2003 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship Explained

The 2003 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship was the eleventh season of Japan Automobile Federation GT premiere racing. It was marked as well as the twenty-first season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The GT500 class champions of 2003 were the #23 Xanavi NISMO Nissan Skyline GT-R team driven by Satoshi Motoyama and Michael Krumm and the GT300 class champions were the #3 Hasemi Motorsports Nissan Fairlady Z driven by Masataka Yanagida and Mitsuhiro Kinoshita, neither of which had won a single race during the course of the season.

The 2003 season saw the introduction of a comprehensive overhaul of the series' vehicle regulations.[1] [2] Manufacturers could now cut away the production vehicle's mainframe and replace the front and rear structures with pipe frame structures, which had also allowed for further suspension development. The engine could now be mounted freely in any position or any orientation, and the transmission could now be mounted freely in any position, allowing for the introduction of transaxle units. The size of the rear diffuser was reduced, and the underbody of the car had to be fitted with a flat bottom floor.

Toyota had fitted their GT500 Supra with a 5.2 litre version of the naturally-aspirated 3UZ-FE V8 engine to replace the four-cylinder 3S-GTE. Honda retained the 3.5 litre C32B V6 engine, which was now mounted longitudinally behind the cockpit. Nissan changed from the RB26DETT inline-six cylinder engine to the VQ30DETT V6 engine in the middle of 2002, and retained the lighter aluminium-block engine into 2003.

Drivers and teams

GT500

TeamMakeCarEngineDriversTyreRounds
Esso Toyota Team LeMansToyotaToyota SupraToyota 3UZ-FE 5.2 L V81 Akira IidaAll
Juichi WakisakaAll
Autobacs Racing Team AguriHondaHonda NSXHonda C32B 3.5 L V68 Keiichi TsuchiyaAll
Toshihiro Kaneishi1–3, 5–8
Katsutomo Kaneishi4
Calsonic Team ImpulNissanNissan Skyline GT-RNissan VQ30DETT 3.0 L Twin Turbo V612 Yuji IdeAll
Benoît TréluyerAll
G'Zox Mugen
G'Zox Dome Racing Team
HondaHonda NSXHonda C32B 3.5 L V616All
Daisuke ItoAll
Takata Dome Racing TeamHondaHonda NSXHonda C32B 3.5 L V618All
Sébastien Philippe1–6, 8
Paolo Montin7
NismoNissanNissan Skyline GT-RNissan VQ30DETT 3.0 L Twin Turbo V622 Masami KageyamaAll
Richard LyonsAll
23 Michael KrummAll
Satoshi MotoyamaAll
Team Advan TsuchiyaToyotaToyota SupraToyota 3UZ-FE 5.2 L V825 Jérémie DufourAll
Seiji Ara1, 3–8
Hideki Noda2
Project Mu KraftToyotaToyota SupraToyota 3UZ-FE 5.2 L V835 Naoki HattoriAll
Shigekazu WakisakaAll
Toyota Team TOM'SToyotaToyota SupraToyota 3UZ-FE 5.2 L V836 Érik ComasAll
Takeshi TsuchiyaAll
37 Marco ApicellaAll
Takuya KurosawaAll
au Toyota Team CerumoToyotaToyota SupraToyota 3UZ-FE 5.2 L V838 Yuji TachikawaAll
Hironori TakeuchiAll
Denso Toyota Team SARDToyotaToyota SupraToyota 3UZ-FE 5.2 L V839 Manabu OridoAll
Dominik SchwagerAll
R&D SportVemacVemac RD350RZytek ZV348 3.4 L V862 Shogo Mitsuyama2–6, 8
Shinsuke Shibahara2–6, 8
Mobil 1 Nakajima RacingHondaHonda NSXHonda C32B 3.5 L V664 Tsugio MatsudaAll
1–3
André Lotterer4–8
Hitotsuyama RacingMcLarenMcLaren F1 GTRBMW S70/2 6.0 L V1276 Eiichi TajimaAll
1–3
Haruki Kurosawa4–5
Go Shimizu6–8
JLOCLamborghiniLamborghini DiabloLamborghini L532 6.0 L V1288 Hisashi WadaAll
Naohiro Furuya1–3
Koji Yamanishi4–8
Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with MooncraftHondaHonda NSXHonda C32B 3.5 L V6100 Hiroki KatohAll
Hidetoshi MitsusadaAll

