2012 Super GT Series
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. Masataka Yanagida and Ronnie Quintarelli of Nissan works team MOLA won their second consecutive GT500 Drivers' and Teams' Championships, and became only the second team and driver combination to win the GT500 championship before the final round of the season. Team Taisan Endless and drivers Kyosuke Mineo and Naoki Yokomizo won the GT300 championships in their new Porsche 911 GT3-R, giving Team Taisan their final Super GT championship. Schedule Regulation changes From this season, the GT ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car racing in Japan. The series was sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ran by the GT Association (GTA). Autobacs has served as the title sponsor of the series since 1998. History The JGTC (Japanese Grand Touring Championship) was established in 1993 by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) via its subsidiary company the GTA (GT Association), replacing the defunct All Japan Sports Prototype Championship for Group C cars and the Japanese Touring Car Championship for Group A touring cars, which instead would adopt the supertouring formula. Seeking to prevent the spiraling budgets and one-team/make domination of both series, JGTC imposed strict limits on power, and heavy weight penalties on race winners in an openly stated ob ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ronnie Quintarelli
Ronnie Quintarelli (born 9 August 1979) is an Italian racecar driver, currently competing in Super GT. A four-time champion, he holds the all-time record for the most drivers' championship titles won in the GT500 class of Super GT. Biography Quintarelli first encountered motorsports at age 6 when his father gave him a small go-kart. After starting his karting career in 1990, he scored two second place finishes in the World Formula Super A championship and a European Formula C title. He made his single seaters debut in 2000 when he entered the Italian Formula Renault Championship and ended up third with Prema Powerteam. He also entered the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, the German Formula Three Championship and the Formula Volkswagen Germany. In 2005, he scored his maiden GT win in the 1000 km Suzuka race with André Couto and Hayanari Shimoda and later made his way to the Super GT. After spending two seasons under the Lexus banner, Quintarelli moved to the Nissan camp, securing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tsugio Matsuda
is a Japanese professional racing driver. He has won the Formula Nippon series twice, in 2007 and 2008. He has also competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Matsuda has also become a regular participant in the Super GT series which he won in 2014 jointly with Ronnie Quintarelli. The 2015 Super GT season was closely contested throughout the year, but ultimately Matsuda and Quintarelli successfully defended their title, taking the lead of the championship at the final race of the season at Motegi. Racing record Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Complete JGTC/Super GT results (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. Complete Asian Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Com ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Impul
Hoshino Impul Co., Ltd., (known as Impul) is a Japanese automotive aftermarket company based in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. Founded by Nissan's factory driver, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, the company exclusively produces aftermarket parts for Nissans, such as bodykits, engine components as well as wheels. History The company was founded in 1980 by the Nissan works driver, Kazuyoshi Hoshino in Maruko-cho, Shizuoka Prefecture. Within months, Impul produced its first product, the ''IMPUL D-01'' wheel, which to promote it, it found its way on Hoshino's Gr. 5 Silvia racing competing in the Formula Silhouette, a Fuji Grand Champion support series, as well as starting a Tokyo-based sales center in Sayama-shi, Saitama-ken. A year later, that was relocated in Kichijōji, Musashino-shi. In 1983, Hoshino formed Hoshino Racing Limited, a racing team to help promote his products and because of expansion, he relocated his company in Shimorenjaku, Mitaka as well as establishing a depot nearby. In 1987, I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Takashi Kobayashi (racing Driver)
is a Japanese racing driver. He currently drives in the Formula Nippon, and the Super GT series in the GT500 category. He is not related to fellow Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi. In 2010 he won the All-Japan Formula Three championship, National Class. In 2010 he made his debut in the Super GT series ( GT500) at the Pokka GT Summer Special (Suzuka Circuit) as the 3rd driver of the ARTA. Despite the team mistakenly declaring him to qualify instead of Ralph Firman in the final session, he claimed the pole position, being the first to do so on a debut. the ARTA team won the race the following day. His performance led to him becoming part of the new lineup of ARTA in the 2011 Super GT season, partnered with former IndyCar Series driver Hideki Mutoh is a Japanese race car driver from Tokyo currently racing in Super GT. Career History He began karting at age 12 in 1996 and quickly moved through the ranks, becoming a part of Honda's Formula Dream Project. He moved to Eu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ralph Firman
Ralph David Firman Jr. (born 20 May 1975) is a British-born former racing driver who raced under Irish citizenship (his mother Angela is from Ireland) and an Irish-issued racing licence. Earlier in his career he raced under a British licence. His father, Ralph Firman Sr., co-founded the Van Diemen racecar constructor with Ross Ambrose, father of V8 Supercars champion Marcos, then more recently founded RFR. He is married to Aldís Kristín Árnadóttir, an Icelandic UK-educated lawyer. Ralph's sister, Natasha, is also a racing driver. Career Formula Three Educated at Gresham's School between 1988 and 1993, Firman went straight into motor racing on leaving school. Despite leading much of the 1995 British F3 championship, he lost the title at the final round to Oliver Gavin. However, he continued in the championship in 1996 and captured the title at his second attempt. Macau Grand Prix controversy Firman won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 1996 under controversial ci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Honda HSV-010 GT
