1994 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
The 1994 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship was the first full season of premier class GT racing in Japan to be promoted by the new GT Association (GTA). It was marked as well as the twelfth season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship, dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. Recognized as the first season of what is now the Super GT series, the 1994 season introduced the familiar dual-class structure, and the Success Ballast handicap system that would become staples of the series in the years to come.
The premier class, GT1, featured an eclectic mix of Japanese-built GT cars such as the fleet of factory-operated Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, and later, the Toyota Supra GT from Team SARD - as well as foreign-made GT cars like the Porsche 911 RSR, the Lamborghini Countach, and the Ferrari F40 - mixed in with the Porsche 962C that was a holdover from the previous Group C era, and even a former WRC-spec Lancia 037 that entered as a one-off. The secondary class, GT2, featured privately-built sports cars such as the ones used in the former Japan Super Sport Sedan Championship.
The GT1 class champion was the #1 Calsonic Skyline GT-R driven by Masahiko Kageyama, and the GT2 class champion was the #29 Korg Kegani Porsche 964 driven by Sakae Obata.
Schedule
| Round | Race | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All Japan Fuji GT Race | Fuji Speedway | May 1 |
| 2 | HiLand GT&F3 Race | Sendai Hi-Land Raceway | June 12 |
| 3 | Japan Special GT-Cup | Fuji Speedway | August 14 |
| 4 | SUGO GT&F3 | Sportsland SUGO | September 11 |
| 5 | Sanyo Shinpan Cup Grand Touring Car Endurance Race | Mine Circuit | October 1 |
Teams & Drivers
GT1
GT2
| Team | Make | Car | Engine | No. | Drivers | Tyre | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Racing | Porsche | Porsche 964 Turbo | Porsche M64/50 3.6 L Turbo F6 | 11 | Hiroyuki Yoshimoto | B | 1 |
| Masahiro Hayashi | 1 | ||||||
| KK Scuderia | Mazda | Mazda RX-7 (FC3S) | Mazda RE13B 1.3 L 2-rotor | 12 | Tetsuya Kawasaki | D | 2, 4 |
| Toshio Fukushima | 3-4 | ||||||
| Dandelion Racing | Nissan | Nissan Skyline GTS-R (R32) | Nissan RB20DET 2.0 L Turbo I6 | 22 | Katsuo Mizunuma | Y | 3-5 |
| Tsuyoshi Sunaga | 3-4 | ||||||
| Mitsuo Akimoto | 5 | ||||||
| NAC WEST | Nissan | Nissan Skyline RS (R30) | Nissan FJ20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 26 | Masanori Sugiyama | Y | 3 |
| Takuya Kurosawa | 3 | ||||||
| Korg Kegani Racing | Porsche | Porsche 964 Carrera RS | Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6 | 29 | Sakae Obata | B | All |
| Hideo Uehara | All | ||||||
| Amuze Racing | Mazda | Mazda RX-7 (FC3S) | Mazda RE13B 1.3 L 2-rotor | 33 | Atsushi Hayakawa | D | 1, 3 |
| Tetsuji Shiratori | 1, 3 | ||||||
| Osuka Racing | Porsche | Porsche 964 Turbo | Porsche M64/50 3.6 L Turbo F6 | 52 | Morio Nitta | B | 4 |
| Tsugutoshi Goto | 4 | ||||||
| Tomei Sports | Porsche | Porsche 964 | Porsche M64/80 3.8 L F6 | 55 | Kohichi Kashiwabara | B | 3-5 |
| Masahiro Hayashi | 3-4 | ||||||
| Yoshimi Ishibashi | Nissan | Nissan Skyline GTS-R (HR31) | Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 70 | Yoshimi Ishibashi | Y | All |
| Hiroyasu Aoyagi | 1 | ||||||
| Fuminori Mizuno | 2-5 | ||||||
| Makiguchi Engineering | BMW | BMW M3 (E30) | BMW S14 2.5 L I4 | 72 | Norio Makiguchi | Y | 4-5 |
| Hideshi Matsuda | 4 | ||||||
| Yukio Okamoto | 5 | ||||||
Season results
| Round | Circuit | GT1 Winning Team | GT2 Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| GT1 Winning Drivers | GT2 Winning Drivers | ||
| 1 | Mt. Fuji | #1 Calsonic Hoshino Racing GT-R | #29 Korg Kegani Racing Porsche 964 |
| Masahiko Kageyama | Sakae Obata Hideo Uehara | ||
| 2 | Sendai | #3 Hasemi Motorsports GT-R | #29 Korg Kegani Racing Porsche 964 |
| Masahiro Hasemi | Sakae Obata Hideo Uehara | ||
| 3 | Mt. Fuji | #35 Team Taisan Porsche 962C | #70 Yoshimi Ishibashi Nissan Skyline |
| Anthony Reid Masahiko Kondo |
Yoshimi Ishibashi Fumimori Mizuno | ||
| 4 | Sportsland SUGO | #100 Team Kunimitsu Porsche 993 | #12 KK Scuderia Mazda RX-7 |
| Keiichi Tsuchiya Kunimitsu Takahashi |
Toshihiro Fukushima Tetsuya Kawasaki | ||
| 5 | Mine Circuit | #40 Team Taisan Ferrari F40 | #72 Makiguchi Engineering BMW M3 |
| Tetsuya Ota Oscar Larrauri |
Norio Makiguchi Yukio Okamoto |
Point Ranking
Drivers
| Rank | Drivers | Number/Team | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masahiko Kageyama | #1 Calsonic Hoshino Racing GT-R | 70 | 1 |
| 2 | Masahiro Hasemi | #3 Hasemi Motorsports GT-R | 56 | 1 |
| 3 | Shinichi Yamaji Seiichi Sodeyama |
#24 Racing Team Nakaharu GT-R | 47 | 0 |
| 4 | Anthony Reid | #35 Team Taisan Porsche 962C #40 Team Taisan Ferrari F40 |
44 | 1 |
| 5 | Tetsuya Ota | #40 Team Taisan Ferrari F40 | 39 | 1 |
Drivers
| Rank | Drivers | Number/Team | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sakae Obata | #29 Korg Kegani Racing Porsche 964 | 80 | 2 |
| 2 | Yoshimi Ishibashi | #70 Yoshimi Ishibashi Nissan Skyline | 69 | 1 |
| 3 | Hideo Uehara | #29 Korg Kegani Racing Porsche 964 | 65 | 2 |
| 4 | Fuminori Mizuno | #70 Yoshimi Ishibashi Nissan Skyline | 54 | 1 |
| 5 | Tetsuya Kawasaki | #12 KK Scuderia Mazda RX-7 | 35 | 1 |
Notes
- 1.^ Tetsuya Ota did not drive during the final and was ineligible for championship points.
References
- Super GT/JGTC official race archive (in Japanese) (archived from the original)
- 1994 season results