Type Inc. Founded 1967 | Headquarters Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan Base Gotemba | |
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Le Mans Ltd., headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo is an automobile parts manufacturer founded in 1967. The original company name was Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. The company is mainly engaged in the development and sales of motorsport parts and the import and sale of race cars overseas.
Contents
- Team LeMans
- All Japan F2000F2F3000 Championship
- Formula Nippon
- Fuji GC
- 24 Hours of Le Mans
- All Japan GT ChampionshipSuper GT
- References
They also have a racing division called Team LeMans. The origin of the team name comes from 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Team LeMans
In 1969 Team LeMans was established as a racing department of Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. It has been active in a variety of categories since the 1970's as one of the top teams of Japan.
The team has competed in single-seaters since 1976, when they entered the All-Japan F2000 Championship. They served as the Japanese distributor of Reynard products until 2002. In 1991, Michael Schumacher, before his Formula One debut, raced with the team in the Sportsland SUGO round of the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, while in 1996 his brother Ralf became the champion with the same team.
They also developed their own racing machine, that complied to Group C regulations.
In 2012 in collaboration with Hideki Noda they founded "NODA racing Academy Senior High School", several engineers such as Donuma Hiroyoshi, the team principal, have served as lecturers at the school.
All-Japan F2000/F2/F3000 Championship
Their participation in the All Japan F2000 Championship started with Keiji Matsumoto in 1976. In 1979 he won the championship title. In 1988-89 Geoff Lees and Emanuele Pirro raced for the team, both winning one race.
Formula Nippon
In 1996, the team had its most successful year in Japan's top level open wheel series, when Ralf Schumacher and Naoki Hattori took the first two spots in the drivers' championship, also winning the first team title. The team repeated wins in the drivers and team championship with Satoshi Motoyama in 1998.
Fuji GC
The team achieved titles in The Fuji Grand Champion Series (Fuji GC) with in Keiji Matsumoto in 1983 and Geoff Lees in 1988 and 1989.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Team LeMans first entered the 24 Hours of Lemans in 1987 under the name Italya Sports. They competed in the race through 1990 without a single finish.
All-Japan GT Championship/Super GT
In 2002, the team won drivers' championship in the GT500 Class of the All-Japan GT Championship with Akira Iida and Juichi Wakisaka, who competed in a Toyota Supra race car.