The Honda HSV-010 GT (an abbreviation for ''Honda Sports Velocity'') is a grand touring race car manufactured and designed by Honda. The HSV-010 GT served as the successor to the first generation Honda NSX-GT and competed in the Japanese Super GT racing series, where it competed from 2010 to 2013. Car development On October 23, 2009, Honda officially announced the end of the mid-engine NSX-GT's participation in Super GT racing, as it was only allowed to participate as an exception in the 2009 season. In principle, Super GT's 2009 regulations allowed the use of only front-engine rear-drive cars, and Honda did not have a FR successor car ready due to the economic environment at the time. On November 15, 2009, Honda announced that, despite withdrawing the NSX from Super GT competition, it would campaign a car for the 2010 season. Honda revealed that the car would be based on the cancelled "New NSX" production vehicle. Unlike typical Super GT cars, the vehicle is not based on a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a production of 400 million by the end of 2019, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001. In 2015, Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft, power generators, and other products. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO rob ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) is a joint racing project formed between former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki and Autobacs Seven Co. in 1997. The team's original name was "ARTA F1 Project," but due to trademark claims based on the usage of the word "F1", the name has since been shortened to "ARTA". ARTA was the 2007 SuperGT GT500 series champion in both the drivers' and team championship. History The team was created with the objective of developing drivers that could compete in the highest levels of F1 racing. In addition to competing in racing competitions such as Formula Nippon and Super GT, the team also holds its youth kart racing competition, the "ARTA Challenge," to find the next generation of competitive race drivers. Toshihiro Kaneishi, a driver who received support from ARTA, won the German Formula Three Championship in 2001. As of 2007, the team competed in, or offered support to other drivers who competed in the following categories: * Formula Nippon * Super GT * Indy Rac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kazuya Oshima
is a Japanese racing driver, currently racing in the Super GT Series and the Super Formula Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing and ROOKIE Racing. Oshima is one of only two drivers that have won championships in both classes of Super GT: He won the GT300 Drivers' Championship in 2007, and the GT500 Drivers' Championship in 2019. He also won the 2007 All-Japan Formula 3 Championship and the 2009 Suzuka Summer Endurance race. Outside of Japan, Oshima finished third in the 2007 Macau Grand Prix Formula 3 race, and competed in the 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series as a member of the Toyota Young Driver Program (TDP). Oshima is a five-time class winner at the Nürburgring 24 Hours The Nürburgring 24 Hours is a 24-hour annual touring car and GT endurance racing event that takes place on a combination of the Nordschleife ("North Loop") and the GP-Strecke ("Grand Prix track") circuits of the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palat ... (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) as a member of Gazoo Racing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Daisuke Itō (racing Driver)
is a Japanese racing driver. He currently drives at the Super GT series in the GT500 category. In 2007 he won the Super GT 500 championship, in the ARTA NSX with Ralph Firman. Itō is also a regular presenter of Best Motoring was Japan's preeminent automobile magazine, video, and DVD series. Alongside ''Best Motoring'' were ''Hot Version'' and ''Video Special.'' History With the first edition debuting in 1987 and the last in June 2011, the videos were marked by non .... 24 Hours of Le Mans results Racing record Complete Super GT results External links * *SUPERGT.net – Driver information {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Daisuke 1975 births Living people Japanese racing drivers Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers Formula Nippon drivers Super GT drivers Team Kunimitsu drivers Nakajima Racing drivers Team Aguri drivers Team LeMans drivers TOM'S drivers Mugen Motorsports drivers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lexus SC
The is a grand tourer that was retailed by Lexus (a luxury vehicle division of Toyota), and built from 1991 until 2010. It features a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive design and seating for up to four passengers. The first-generation SC debuted as the V8-powered SC 400 in 1991, and the I6-powered SC 300 was added in 1992. Both first-generation models were produced until 2000. The second-generation model, the SC 430, went into production in 2001. The SC 430 features a hardtop convertible design and a V8 engine. The first-generation SC was largely styled in California at Calty, and the second-generation SC was mainly conceived at design studios in Europe. In Japan, the related third-generation Toyota Soarer, with which the first-generation SC originally shared body design and multiple components, featured a separate line-up of vehicle configurations and different powertrains. The third generation Soarer sport coupe, largely identical to the SC 430, was superseded by its Lexus count ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |