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.
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.
| Round | Race | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suzuka GT 300 |  Suzuka Circuit | March 22 |
| 2 | All Japan Fuji GT Race | Fuji Speedway | May 3 |
| 3 | HiLand GT Championship | Sendai Hi-Land Raceway | June 28 |
| 4 | Japan Special GT-Cup | Fuji Speedway | August 9 |
| 5 | Motegi GT Championship Race | Twin Ring Motegi | September 13 |
| 6 | CP Mine GT Race | Mine Circuit | October 11 |
| 7 | SUGO GT Championship | Sportsland SUGO | October 25 |
| NC | Nicos Cup GT Allstar Race | TI Circuit | November 15 |
| Rank | No. | Driver | SUZ | FUJ | SEN | FUJ | MOT | MIN | SUG | TAI | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Masami Kageyama | 1 | C | 1 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 67 |
| 1 | 23 | Érik Comas | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 67 | |
| 2 | 64 | Koji Yamanishi | 2 | C | 1 | Ret | 2 | DNS | 1 | 50 | |
| 2 | 64 | Tom Coronel | 2 | C | Ret | 1 | Ret | 2 | DNS | 1 | 50 |
| 3 | 12 | Kazuyoshi Hoshino | 11 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 49 | |
| 3 | 12 | Takuya Kurosawa | 11 | C | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 49 |
| 4 | 16 | Osamu Nakako | Ret | C | Ret | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 48 |
| 5 | 3 | Masahiro Hasemi | 5 | C | Ret | 2 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 37 |
| 6 | 39 | Keiichi Tsuchiya | 3 | C | 4 | 9 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 3 | 36 |
| 7 | 36 | Masanori Sekiya | 6 | C | 3 | 8 | 3 | 16 | Ret | Ret | 33 |
| 8 | 2 | Aguri Suzuki | Ret | 2 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 9 | Ret | 29 | |
| 8 | 2 | Masahiko Kageyama | Ret | C | 2 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 9 | Ret | 29 |
| 9 | 37 | Toshio Suzuki | 7 | C | 6 | 11 | Ret | 10 | 2 | 6 | 26 |
| 10 | 100 | Kunimitsu Takahashi | 10 | C | 12 | Ret | 7 | 1 | Ret | 2 | 25 |
| 11 | 38 | Hironori Takeuchi | 9 | C | Ret | Ret | 5 | 12 | 3 | Ret | 22 |
| 12 | 50 | Satoshi Motoyama | 13 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | Ret | 17 | |
| 12 | 50 | Takeshi Tsuchiya | 13 | C | 11 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | Ret | 17 |
| 13 | 5 | Marc Goossens | 4 | C | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14 | |
| 14 | 5 | Yasutaka Hinoi | 4 | C | 7 | 14 | |||||
| 15 | 18 | Katsutomo Kaneishi | Ret | C | Ret | 4 | Ret | 15 | DSQ | Ret | 10 |
| 16 | 18 | Katsumi Yamamoto | Ret | C | Ret | 4 | Ret | 10 | |||
| 17 | 8 | Wayne Gardner | 8 | C | 10 | 12 | Ret | 7 | 8 | ||
| 18 | 6 | Pierre-Henri Raphanel | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | 6 | DNQ | 6 | ||
| 18 | 6 | Shinichi Takagi | Ret | C | Ret | 13 | Ret | 6 | DNQ | 6 | |
| 19 | 30 | Yoji Yamada | 12 | C | 8 | 15 | 9 | 14 | Ret | 9 | 5 |
| 20 | 88 | Hisashi Wada | Ret | C | 9 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 3 | |
| 21 | 55 | Hideshi Matsuda | 14 | C | 14 | 10 | 8 | 1 | |||
| 22 | 55 | Anthony Reid | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| 55 | Eiichi Tajima | 14 | C | 0 | |||||||
| 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 0 | ||||||
| 55 | Fuminori Mizuno | 14 | 0 | ||||||||
| 13 | Mitsuhiro Kinoshita | C | Ret | 16 | 12 | 17 | Ret | 0 | |||
| 55 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||
| 13 | Mitsuo Fujimura | C | Ret | 16 | 12 | 17 | Ret | 0 | |||
| 777 | Takao Wada | 15 | C | 17 | Ret | Ret | 0 | ||||
| 18 | Juichi Wakisaka | 15 | DSQ | Ret | 0 | ||||||
| 64 | Koji Sato | Ret | 0 | ||||||||
| 2 | Pedro de la Rosa | C | 0 | ||||||||
| 23 | Ralph Firman | C | 0 | ||||||||
| 50 | Hiroki Katoh | C | 0 | ||||||||
| 12 | Michael Krumm | C | 0 | ||||||||
| 6 | Anders Olofsson | C | 0 | ||||||||
| 89 | Kenji Kawagoe | C | 0 |
| Rank | Drivers | Number/Team | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keiichi Suzuki Shingo Tachi | #25 Team Taisan Jr with Tsuchiya MR-2 | 106 | 5 |
| 2 | Manabu Orido | #19 Racing Project Bandoh Toyota Celica | 46 | 0 |
| 3 | Morio Nitta | #44 MOMOCORSE A'PEX MR-2 | 45 | 0 |
| 4 | Hiroki Katoh | #21 Hitotsuyama Racing BMW M3 | 44 | 0 |
