 | |
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Base | Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Team principal(s) | Kiyoshi Muraoka |
| Current series | |
| Former series | |
| Current drivers | |
| Teams' Championships | 2012 2019 |
| Drivers' Championships | 2004: Richard Lyons 2020: Naoki Yamamoto |
Dandelion Racing is a Japanese racing team, mainly running in Super Formula. The team was founded by Kiyoshi Muraoka in 1989 as "Dandelion Racing Project".
The team made a small sponsor contract with NTT Docomo in 1993. It made a way to enter the Japanese local racing series. The team ran in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship (1993 and 1994 seasons) and Japanese Touring Car Championship (1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998), and suffered from poor results through the 1990s.
The relationship with NTT Docomo will continue to date, though there is no capital ties.
In 1999, the team switched from the defunct JTCC to Formula Nippon as a Honda engine user. Though the team continuously suffered from poor result at first, the fortune was changed in the 2002 season when Richard Lyons scored team's first point-finish in the series with finishing 2nd at the SUGO round.
In the 2003 season, Lyons won the Suzuka round in July. It was also the first race win for the team. In the 2004 season, Lyons became the drivers' champion of the series and the team finished as 3rd in the teams' championship. During the following years, the team came to leave steady results. In 2012, the last season of Formula Nippon, the team became the teams' champion of the series with beating TOM'S at the final round of the season.
Nobuharu Matsushita returned to Japan after two seasons in the GP2 Series and one season in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, joining the team. He takes the seat of Takuya Izawa, who moved to Nakajima Racing. [1] 2018 champion Naoki Yamamoto moves to the team in 2019 after eight seasons driving for Team Mugen. He is joined by Nirei Fukuzumi, who completed a partial season with Mugen in 2018 alongside FIA Formula 2. Nobuharu Matsushita leaves Team Dandelion after a single season, returning to Formula 2 with Carlin. [2] Yamamoto won his title in 2020, and the teams title in 2019. Yamamoto only stayed with the team for 2 seasons, and he replaced by Tadasuke Makino. [3] Fukuzumi clinched runners up in 2021, then he replaced by Rookie champion Hiroki Otsu for 2022. [4] [5] Otsu then replaced by Kakunoshin Ohta. [6]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Richard Lyons (2002–2005, 2009)
Naoki Hattori (2003–2005) Takuya Izawa (2009–2013, 2017) Tomoki Nojiri (2014–2018)
Stoffel Vandoorne (2016)
Naoki Yamamoto is a Japanese racing driver for Honda Racing Corporation, currently driving in Super GT with Team Kunimitsu and in Super Formula with Nakajima Racing. He is a three-time champion in Super Formula and a two-time champion in the GT500 class of Super GT. Yamamoto is also the only driver to have won both the Super Formula and GT500 championships in the same season multiple times, a feat which he accomplished in 2018 and 2020.
Tomoki Nojiri is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes as a Honda factory driver in Super GT for ARTA and in Super Formula for Team Mugen, where he won the championship title in 2021 and 2022.
Nirei Fukuzumi is a Japanese racing driver affiliated with Toyota Gazoo Racing who currently competes in Super GT for ROOKIE Racing and in Super Formula for KCMG. He won the GT300 class championship in Super GT in 2019, driving for ARTA alongside series veteran Shinichi Takagi, and is a race winner in the GP3 Series and Super Formula.
Tadasuke Makino is a Japanese racing driver for Honda Motor Company who currently competes in Super GT for Team Kunimitsu and in the Super Formula Championship for Dandelion Racing. A feature race winner in the FIA Formula 2 Championship during his time abroad in junior categories, Makino has competed in the top level of Japan's domestic racing scene since 2019. Alongside teammate Naoki Yamamoto, he won the GT500 class championship in Super GT in 2020.
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 2018 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the forty-sixth season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the sixth under the moniker of Super Formula. The season began on 22 April and is scheduled to end on 28 October at the same place after seven rounds.
The 2019 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the forty-seventh season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the seventh under the moniker of Super Formula. The season began on 21 April at Suzuka Circuit and ended on 27 October at the same location.
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The 2020 Autobacs 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.
The 2021 Autobacs 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-ninth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the seventeenth season under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-ninth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship, dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.
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Toshiki Oyu is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing who currently competes in Super GT for Team Cerumo and in Super Formula for INGING. He was previously a factory driver for Honda until 2023.
The 2022 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the fiftieth season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the tenth under the moniker of Super Formula. It started in April 2022 and was contested over ten rounds across seven race meetings.
Hiroki Otsu is a Japanese racing driver who is currently competing in Super GT with ARTA, and in Super Formula for TCS Nakajima Racing as a substitute driver for Naoki Yamamoto.
The 2023 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the fifty-first season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the eleventh under the moniker of Super Formula. It started in April 2023 and was contested over seven weekends, comprising nine races. Tomoki Nojiri entered the season as the two-time and defending series champion.
The 2023 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars, sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ran by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirty-first season of the JAF Super GT Championship, which included the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the nineteenth season under the Super GT name. It was also the forty-first overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.
Kakunoshin "Kaku" Ohta is a Japanese racing driver for Honda Motor Company who currently competes in Super GT for Astemo Real Racing and in Super Formula for docomo Team Dandelion Racing.
The 2024 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the fifty-second season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the twelfth under the moniker of Super Formula. It started in March at Suzuka Circuit and ended in November at the same venue, after nine rounds across seven race weekends.
Drago LLC, also known as Drago Corse, is a Japanese racing team, competing in Super Formula. The team was founded by long-time Honda driver and 2000 JGTC champion Ryo Michigami in 2014.
Servus Japan Co, Ltd. is a Japanese racing company that competes in Super Formula, Super GT GT300, and Formula Regional Japanese Championship. The company runs TGM Grand Prix in Super Formula, Studie, Team UpGarage in Super GT, and Team Sutekina.