GT300

TeamMakeCarEngineDriversTyreRounds
Verno Tokai Dream28HondaHonda NSXHonda C32B 3.4 L V62 Kazuho Takahashialign=center rowspan=2All
Akira WatanabeAll
Hasemi MotorsportNissanNissan Fairlady ZNissan VQ35DE 3.5 L V63 Mitsuhiro KinoshitaAll
Masataka YanagidaAll
Team B-1VemacVemac RD320RHonda C32B 3.4 L V65 Tetsuji TamanakaAll
"Gō Mifune"All
RE Amemiya RacingMazdaMazda RX-7Mazda RE20B 2.0 L 3-rotor7 Nobuteru TaniguchiAll
Takayuki OhiAll
A&S RacingMoslerMosler MT900RChevrolet LS1 6.2 L V89 Katsuhiko TsutsuiAll
Ichijo Suga1–5, 7–8
Naohiro Furuya6
Team LeyJunRGSRGS Mirage GT-1Chevrolet LS1 5.7 L V810 "OSAMU"1–6
Shinichi Kurashima1–3
Tatsuya Mizutani4
Naohiro Furuya5–6
VemacVemac RD320RHonda C32B 3.4 L V663 "OSAMU"8
Takamasa Nakagawa8
Jim Gainer RacingFerrariFerrari 360Ferrari F131B 3.6 L V811 Hideshi MatsudaAll
Tetsuya TanakaAll
Amprex MotorsportsMazdaMazda RX-7Mazda RE20B 2.0 L 3-rotor14 Tengku Djan Ley5
Tetsuya Yamano5
BMWBMW M3 (E46)BMW M52 3.2 L I615 Genji HashimotoAll
Charles Kwan1–6
Tetsuya Yamano7–8
TOM'S SpiritToyotaToyota MR-S (Rd. 1–6)
Toyota Celica (Rd. 8)
Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I417 Masahiro Matsunaga1–6, 8
Masaoki Nagashima1–6, 8
Racing Project BandohToyotaToyota MR-S (Rd. 1–2)
Toyota Celica (Rd. 3–8)
Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I419 Takayuki AokiAll
Minoru TanakaAll
Hitotsuyama RacingBMWBMW M3 CSLBMW S50B32 3.2 L I621 Mikio Hitotsuyama1
Takeshi Namekawa1–2
Yasushi Hitotsuyama2–5
Haruhiko Matsumoto3–5
Team TaisanPorschePorsche 911 GT3-RPorsche M96/77 3.6 L F624 Akihiro AsaiAll
Atsushi Yogo1, 3–8
Adam Wilcox2
26 Shinichi YamajiAll
Kazuyushi NishizawaAll
DodgeDodge Viper Competition CoupeDodge Viper 8.0 L V1055 Eiji YamadaAll
Takayuki KinoshitaAll
Team RecklessToyotaToyota MR-SToyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I431 Kota SasakiAll
Satoshi GotoAll
Dentaire ProJet Racing with aprToyotaToyota MR-SToyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I434 Seigo NishizawaAll
Koji MatsudaAll
Autobacs Racing Team AguriASLASL ARTA GaraiyaNissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I443 Morio NittaAll
Shinichi TakagiAll
Auto Staff RacingNissanNissan Silvia (S15)Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I451 Naofumi Omoto1–6, 8
Masanobu Kato2–8
Adam Wilcox1
Tsuyoshi Shirai7
R&D SportPorschePorsche 911 GT3-RPorsche M96/77 3.6 L F661 Atsushi Katsumata2–3, 5–6
Takeyuki Kishi2–3
Keiko Ihara5–6
Team GaikokuyaPorschePorsche 996 GT3-RSPorsche M96/77 3.6 L F669 Yutaka YamagishiAll
Kei IdakaAll
70 Yoshimi IshibashiAll
Go Shimizu1–4
Hiroshi Wada5, 8
Isao Isashi6–7
SigmaTec Racing TeamToyotaToyota MR-S (Rd. 1–4)
Toyota Celica (Rd. 5–8)
Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L Turbo I471 Keita SawaAll
Guts Jyonai1–5
Tatsuya Kataoka6–7
Haruki Kurosawa8
Cusco RacingSubaruSubaru Impreza WRX STISubaru EJ20 2.0 L Turbo F477 Katsuo KobayashiAll
Tatsuya TanigawaAll
Team DaishinNissanNissan Silvia (S15)Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I481 Kazuki HoshinoAll
Tadao UematsuAll
Arktech MotorsportsPorschePorsche 996 GT3Porsche M96/77 3.6 L F6111 Hiroya Iijima2–6, 8
Shigemitsu Haga2–6, 8
910 RacingPorschePorsche 996 GT3 RSPorsche M96/77 3.6 L F6910 Akira HirakawaAll
Yasuo MiyagawaAll
911 Kazuyoshi Takamizawa2, 4–6, 8
Jukuchou Sunako2, 4–6, 8