| 5 | Akihiko Nakaya Takahiko Hara | #61 Team Taeivon Ralliart Mitsubishi FTO | 37 | 0 |
Keiichi Tsuchiya is a Japanese professional race car driver. He is known as the Drift King for his nontraditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport. In professional racing, he is a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and the 2001 All Japan GT Championship runner-up. He is also known for touge driving.
Super GT is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the Zen Nihon GT Senshuken (全日本GT選手権), generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of sports car racing in Japan.
Satoshi Motoyama is a Japanese professional racing driver and team manager. He is best known for racing in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) as a factory driver for Nissan, and for racing in the Formula Nippon Championship. He is a three-time champion of the GT500 class of Super GT, and a four-time Formula Nippon/Super Formula champion, making him one of the most successful Japanese racing drivers of all-time.
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the Zen Nihon GT Senshuken (全日本GT選手権), generally referred to as either the JGTC the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car racing in Japan.
Shingo Tachi was a Japanese racing driver, the son of Nobuhide Tachi, founder and head of TOM's, the motorsport side of Toyota. Tachi raced in British Formula Vauxhall with Rowan Racing in 1994 and 1995 before switching to British Formula 3 in 1996 with a Dallara-Toyota prepared by Team Magic Racing. He had a good season finishing 2nd in Class B. He returned to race in the Japanese F3 series in 1997 and 1998 finishing 3rd.
The 2006 Autobacs Super GT Series was the fourteenth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the second season as the Super GT series. It was also the twenty-fourth season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on March 19 and ended on November 5, 2006, after 9 races.
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Masami Kageyama is a Japanese racing driver from Kanagawa Prefecture. His older brother is Masahiko Kageyama who was also a successful racing driver in similar categories.
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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.
The 2018 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-sixth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fourteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-sixth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 8 and ended on November 11, after 8 races.
The 2019 Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-seventh season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fifteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-seventh overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 14 and ended on November 24, after 8 championship races & 2 non-championship races.
Team Taisan is a Japanese auto racing team founded in 1983 by Yasutsune "Ricky" Chiba and owned by the Taisan Industrial Company. Most active in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), Taisan has been involved in all but one season from 1994 to 2018, taking a sabbatical in 2015. During that time they have won eight team championships and four drivers championships, representing manufacturers Ferrari, Porsche, Dodge, Toyota, Nissan, and Audi. Team Taisan has also participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning their class on their debut in 2000. For nearly their entire career, Taisan has been sponsored by tire manufacturer Yokohama Rubber Company, often carrying the name of Yokohama's Advan brand.
The 2020 Super GT Series was motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-eighth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the sixteenth season the series to compete under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-eighth overall season of a JAF national sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.
Morio Nitta is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in the Super GT Series for K-tunes Racing. He is a three-time champion of the GT300 class, winning the championship in 1996, 1999, and 2002.
