Team LeMans

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.

Le Mans Ltd.
Inc.
Founded1967
HeadquartersShibuya, Tokyo
Websitehttp://www.lemans.co.jp/
Team LeMans
Founded1969
BaseGotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture
Team principal(s)Juichi Wakisaka
Current seriesSuper Formula
Super GT
Former seriesAll-Japan Formula Three Championship
All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship
Fuji Grand Champion Series
Current drivers Felix Rosenqvist
Kazuya Oshima
Teams'
Championships		Super Formula:
1996, 1999
Drivers'
Championships		Super Formula:
1979: Keiji Matsumoto
1996: Ralf Schumacher
1998: Satoshi Motoyama
All-Japan Formula Three Championship:
1986: Akio Morimoto
Fuji Grand Champion Series:
1983: Keiji Matsumoto
1988-89: Geoff Lees
Super GT:
2002: Juichi Wakisaka, Akira Iida
2019: Kenta Yamashita, Kazuya Oshima
WebsiteTeam Le Mans
ENEOS SUSTINA SC430 (2011)

They also have a racing division called Team LeMans. The origin of the team name comes from 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Team LeMans

In 1969 Team LeMans was established as a racing department of Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. It has been active in a variety of categories since the 1970s as one of the top teams of Japan.

The team has competed in single-seaters since 1976, when they entered the All-Japan F2000 Championship. They served as the Japanese distributor of Reynard products until 2002. In 1991, Michael Schumacher, before his Formula One debut, raced with the team in the Sportsland SUGO round of the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, while in 1996 his brother Ralf became the champion with the same team.

They also developed their own racing machine, that complied to Group C regulations.

In 2012 in collaboration with Hideki Noda they founded "NODA racing Academy Senior High School", several engineers such as Donuma Hiroyoshi, the team principal, have served as lecturers at the school.[1]

History

All-Japan F2000/F2/F3000 Championship

Their participation in the All Japan F2000 Championship started with Keiji Matsumoto in 1976. In 1979 he won the championship title. In 1988-89 Geoff Lees and Emanuele Pirro raced for the team, both winning one race.

Formula Nippon

In 1996, the team had its most successful year in Japan's top level open wheel series, when Ralf Schumacher and Naoki Hattori took the first two spots in the drivers' championship, also winning the first team title. The team repeated wins in the drivers and team championship with Satoshi Motoyama in 1998.

Fuji GC

The team achieved titles in The Fuji Grand Champion Series (Fuji GC) with in Keiji Matsumoto in 1983 and Geoff Lees in 1988 and 1989.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Team LeMans first entered the 24 Hours of Lemans in 1987 under the name Italya Sports. They competed in the race through 1990 without a single finish.

All-Japan GT Championship/Super GT
ESSO Ultraflo Supra (2002)

In 2002, the team won drivers' championship in the GT500 Class of the All-Japan GT Championship with Akira Iida and Juichi Wakisaka, who competed in a Toyota Supra race car.[2]

Team LeMans Results

Super GT (JGTC)
Year Class Car Drivers Drivers' rankings
1999 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra Wayne Gardner /  Hideki Noda 12th
2000 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra Wayne Gardner /  Hideki Noda 9th
2001 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra Hideki Noda / Juichi Wakisaka 7th
2002 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra Akira Iida / Juichi Wakisaka 1st
2003 GT500 #1 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra Akira Iida / Juichi Wakisaka 2nd
2004 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra Akira Iida / Juichi Wakisaka 3rd
2005 GT500 #6 Esso Toyota Team LeMans Toyota Supra Akira Iida / Juichi Wakisaka 6th
2006 GT500 #6 Mobil 1 Toyota Team LeMans Lexus SC430 Akira Iida / Tatsuya Kataoka / Björn Wirdheim 12th
2007 GT500 #6 Forum Engineering Toyota Team LeMans Lexus SC430 Tatsuya Kataoka / Björn Wirdheim 9th
2008 GT500 #6 ENEOS Toyota Team LeMans Daisuke Ito / Björn Wirdheim / Akira Iida /  Roberto Streit 13th
2009 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 Daisuke Ito / Björn Wirdheim 12th
2010 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 Daisuke Ito / Björn Wirdheim 4th
2011 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 Daisuke Ito / Kazuya Oshima 11th
2012 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 Daisuke Ito / Kazuya Oshima 10th
2013 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus SC430 Kazuya Oshima / Yuji Kunimoto 5th
2014 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus RC F Yuji Kunimoto / Kazuya Oshima 7th
2015 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS Lexus RC F Yuji Kunimoto / Kazuya Oshima 9th
2016 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus RC F Andrea Caldarelli / Kazuya Oshima 2nd
2017 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus LC 500 GT500 Andrea Caldarelli / Kazuya Oshima 3rd
2018 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus LC 500 GT500 Felix Rosenqvist / Kazuya Oshima 10th
2019 GT500 #6 Lexus Team LeMans WAKO'S Lexus LC 500 GT500 Kenta Yamashita / Kazuya Oshima 1st

All Japan Sports Prototype Championship
Year Car Drivers
1984 Nissan Skyline Turbo C (LM04C) Kenji Takahashi / Osamu Nakako / Toshio Suzuki
1985 Nissan LM04C