Schedule

RoundRaceCircuitDate
1GT Championship in TI TI CircuitMarch 30
2All Japan GT Fuji 500 Fuji SpeedwayMay 4
3SUGO GT Championship Sportsland SUGOMay 25
4Malaysian JGTC in Fuji Speedway Fuji SpeedwayJuly 13
5Japan Special GT Cup Fuji SpeedwayAugust 3
6Motegi GT Championship Race Twin Ring MotegiSeptember 14
7Japan GT in Kyushu 300 km AutopolisOctober 26
8Suzuka GT 300 km Suzuka CircuitNovember 16

Season results

RoundCircuitGT500 Winning TeamGT300 Winning Team
GT500 Winning DriversGT300 Winning Drivers
1TI Circuit
  1. 1 ESSO Team LeMans Toyota Supra
  1. 24 Advan Team Taisan Porsche 996
Juichi Wakisaka
Akira Iida
Atsushi Yogo
Akihiro Asai
2Mt. Fuji
  1. 22 Motul NISMO Nissan Skyline GT-R
  1. 26 Advan Team Taisan Porsche 996
Richard Lyons
Masami Kageyama
3Sportsland SUGO
  1. 1 ESSO Team LeMans Toyota Supra
Juichi Wakisaka
Akira Iida
Kota Sasaki
Satoshi Goto
4Mt. FujiHeat 1:
#12 Calsonic Impul Nissan Skyline GT-R
Yuji Ide Masataka Yanagida
Heat 2:
#12 Calsonic Impul Nissan Skyline GT-R
Benoît Tréluyer Tetsuya Tanaka
Overall:
#12 Calsonic Impul Nissan Skyline GT-R
Overall:
#55 Eclipse Taisan Advan Dodge Viper
Yuji Ide
Benoît Tréluyer
Eiji Yamada
Takayuki Kinoshita
5Mt. Fuji
  1. 18 Takata Dome Honda NSX
  1. 19 WedsSport Toyota Celica
Ryo Michigami
Sebastien Philippe
6Twin Ring Motegi
  1. 16 G-ZOX Dome Honda NSX
  1. 71 Sigmatech Toyota Celica
Tom Coronel
Daisuke Ito
7Autopolis
  1. 39 Denso Team SARD Toyota Supra
Manabu Orido
Dominik Schwager
8Suzuka Circuit
  1. 12 Calsonic Impul Nissan Skyline GT-R
  1. 19 WedsSport Toyota Celica
Yuji Ide
Benoît Tréluyer

