_-_SUBARU_BRZ_R%2526D_SPORT_ver.2015.JPG) | |
| Founded | November 7, 1991 (1991-11-7) |
|---|---|
| Base | Hiratsuka, Kanagawa |
| Teamprincipal(s) | Eiji Tatsumi |
| Current series | Super GT |
| Former series | JGTC |
| Current drivers | Takuto Iguchi,Hideki Yamauchi |
| Teams' Championships | 1 (GT300, 2021) |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 (GT300, 2021) |
| Website | www.rdsport.net |
R&D Sport is a Japanese racing team currently competing in theSuper GT series.
R&D Sport was created in 1991 as a race car management, maintenance, and manufacturing company[1] and expanded to JGTC, racing under the company's own name in 2002.
The team first competed inJapanese Formula 3000 in 1992 as AD Racing with Finnish driverMika Salo. The team changed to Navi Connection Racing in 1995 with driverMasahiko Kageyama taking third place atSuzuka in 1995 and third place atFuji in 1996.Masami Kageyama, younger brother ofMasahiko Kageyama, followed his sibling to third place atFuji in 1997. A third-place finish atFuji in 2000 from driverShinsuke Shibahara would be R&D Sports' last podium inFormula Nippon.[2]
In 2001 R&D Sport moved to theJGTC in aPorsche 911 GT3 R driven byShinsuke Shibahara andShogo Mitsuyama. 2002 would be the first successful year of JGTC competition, changing to a newVemac RD320R, Shibahara and Mitsuyama would win three rounds of the season, taking victory atFuji,Twin Ring Motegi, andMine Circuit and finishing second in the drivers' championship.[3]
R&D moved to GT500 with aVemac RD350R in 2003, but they would not have the success of the last season, being unable to properly compete with the factory teams of GT500. As a result, the team dedicated 2004 to further developing their newVemac RD408R competing in only one race of the season.
2005 would see the team move back to the GT300 class, as an accident with the team's RD408R ruined the planned GT500 effort. Instead R&D Sport was forced to use their Vemac RD350R from the 2003 season in the GT300 class, as it was no longer competitive in GT500. The team ran two cars in 2006 withShogo Mitsuyama andNobuteru Taniguchi winning atOkayama and taking third in the drivers' championship. DriversShinsuke Shibahara andHiroyuki Yagi won the next round atFuji and finished sixth in the drivers championship.[4]
Shinsuke Shibahara andHaruki Kurosawa achieved victory atAutopolis in 2007, finishing third in the drivers' championship.
R&D Sport began a partnership withSubaru in 2009 using anAWDSubaru Legacy B4 that debuted at the sixth round of the season atSuzuka. However the car developed problems with its front differential and was retired from the race.
2010 was a shift from the disappointing performance of theLegacy in 2009, by changing the car from anAWD setup to FR,Kota Sasaki andTetsuya Yamano won atSuzuka.[5] 2011 was an even better performance, with Sasaki and Yamano winning at bothSuzuka andAutopolis, finishing fourth overall in the drivers' championship.
STI and R&D Sport began a joint partnership in 2012 withSTI general directorEiji Tatsumi taking over as team principal and a newSubaru BRZ for the 2012 season.
In 2013 the team achieved victory at the fifth round of the season at Suzuka, with driversKota Sasaki andTetsuya Yamano finishing fourth in the drivers' championship. At the eighth round of the seriesTetsuya Yamano announced his retirement after the end of the 2013 season.
Yamano's replacement,Takuto Iguchi andKota Sasaki win atFuji and finish 5th in the drivers' championship in 2014.
The 2015 season is less successful than the previous year with the year's best finish being a third place podium atSuzuka.[6] DriversTakuto Iguchi andHideki Yamauchi finished the season twelfth overall in the driver's championship.[7]
The 2016 season is more successful than the previous year with the year's best finish being a win atSuzuka, third place podium atSportland Sugo andFuji. DriversTakuto Iguchi andHideki Yamauchi finished the season sixth overall in the driver's championship.
The 2017 season is less successful than the previous year with the year's best finish being a second place podium atAutopolis. DriversTakuto Iguchi andHideki Yamauchi finished the season ninth overall in the driver's championship.
The 2018 season is more successful than the previous year with the year's best finish being a third place podium atSuzuka and win atSportland Sugo. DriversTakuto Iguchi andHideki Yamauchi finished the season eighth overall in the driver's championship.
