is a Japanese automotive manufacturer which produces wheel parts, exhaust systems, which mostly involved in the motorsport industry. The company also runs a racing team, Team 5ZIGEN

Company's history

5ZIGEN was founded in February 1987, starting out by developing sports mufflers. Following that, the company expanded into motorsport related parts, developing wheel rims, suspensions, etc.

Racing team's history

5ZIGEN then expanded into racing in 1989, as the company built a racing team named "Team 5ZIGEN". They first competed in the Regional Championship Suzuka RS Race. In 1991, the team competed in the

Japanese Formula 3 Championship was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series prom ...

. For 1992, they competed in Japanese Touring Car Championship. Team 5ZIGEN then participated in the All-Japan Formula 3000 in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

with Ad Racing Team Co. Ltd., using a Lola Mugen Honda, with Minoru Tanaka as the driver, but in the following season the team ran independently, with

Thomas Danielsson Thomas Danielsson (born 4 December 1964) is a Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finl ...

as their driver. For 1997, the team started to get involved in Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. They raced with Toyota Supra as

Eiichi Tajima Eiichi Tajima (田嶋栄一 - Tajima Eiichi; born December 3, 1967) is a Japanese professional racing driver. Complete JGTC/Super GT Results (key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that ...

, and

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drove the car. The pair won on the last race of the season, and finished in 8th in the standings. In 2003 the elected to focus on the maintenance of teams competing in Super GT, and other local Japanese series. In 2008, the team stopped racing under the "Team 5ZIGEN" banner, as they elected to focus more on running other teams' operational technical cooperation in various categories, including Super GT GT300. Team 5ZIGEN returned racing the brand in 2020, competing in the Super Taikyu Series. They race in the ST-Z Class with a

Mercedes-AMG GT4 The Mercedes-AMG GT (C190 / R190) is a grand tourer produced in coupé and roadster bodystyles by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-AMG. The car was introduced on and was officially unveiled to the public in October 2014 at the Paris Mo ...

. In Super Taikyu Series, Ryuichiro Otsuka, Kakunoshin Ohta, and Toshihiro Kaneishi won the Super Taikyu ST-Z title. The team changed their car to

Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alt ...

as they moved to the ST-X class. Shintaro Kawabata, "Hirobon", Hiromasa Kitano, and Yu Kanamaru competed for the first round and sixth round. The team are currently focusing on the

GT World Challenge Asia The GT World Challenge Asia (formerly Blancpain GT Series Asia and Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia) is a GT series motor racing competition, promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation and organized by Team Asia One GT Management. Champions D ...

four-round Fanatec Japan Cup for 2023, as Shintaro Kawabata, and "Hirobon" compete with the same Nissan they race in Super Taikyu. The team continued to compete in the

, this time doing the full caelndar with Yu Kanamaru and "Hirobon". They won in the second race at Buriram in the Silver Am Class. The team also entered in the F4 Japanese Championship, with Motohiro Kotani as their Independent class driver.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.5zigen.co.jp Japanese auto racing teams Super Formula teams Super Taikyu teams Auto racing teams established in 1989 Nissan in motorsport Toyota in motorsport Formula Nippon teams Japanese Formula 3 Championship teams