 | |
| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Base | Kyoto City, Kyoto |
| Team principal(s) | Kazumi Fujii |
| Current series | Super GT GT300 |
| Current drivers |
|
| Teams' Championships | 2014, 2015 Super GT |
| Drivers' Championships | 2015 Super GT |
| Website | www |
GAINER Co, Ltd. is a Japanese racing team that competes in Super GT.
GAINER was founded in 1999. They made their debut in the 2000 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship with the Ferrari F355. For 2003, GAINER changed the team name to "Jim Gainer Racing" where they participated with the aim of becoming the series champion with a Ferrari 360. In 2007 the team changed to the Ferrari F430, which was completely designed and manufactured in-house by GAINER itself. In 2009, Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka raced with the team achieving a win at Autopolis along with two other podium finishes. In 2010 the team switched to Dunlop tires. The team won the JAF Grand Prix Fuji Sprint Cup.
In 2012 The team name was changed to GAINER and switched to the Audi R8 LMS ultra. They managed to finish 7th place in the standings, achieving another win, this time in the season opener at Okayama. GAINER switched cars once again, this time using the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 for the 2013 season. The line up consisted of two cars. The number 11 driven by Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Bjorn Wirdheim, who had experience in GT500, while Number 10 was driven by Tetsuya Tanaka and Masayuki Ueda. In 2014 The No. 11 car of Hiranaka and Wirdheim, took pole position at the final round in Motegi and took the win, [1] despite having the same amount of points as champions GOODSMILE Racing, it finished second in the drivers' title after losing a tie-breaker as they had less wins. However, they won the team's championship with by one point. In 2015, GAINER raced with 1 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 retaining Hiranaka & Wirdheim, while also racing a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 with André Couto and Katsumasa Chiyo as the line up. The Nissan car had two wins, and won the long-awaited overall GT300 driver/team title. The champion driver was Couto, as Chiyo raced couple of rounds while Ryuichiro Tomita drove whenever Chiyo wasn't available. The Mercedes also put up a strong showing, finishing 5th overall with three podium finishes. [2] [3]
In 2018, GAINER became an official Nissan team, retiring the SLS, replacing it with another GTR. [4] Car No. 11 was driven by Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Hironobu Yasuda, just like the previous year. Car No. 10 featured Kazuki Hoshino and Keishi Ishikawa. Car No. 11 finished 3rd in the ranking with 2 wins. Car No. 10 was 14th in the ranking with one win. In 2022, Car No. 11 was driven by Hironobu Yasuda and Ishikawa. While car No. 10 was driven by Tomita, Riki Okusa, and Yusuke Shiotsu. Car No. 11 ranked 5th, while car No. 10 came close at winning the GT300 title, finishing 2nd in the points. As a team, they achieved five podium finishes, including one win. Okusa clinced third place in driver's standings. [5] In 2023, the line up reshuffled where Yasuda was paired with Okusa along with new manager Yorikatsu Tsujiko who sponsored the car with PONOS, while car 11 had Ishikawa and Tomita being the main drivers along with Shiotsu being the third driver. [6]
For 2024, GAINER is set to run a Ferrari 296 GT3, as PONOS Racing with Kei Cozzolino and Ferrari factory driver Lilou Wadoux. [7] Additionally, GAINER set to return with a GT300 version of the Nissan Fairlady Z with Ryuichiro Tomita and Keishi Ishikawa as the drivers for car number 11. [8]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year [9] | Car | Tyres | Class | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ferrari F355 GT | Y | GT300 | 111 |  Junichi Ikura Yusei Maki | SUZ | FUJ Ret | SUG | MIN | FUJ 16 | OKA NC | MOT Ret | NC1 | NC | 0 | |
| 2000 | Ferrari F355 GT | Y | GT300 | 111 | Junichi Ikura Yusei Maki | MOT 9 | FUJ Ret | SUG | NC1 | FUJ 15 | OKA 11 | MIN | SUZ 14 | 15th | 2 | |
| 2001 | Porsche 996 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 11 | Junichi Ikura Koji Ushikubo Yusei Maki | OKA 14 | FUJ 13 | SUG 8 | NC1 | FUJ 14 | MOT 15 | SUZ 9 | MIN DNA | 15th | 5 | |
| 2003 | Ferrari 360 | Y | GT300 | 11 | Hideshi Matsuda Tetsuya Tanaka | OKA 13 | FUJ 4 | SUG Ret | FUJ 2 | FUJ 20 | MOT Ret | AUT 2 | SUZ 12 | 8th | 46 | |
| 2004 | Ferrari 360 | D | GT300 | 10 | Tetsuya Tanaka Atsushi Yogo | OKA 1 | SUG 8 | SEP 5 | TOK 5 | MOT 3 | AUT 3 | SUZ 18 | NC1 | NC2 | 3rd | 78 |
| 11 | Hideshi Matsuda Ichigo Suga | OKA 10 | SUG 3 | SEP 8 | TOK 8 | MOT 20 | AUT 7 | SUZ 14 | NC1 | NC2 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.
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.
The 2012 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twentieth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the eighth season as the Super GT series. It also marked the thirtieth season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 1 and ended on November 18, 2012, after eight championship races and a non-championship race.
The 2013 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-first season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the ninth season under the name Super GT. It marked the thirty-first season overall of a Japanese professional sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. It was the final year of the GT500 regulations introduced in 2010 as the 2014 season would see unified technical regulations with the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. The season began on April 7 and ended on November 17, 2013 after 8 regular races and 1 non championship event.
The 2013 Fuji GT 300km was the sixth round of the 2013 Super GT season. It took place on September 8, 2013 at the Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan.
The 2013 Autopolis GT 300 km was the seventh round of the 2013 Super GT season and the 8th points scoring race for GT300 cars. It took place on October 6, 2013, at Autopolis near Kamitsue, Oita, Japan.
The 2013 Motegi GT 250km was the final round of the 2013 Super GT season, the 8th points scoring race for GT500 cars and the 9th for GT300 cars. It took place on November 3, 2013 at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, Japan.
The 2015 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-third season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the eleventh season under the name Super GT. It marked the thirty-third season overall of a Japanese professional sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 5 and ended on November 15, after 8 races.
Katsumasa Chiyo is a Japanese factory racing driver, currently competing in the Autobacs Super GT Series as a factory driver for Nissan. He is a graduate of the Nissan Driver Development Program (NDDP), and a past champion of the Bathurst 12 Hour race, and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
The 2016 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fourth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the twelfth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fourth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 10 and ended on November 13, after 8 races.
The 2017 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fifth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the thirteenth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fifth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 9 and ended on November 12, after 8 races.
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 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-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.
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.
Kiyoto Fujinami is a Japanese professional racing driver who currently competes in Super GT for Team Mach. He is a two-time champion in the series, having won the GT300 class title with Kondō Racing in 2020 and 2022.
The 2022 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars, sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirtieth season of the JAF Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the eighteenth season under the Super GT name. It was also the fortieth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.
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.
Kazuki Hiramine is a Japanese racing driver, currently racing in the Super GT Series as a Nissan factory driver with Team Impul. He won the Super GT GT500 Championship in 2022, alongside co-driver Bertrand Baguette.
The 2024 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirty-second season of the JAF Super GT Championship, which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the twentieth season under the Super GT name. It is also the forty-second overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.
Riki Okusa is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes in the GT500 class in Super GT for Nakajima Racing for the 2024 season and previously in the GT300 class in for GAINER, partnered with Hironobu Yasuda.
Keishi Ishikawa is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in Super GT with GAINER.
