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Akira Iida
is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in the Super GT series in GT300 class with , one of the teams under Toyota Motorsport's GAZOO racing arm. Iida won the 2002 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship GT500 class with Esso Toyota Team LeMans, driving with Juichi Wakisaka. He also won 2013 Asian Le Mans Series GTE class driving for Team Taisan Ken Endless. Iida was also a presenter on the Japanese Best Motoring TV series. Career Iida has competed in Super GT since 1994; he has five career wins and also won the driver's title in 2002. Iida have also driven in Formula 3000 and Formula Nippon. Being experienced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Akira Iida did also participate in the 2008 24 Hours Nürburgring race as well as in VLN endurance races, winning his class twice with a Lexus LF-A. On August 31, 2011, Iida recorded a lap time of 7:14.64 in a fully road-legal Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. This marked a new fastest time for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Lexus LF-A
The is a two-seat sports car manufactured by Lexus, the luxury car division of Toyota. It is the second model in the F marque line of performance vehicles from Lexus, following the IS F, and also the first standalone Lexus F model. Three concept versions were unveiled, each debuting at the North American International Auto Show with the LF-A designation as part of the LF Series concept line. After beginning development in the early 2000s (with a codename of TXS), the first LF-A concept premiered in 2005, followed in 2007 by a second concept with a more completely furnished interior and exterior. The third version of the LF-A, featuring a roadster body style premiered in 2008. The production model, trademarked LFA, was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2009. According to Lexus, the "A" in production LFA name stands for the "Apex" of the LF line of cars. Akio Toyoda, CEO of parent company Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) saw the LFA as an opportunity to create a global ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2002 24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans was an automobile endurance race held for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars from 15 to 16 June 2002 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close by Le Mans, France. It was the 70th running of the event, as organized by the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. A test day was held five weeks prior to the race on 5 May. The No. 1 Audi Sport Team Joest car of Tom Kristensen, Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro won the race overall and Audi's third consecutive victory in Le Mans, extending back to the 2000 event. Background and circuit changes The 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 70th edition of the event and took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe road racing track close to Le Mans, France, from 15 to 16 June. The race was first held in 1923 after the automotive journalist Charles Faroux, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) general secretary Georges Durand and the industrialist Emile Coquile agreed to hold a test of vehicle r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Élan Motorsport Technologies
Élan Motorsport Technologies is an American enterprise that serves as an umbrella company containing the race car engineering, development and manufacturing companies owned by American racing and automotive company conglomerate Panoz Motor Sports Group. Élan engineers, designs and builds Panoz-branded race cars and components, since its founding it has also acquired several manufacturers, including famous Formula Ford builders Van Diemen and IndyCar Series constructor G-Force. Élan-built cars have successfully competed in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, IMSA Prototype Lites (formerly IMSA Lites) and various other championships, racing series and types of professional racing throughout the world. It designs, develops and manufactures full line race cars, i.e. chassis, bodies, components and engines for professional racing competition for a variety of segments and classes. Sports cars Panoz' first foray into racing cars came with the Panoz Esperante GTR-1 in 1997. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S
The Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S (sometimes referred to as simply the Panoz LMP-1) was a Le Mans Prototype built for Panoz in 1999. The car was a successor to the Esperante GTR-1 which had competed in the Grand Tourer categories internationally. Following competition in the American Le Mans Series and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans until 2001, the car was replaced by the Panoz LMP07. The LMP07 would however be abandoned by Panoz and so the LMP-1 Roadster-S was reworked into a new car known as the Panoz LMP01 Evo before being retired at the end of 2003. The LMP-1 Roadster-S and LMP01 Evo are notable amongst Le Mans prototypes for their use of engines are located in front of the driver, instead of the normal positioning behind. This gave the cars a unique look compared to their competitors. Development At the end of 1998, both the FIA GT Championship and United States Road Racing Championship eliminated the GT1 category that the Esperante GTR-1 had competed in since its introduction in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masahiko Kondō
or Matchy is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actor, racing car manager and former semi-professional racing driver. He was a member of the Tanokin Trio. Kondō is also a semi-professional racing driver and a racing team owner. He founded the racing team ''Kondo Racing'' in 2000, which currently competes in both Super Formula and Super GT. Biography 1980–1987: Early recording career Kondō was born in Yokohama. Working for the agency Johnny & Associates, Kondō was signed to the record label RVC. His debut single "Sneaker Blues" debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly single charts in December 1980. With the single he became the first artist to have a debut single to go straight in at number one on Oricon at release. As of 2008, he is the only solo male singer to have a debut single to debut at number one in his teens in Oricon history. The single topped the Oricon charts for five consecutive weeks, and eventually sold over one million copies. On March 5, 1981, Kondō releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Team Goh