Nissan LM05C

 Keji Matsumoto / Osamu Nakako / Akio Morimoto
1986 Nissan March 86G Keji Matsumoto / Aguri Suzuki
1987 Nissan March 86G Anders Olofsson / Takao Wada
1988 #86 Nissan March 88G Anders Olofsson / Takao Wada
1989 #85 Nissan March 88G Osamu Nakako / Akio Morimoto / Koji Sato
1990 #85 Nissan R89C Osamu Nakako / Takao Wada / Maurizio Sandro Sala
1991 #25 Nissan R89C

#25 Nissan R90CP

 Hideki Okada / Takao Wada

Masahiko Kageyama / Maurizio Sandro Sala

24 Hours of Le Mans
Year Car Drivers Rankings
1987 #29 Nissan R86V Anders Olofsson / Alain Ferté / Patrick Gonin 32nd DNF
1988 #85 March 88S Michel Trollé / Toshio Suzuki / Danny Ongais 42nd DNF
#86 March 88S Lamberto Leoni / Akio Morimoto / Anders Olofsson 43rd DNF
1989 #32 March 88S Takao Wada / Akio Morimoto / Anders Olofsson 27th DNF
1990 #85 Nissan R89C Takao Wada / Akio Morimoto / Maurizio Sandro Sala 35th DNF

Super Formula (Formula Nippon, Japanese Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 2000)
Year Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rankings
1979 Team LeMans March 792 BMW M12/7  Keiji Matsumoto 1st
1988 Team LeMans March Mugen Honda Emanuele Pirro / Geoff Lees 3rd
Reynard
1989 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Emanuele Pirro / Geoff Lees 6th
1990 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Johnny Herbert / Takuya Kurosawa 16th
1991 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Ross Cheever / Johnny Herbert / Michael Schumacher 2nd
Ralt
1992 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Ross Cheever 3rd
1993 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Akira Ishikawa NA
1994 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Ross Cheever / Naoki Hattori / Masami Kageyama 3rd
1995 Team LeMans Reynard Mugen Honda Naoki Hattori 8th
1996 X Japan Racing Team LeMans Reynard 96D Mugen MF308 Naoki Hattori / Ralf Schumacher 1st
1997 Team LeMans Reynard 96D

Reynard 97D

 Mugen MF308 Norberto Fontana 3rd
1998 LEMONed Racing Team LeMans Reynard 97D Mugen MF308 Norberto Fontana /  Satoshi Motoyama 1st
1999 Unlimited Racing Team LeMans Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 Satoshi Motoyama /  Koji Yamanishi 2nd
2000 Team LeMans Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 Hideki Noda / Yudai Igarashi 5th
2001 Team LeMans Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 Alex Yoong / Koji Yamanishi / Yudai Igarashi 14th
2002 Team LeMans #7 Reynard 99L

#7 Reynard 01L

 Mugen MF308 Masami Kageyama / Dominik Schwager 13th
#8 Reynard 01L Takeshi Tsuchiya 4th
2003 Forum Engineering ARTA Team LeMans #7 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 Toshihiro Kaneishi 4th
#8 Lola B3/51 Takeshi Tsuchiya 8th
2004 Team LeMans #7 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 Juichi Wakisaka 5th
#8 Lola B3/51 Takeshi Tsuchiya 13th
2005 Forum Engineering Team LeMans #7 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 Tatsuya Kataoka 11th
#8 Lola B3/51 Takeshi Tsuchiya 8th
2006 Team LeMans #7 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J Tatsuya Kataoka 7th
#8 Lola FN06 Toranosuke Takagi 18th
2007 Forum Engineering Team LeMans #7 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J Tatsuya Kataoka 14th
#8 Lola FN06 Toranosuke Takagi 16th
2008 Team LeMans #7 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J Satoshi Motoyama 11th
#8 Lola FN06 Hiroaki Ishiura 16th
2009 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K Keisuke Kunimoto 13th
#8 Swift 017.n Hiroaki Ishiura 6th
2010 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K Kei Cozzolino 10th
#8 Swift 017.n Hiroaki Ishiura 8th
2011 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K Kazuya Oshima 5th
Team Kygnus Sunoco #8 Swift 017.n Hiroaki Ishiura 6th
2012 Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K Kazuya Oshima 7th
Team Kygnus Sunoco #8 Swift 017.n Loïc Duval 6th
2013 Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans #7 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K Ryō Hirakawa 11th
#8 Swift 017.n Andrea Caldarelli /Loïc Duval 13th / 3rd
2014 Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A Ryō Hirakawa 8th
#8 Dallara SF14 Andrea Caldarelli /Loïc Duval 12th / 4th
2015 Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A Ryō Hirakawa 8th
#8 Dallara SF14 Kamui Kobayashi 6th
2016 SUNOCO Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A Narain Karthikeyan 14th
#8 Dallara SF14 Kamui Kobayashi 17th
2017 SUNOCO Team LeMans #7 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A Felix Rosenqvist TBD
#8 Dallara SF14 Kazuya Oshima TBD

Footnotes
  1. NODA racing Academy Senior High School
  2. "All-Japan GT Championship — Class GT500 2002 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
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