Standings

GT500 class

Drivers' standings

Scoring system:
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Points 20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1
Qualifying 1 1 1
Fastest Lap 1 1 1
RankDriverTAI
FUJ
SUG
FUJ
FUJ
MOT
AUT
SUZ
PTS
1 Satoshi Motoyama
Michael Krumm
24352115386
2 Akira Iida
Juichi Wakisaka
11216444783
3 Masami Kageyama
Richard Lyons
815211136465
4 Benoît Tréluyer
Yuji Ide
122Ret116611164
5 Érik Comas
Takeshi Tsuchiya
61027528861
6 Manabu Orido
Dominik Schwager
143143771957
7 Ryo Michigami3Ret78114Ret255
Sébastien Philippe
9 Hironori Takeuchi
Yuji Tachikawa
RetDSQ1043931346
10 Tom Coronel
Daisuke Ito
4Ret91281101138
11 Tsugio Matsuda568139Ret21236
12 Hiroki Katoh
Hidetoshi Mitsusada
7716171359527
13 Jérémie Dufour10Ret41417312Ret35
Seiji Ara
15 Naoki Hattori
Shigekazu Wakisaka
95610101271024
16 André Lotterer139Ret21219
17 Takashi Kogure56817
18 Marco Apicella
Takuya Kurosawa
Ret81315610131415
19 Keiichi Tsuchiya11Ret1111128Ret69
Toshihiro Kaneishi
20 Eiichi Tajima139121814RetDNP152
Yudai Igarashi
20 Shogo Mitsuyama
Shinsuke Shibahara
11159RetRet162
Katsutomo Kaneishi110
Haruki Kurosawa18140
Hisashi Wada15RetRet161515RetRet0
Koji Yamanishi161515RetRet0
Naohiro Furuya15RetRet0
Go ShimizuRetDNP150
Hideki NodaRet0
Paolo MontinRet0
RankDriverTAI
FUJ
SUG
FUJ
FUJ
MOT
AUT
SUZ
PTS

Teams' standings

For teams that entered multiple cars, only the best result from each round counted towards the teams' championship.[5]

RankTeamNo.TAI
FUJ
SUG
FUJ
FUJ
MOT
AUT
SUZ
PTS
1Nismo228152111364106
23243521153
2Esso Toyota Team LeMans111216444783
3Dome Racing Team168 1101177
18314Ret7811414Ret2
4Toyota Team TOM'S3661027528866
3716Ret813156101314
5Team Impul1212217Ret116611164
6Toyota Team SARD39143143771957
7Toyota Team Cerumo3817DNS18DSQ1043931346
8Mobil 1 Nakajima Racing6456813916Ret21236
9Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft1007716171359527
10Team Advan Tsuchiya251013Ret4141731217Ret35
11Kraft3595610101271024
12Mugen16415Ret91213
13Autobacs Racing Team Aguri81116Ret111112815Ret69
14Hitotsuyama Racing7613912181418Ret152
14R&D Sports621115918Ret17Ret162
-JLOC881517Ret18Ret16151516Ret18Ret0
RankTeamNo.TAI
FUJ
SUG
FUJ
FUJ
MOT
AUT
SUZ
PTS

GT300 class (Top 5)

Drivers

Rankwidth=160Driverswidth=240Number/TeamPointsWins
1 Masataka Yanagida
Mitsuhiro Kinoshita
770
2 Keita Sawa722
3
  1. 26 Advan Team Taisan Porsche 996
721
4632
5 Kota Sasaki
Satoshi Goto
611

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: JGTC.net - 2001 GT INSIDE REPORT. 2020-12-04. supergt.net.
  2. Web site: JGTC.net SPECIAL REPORT 2003 Vol.1. 2020-12-04. supergt.net.
  3. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20040210223911/http://www.jgtc.net/race/news_en/2003n/030508_01.htm. 10 February 2004. 2003 AUTOBACS JGTC Round 4 cancelled.
  4. News: ハーフウェットの第1は井出が、ウェットの第2はトレルイエ! No.12 カルソニックスカイラインが富士を完全制覇!. 13 July 2003. Ide Takes the First Half-Wet Race, Treluyer Takes the Second Wet Race! No.12 Calsonic Skyline Completely Conquers Fuji!. ja. supergt.net. 14 September 2022.
  5. Web site: JGTC.net 2003 Series Ranking. 2021-10-16. supergt.net.