Kojima Engineering was a Japanese Formula One constructor who entered cars in the Japanese Grand Prix in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

The team was founded in 1976 by

Matsuhisa Kojima Matsuhisa may refer to * Matsuhisa Station, a railway station in Misato, Saitama, Japan *, Japanese Olympic gymnast *, Japanese celebrity chef and restaurateur {{Disambiguation, geo, surname Japanese-language surnames ...

. Kojima had made a fortune importing bananas, and was a motor-racing enthusiast, having ridden in Motocross himself in the 1960s. He began entering Formula Two cars in Japan, and struck a deal with Dunlop to supply tyres for the

1976 Japanese Grand Prix The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Fuji Speedway on 24 October 1976. It was the 16th and final race of the 1976 Formula One World Championship The 1976 World Championship was to be decided at the Mount Fuji circui ...

. To go with these, the company constructed the KE007 chassis, and brought in several staff-members from the Maki team. They helped arrange an entry for the Grand Prix at Fuji, and a

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...

DFV engine. The car was tested throughout the autumn of 1976, with

Masahiro Hasemi is a former racing driver and team owner from Japan. He started racing motocross when he was 15 years old. In 1964 he signed to drive for Nissan. After establishing himself in saloon car and GT races in Japan, he participated in his only Formula O ...

, a Japanese Formula 2 driver, at the wheel. Hasemi then scored a huge stir at the Japanese Grand Prix, posting 4th best time in the first qualifying session. However, he crashed in the second session, and the car had to be rebuilt virtually from scratch. Hasemi started 10th, and ran superbly before tyre trouble led to an eventual 11th place. He was initially credited with fastest lap, but this was a measurement mistake, and, several days later, the circuit issued a press release to correct the fastest lap holder of the race to Jacques Laffite. A planned entry into the 1977 South American races was cancelled, but the team built a new Kojima KE009 for the

1977 Japanese Grand Prix The 1977 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 October 1977 at Fuji. It was the 17th and final race of the 1977 Formula One World Championship. At the time, this was the last Japanese Grand Prix due to traveling and financia ...

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

this time supplied the tyres, but these were unsatisfactory, and

Noritake Takahara Noritake Takahara (高原敬武, born June 6, 1951 in Tokyo) is a former racing driver from Japan. He participated in 2 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on October 24, 1976. He scored no championship points. Along with his com ...

started only 19th before crashing avoiding debris. A second KE009 was entered by

Heros Racing Heros Racing (listed in some sources as Heroes Racing) was a Japanese motor racing team which competed briefly in Formula One in the and seasons. The team entered the 1976 and 1977 Japanese Grands Prix, each time with local driver Kazuyoshi Hosh ...

for the same race, Kazuyoshi Hoshino starting and finishing 11th. Kojima continued as an F2 entrant until the late 1980s, but did not venture again beyond domestic racing.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

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 ...

) (results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Notes

# It was initially announced that the fastest lap at the

was set by

in a Kojima, but this was a measurement mistake, and, several days later, the circuit issued a press release to correct the fastest lap holder of the race to

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1. ...

in a Ligier. This release was promptly made known in Japan, and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and Japanese media corrected the record. But this correction was not made well known outside Japan, thus, Kojima is credited with one fastest lap in many record books.

References

Kojima Formula One Cars
{{Formula One constructors Formula One constructors Formula One entrants Japanese auto racing teams Japanese racecar constructors Auto racing teams established in 1976