsubishi FTO 370

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References

  1. "JGTC Fog Bank Ends 2nd Round of GTC". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.