The 2019 season is very worst successful than the previous year with the year's best finish being a third place podium atSuzuka. DriversTakuto Iguchi andHideki Yamauchi finished the season eighteenth overall in the driver's championship.
The 2020 season is very more successful than the previous year with the year's best finish being a second place podium atFuji and third place podium atTwin Ring Motegi. DriversTakuto Iguchi andHideki Yamauchi finished the season fifth overall in the driver's championship.
The 2021 season is The 1st Champion than the previous year with the year's best finish being win atSUGO, a second place podium atFuji and third place podium atFuji andAutopolis. DriversTakuto Iguchi andHideki Yamauchi finished the season first overall in the driver's championship.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Car | Tyres | Class | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | D | GT300 | 62 |  Shinsuke ShibaharaYasuhisa FujiwaraShogo Mitsuyama | OKA 7 | FUJ Ret | SUG 9 | NC1 10 | FUJ 11 | MOT 5 | SUZ 6 | MIN 4 | 7th | 39 | |
| 63 | "OSAMU"Takamasa Nakagawa | OKA 9 | FUJ 8 | SUG 6 | NC1 | FUJ 17 | MOT 17 | SUZ 5 | MIN 7 | |||||||
| 2002 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | D | GT300 | 61 | Yasuo MiyagawaHiroaki SugaTsubasa KurosawaAtsushi Katsumasa | OKA 20 | FUJ 10 | SUG DNA | SEP 17 | FUJ 21 | MOT | MIN | SUZ | 17th | 1 | |
| 62 | Shinsuke ShibaharaShogo Mitsuyama | OKA Ret | 2nd | 85 | ||||||||||||
| Vemac RD320R | Shinsuke ShibaharaShogo Mitsuyama | FUJ 1 | SUG 15 | SEP Ret | FUJ 13 | MOT 1 | MIN 1 | SUZ 7 | ||||||||
| Porsche 911 GT3-R | 63 | "OSAMU"Takamasa Nakagawa | OKA 17 | FUJ Ret | SUG 3 | SEP 15 | FUJ 17 | MOT 13 | MIN 10 | SUZ DNS | ||||||
| 2003 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | D | GT300 | 61 | Atsushi KatsumataTakeyuki KishiKeiko Ihara | OKA | FUJ Ret | SUG DNP | FUJ | FUJ 16 | MOT 12 | AUT | SUZ | NC | 0 | |
| Vemac RD350R | GT500 | 62 | Shinsuke ShibaharaShogo Mitsuyama | OKA | FUJ 11 | SUG 15 | FUJ 9 | FUJ Ret | MOT Ret | AUT | SUZ 16 | 14th | 2 | |||
| 2004 | Vemac RD408R | D | GT500 | 62 | Shinsuke ShibaharaShogo Mitsuyama | OKA | SUG | SEP | TOK | MOT | AUT | SUZ 13 | NC1 | NC2 | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Note: Non-championship (NC1, NC2) races are major races that do not count towards the championship.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | Drivers' rankings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | AD Racing | Reynard 92D | Mugen Honda |  Mika Salo | 14th |
| 1993 | AD Racing | Lola T93/50 | Mugen Honda | Mika Salo | 17th |
| 1995 | NAVI CONNECTION | Reynard | Mugen Honda | Masahiko Kageyama /Masahiko Kondo | 17th |
| 1996 | NAVI CONNECTION | Reynard | Mugen Honda | Masahiko Kageyama /Masahiko Kondo | 15th |
| 1997 | NAVI CONNECTION | Reynard | Mugen Honda | Masami Kageyama /Katsumi Yamamoto | 5th |
| 1998 | Team LeyJun | Reynard | Mugen Honda | Shinsuke Shibahara /Osamu /Taichiro Oonishi | 24th |
| 1999 | Team LeyJun | Reynard 99L | Mugen Honda |  Peter Dumbreck /Osamu /Shinsuke Shibahara | 7th |
| 2000 | Team LeyJun | Reynard 2KL | Mugen Honda | Shinsuke Shibahara /Osamu | 11th |
| TAKAGI B-1 | Reynard 99L | Mugen Honda | Tetsuji Tamanaka | 19th | |
| 2001 | TAKAGI B-1 | Reynard 2KL | Mugen Honda | Tetsuji Tamanaka /Masahiko Kageyama | 18th |