Team Goh Motorsports is a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
team founded by Kazumichi Goh in 1996. They currently compete in the Japanese
Super Formula Championship
The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...
.
History
Initially competing in the
All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), Team Goh won the 1996 championship with a
McLaren F1 GTR
The McLaren F1 GTR is the racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It was powered by the natur ...
and drivers
John Nielsen and
David Brabham
David Brabham (born 5 September 1965) is an Australian professional racing driver and one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He has won three international Sports Car series and is one of four Australians t ...
.
24 Hours of Le Mans
The team next set its sights on the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
, 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
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
-
Judd in the
FIA Sportscar Championship The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating ...
, earning two wins and finishing second in the championship. The following year, Kazumichi Goh purchased an
Audi R8
The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006.
The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufac ...
, 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
Seiji Ara (荒 聖治; Ara Seiji) (born May 5, 1974 in Chiba, Japan) is a Japanese race car driver.
He was the winner of the 24-hour Le Mans race in 2004, driving an Audi R8. In the same year he also raced in the Le Mans Endurance Series and ...
and
Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...
.
In 2004, Goh entered the new
Le Mans Endurance Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
with their R8, finishing the season third in the championship. At the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
, Goh drivers Ara and Kristensen were joined by
Rinaldo Capello
Rinaldo "Dindo" Capello (born 17 June 1964) is an Italian professional racing driver. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Bentley in 2003 and Audi in 2004 and 2008. Capello is a two-time American Le Mans Series champion, ...
, and won the race overall, becoming only the second Japanese team to take the overall victory.
The team then focused on a return to the JGTC, which had by then been renamed to Super GT, acquiring a new GT1-spec
Maserati MC12
The Maserati MC12 (''Tipo M144S'') is a limited production two-seater sports car produced by Italian car maker Maserati to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004, with 25 cars produced. ...
with the aim of entering the
2006 season.
However, the GT1-spec car was well off the pace of its Japanese
GT500-class competitors during pre-season testing, causing the team to withdraw from the championship.
Three years later, the team would return to competition, entering a
Porsche RS Spyder
The RS Spyder (Type 9R6) is a racing car designed by Porsche in conjunction with Penske to compete in Le Mans Prototype Class 2 (LMP2) racing. The car takes its name from the legendary Porsche 550 Spyder of the 1950s (combined with Porsche's c ...
in the
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was running second in class when driver Seiji Ara suffered a large accident on the
Mulsanne Straight
The Mulsanne Straight (''Ligne Droite des Hunaudières'' in French) is the name used in English for a formerly long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is int ...
, forcing the car's retirement. It would turn out to be the team's only outing with the Porsche, as the car was sold in August 2009, only two months after the race. Moreover, the race turned out to be Goh's only outing in what was planned to be a multi-year programme, as the collapse of the team's title sponsor in February 2010 forced the suspension of all activity.
2019
In 2019, after a hiatus of nearly nine years, Kazumichi Goh announced the return of Team Goh, along with a new partnership with McLaren. Competing as McLaren Customer Racing Japan, Team Goh planned to field a
McLaren 720S GT3 in Super GT's GT300 class, alongside an additional 720S in the
2019 Suzuka 10 Hours
2019 Super GT season, Suzuka 10 Hours
2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge, Suzuka
2019 in Japanese motorsport, Suzuka ...
. The team had originally planned to enter its second car in the
Super Taikyu series, but was forced to abandon its plans prior to the season opener, citing a lack of parts. The team later withdrew from the Suzuka 10 Hours as well, citing a Balance of Performance that Goh felt was unfavorable to the team's McLarens. Goh's Super GT entry did go ahead, the team contesting all rounds of the season save for the flyaway
Buriram
Buriram (, , , 'city of happiness') is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Buriram Province, about northeast of Bangkok. The town occupies ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Buriram District. In 2012 it had a population of 27,862 ...
round. After a disappointing season in which the team finished 14th in the teams' standings despite taking a podium at
Autopolis
is a international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the Northeast of Kumamoto. Nippon Autopolis">F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis/ref>
Tsurumaki ordered 30 Buic ...
and pole at
Motegi, the team withdrew from Super GT at the end of 2019.
2020
On December 19, 2019,
Dale Coyne Racing
Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...
announced they have formed a partnership with Team Goh for the
2020 IndyCar Series. The team will be known as Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh with its ex-Super GT driver
Alex Palou driving the team's No. 55 entry. Palou finished third in just his third career start at
Road America. He would finish the season 16th in the drivers' standings, before Palou and Team Goh departed Dale Coyne Racing ahead of the 2021 IndyCar season.
In 2020, Team Goh announced a partnership with BMW Team Studie in Super GT, with McLaren Customer Racing Japan now operating as Customer Racing Support Limited (CSL). Kazumichi Goh was named the General Manager of BMW Team Studie x CSL's GT300 entry, and Seiji Ara was named one of the team's drivers, alongside gentleman racer Tomohide Yamaguchi. Goh's involvement with BMW Team Studie continued for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
2021
In 2021, Team Goh partnered with
Team Mugen to form Red Bull Mugen Team Goh, who entered the number 15
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
Dallara SF19/Honda for
Hiroki Otsu
is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the Super Formula Championship and Super GT with Team Mugen Team Goh and Modulo Nakajima Racing respectively.
Career
Early career
Otsu started his motorsport career in karting in 2007, ...
in the
Super Formula Championship
The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...
. Otsu finished the season sixth in the drivers' championship and won Rookie of the Year honours, while Mugen/Team Goh finished seventh in the teams' championship with their single car entry.
2022
For their second season in Super Formula, Team Goh will run as an independent, two-car team with Honda engines.
On 18 January 2022, it was announced that Kazuhiro Ikeda, the president of Servus Japan, will succeed Kazumichi Goh as the team principal and
representative director of the company,
Ren Sato and
Atsushi Miyake
is a racing driver from Japan who currently competes in the Super Formula Championship for Team Goh, and the GT300 class of Super GT for Max Racing.
Career
Miyake was the winner of the SRS-F (Suzuka Circuit Racing School Formula) Scholarship ...
were announced as the drivers for the
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
season. On 26 February 2022, it was announced that former
Honda Formula One project manager, Masashi Yamamoto, will be the team manager.
Racing results
IndyCar Series
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
* Season still in progress
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Team Goh
Japanese auto racing teams
Auto racing teams established in 1996
1996 establishments in Japan
24 Hours of Le Mans teams
FIA GT Championship teams
European Le Mans Series teams
Super GT teams
Super Formula teams
FIA Sportscar Championship entrants
Honda in motorsport
IndyCar Series teams