Team Goh Motorsports is a Japanese auto racing team founded by Kazumichi Goh in 1996. They currently compete in the Japanese Super Formula Championship. History Initially competing in the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), Team Goh won the 1996 championship with a McLaren F1 GTR and drivers John Nielsen and David Brabham. 24 Hours of Le Mans The team next set its sights on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, initially entering the McLaren in , then a former works BMW V12 LM in , and a pair of Panoz LMP-1s in . In 2001, Team Goh partnered with the Danish Den Blå Avis team, running a Dome- Judd in the FIA Sportscar Championship, earning two wins and finishing second in the championship. The following year, Kazumichi Goh purchased an Audi R8, as part of a three-year program at Le Mans. The team finished in seventh in and fourth in . Goh also participated in the 1000 km of Spa and 1000 km of Le Mans, winning both events with drivers Seiji Ara and Tom Kristensen. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2000 24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 68th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 2000. Pre-race After the 1999 race, most of the manufacturers in the top classes went in different directions. BMW and Toyota went into Formula One, while Mercedes-Benz left sportscar racing after the CLR accidents, returning to the DTM. Nissan also left due to financial difficulties. Other than the French privateers Pescarolo, Oreca and DAMS, only Audi and Panoz remained from the previous year, while newcomer Cadillac joined. Race notes The 1-2-3 finish of the Audi LMP900s marked the beginning of two dynasties, Audi's and Tom Kristensen's in the top-finishing Audi. The Oreca team's GTS class winning, seventh place, 333 lap finish with the Chrysler Viper was the best ever with that car. It faced serious competition within its class from Corvette Racing's new C5.R., which would within the next two years top the Viper's distance record and establish itself as the car to beat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 1996. It was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing with drivers Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Le Mans rookie Alexander Wurz completing 354 laps. While not being the fastest car on track, it hit the front in the first hour and aside from several pit-stop overlaps, was never headed as other teams hit mechanical troubles during the race. This was Reuter's second Le Mans victory, and the first for Jones (after finishing as runner-up in 1991 with Jaguar) and Wurz, who, at 22 years old, became the youngest ever Le Mans overall winner. Regulations and Entries Still very satisfied with its equivalency formulae between the prototypes and GTs, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) made only slight adjustments to its regulations, by including engine volume and turbo boost into its calculations. LMP1 and P2 got closer to the IMSA-WSC category with new, updated, bodywork ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1995 24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 63rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 1995 in one of the wettest races in the event's history with about 17 hours of steady rain. The race was won by the #59 McLaren F1 GTR driven by JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya entered in the GT1 category. This was the first Le Mans win for a driver from Finland and for a driver from Japan. It was also McLaren's first win, at its first attempt. Such was the marque's dominance that its cars filled four of the first five places - Ferrari did it with its two cars in 1949, but other manufacturers like Jaguar, Porsche, Ford or Audi achieved their Le Mans fame only after 2, 3 or more years attempting their first win.Moity & Teissedre 1995, p.28. The car was already well known for dominating the BPR Global GT Series with customer teams, but the car that won was actually the initial GTR prototype. This was on loan to Lanzante Motorsport, and prepared by McLaren's Unit 12 and o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honda NSX
The Honda NSX, marketed in North America as the Acura NSX, is a two-seat, mid-engined coupe sports car manufactured by Honda. The origins of the NSX trace back to 1984, with the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept, which was a mid-engine 3.0 L V6 engine rear wheel drive sports car. Honda committed to the project, with the intention of meeting or exceeding the performance of the then V8 engine Ferrari range, while offering reliability and a lower price point. The concept thus evolved and had its name changed to NS-X, which stood for "New", "Sportscar" "eXperimental", although the production model was launched as the NSX. Gordon Murray, the designer of the McLaren F1 supercar, stated that he used the NSX as the inspiration for the F1 after test driving many high performance cars and finding the NSX chassis performed the best. Murray stated that the design was "monumental" to sportscar design. He found that the car could easily have handled more power and attempted t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keiichi Tsuchiya
is a Japanese professional race car driver. He is known as the for his nontraditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport. In professional racing, he is a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and the 2001 All Japan GT Championship runner-up. He is also known for touge driving. The car he drives, a Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno, has become one of the most popular sports cars; the car is also known as "Hachi-Roku" in Japan (''hachi-roku'' meaning "eight six"); his car is also called "The Little Hachi that could." A 2-part video known as 'The Touge' produced by Pluspy documents Tsuchiya's touge driving with his AE86. He was a consultant for the popular manga and anime series, '' Initial D'', of which the main character Takumi Fujiwara is a character which describes him. He also served as a stunt coordinator and stuntman on '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'', where he also made a cameo appearance. Biogr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
