2006 Japan Le Mans Challenge

2006 Japan Le Mans Challenge

The 2006 Japan Le Mans Challenge was the inaugural season of the Japan Le Mans Challenge, a series created by SERO, and run under sanctioning from the ACO, to follow 24 Hours of Le Mans rules. It began at Sportsland SUGO on May 14 and ended at Okayama International Circuit on October 29, after three races.

The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes, divided into the LMP1 and LMP2 classes, and grand tourer-style racing cars in the GT1 and GT2 classes.

2006 Pre-season

In the buildup to the first season of JLMC, it was apparent from the start that unlike the Le Mans Series in Europe, JLMC would not start off with great success.

A lack of commitment from major Japanese teams, especially those involved in Super GT, meant that the entry list for the season was small.

An official pre-season test at Sportsland Sugo saw only 8 cars showing up. Even with this, more teams promised to eventually make it to the JLMC grid, including Team Goh, who had earned fame when they won the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans with the conquering Audi R8.

However, of the teams that did show up, few had quality machinery. The entire LMP2 class was small sportscars that did not actually fit LMP2 regulations. LMP1 was able to boast some machinery that fit LMP rules with a Zytek 05S while there was promise of a new Courage LC70 for Mugen Motorsports on the way as the season went on.

GT classes was made up of a large amount of machinery from Super GT, with an ex-Prodrive Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello and JLOC's Super GT Lamborghini Murcielago RG-1 joined by a privateer Mosler MT900R in GT1.

GT2 was also only able to claim a few competitive entries, with some two Porsche 911 GT3s being mixed with a privateer cars that did not fully reach ACO GT2 specs.

These competitors allowed for the entry list of a mere 12 competitors for the first round at Sportsland Sugo.

Schedule

Rnd. Race Circuit Date
1 Sportsland Sugo 1000 km Miyagi Prefecture Sportsland SUGO May 14
2 Motegi 1000 km Tochigi Prefecture Twin Ring Motegi July 2
3 Okayama 1000 km Okayama Prefecture Okayama International Circuit October 29

Entries

LMP1

Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Drivers Rounds
Japan Team Mugen[1] Courage LC70 Mugen MF458S 4.5 L V8 M 16 Japan Seiji Ara[1] 2–3
Japan Haruki Kurosawa[1] 2–3
Japan Hitotsuyama Racing Zytek 05S Zytek ZB408 4.0 L V8 D 21 Japan Hiroki Katoh All
Japan Hideki Noda All
Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst Oscar SK5.2 Toyota ? D 65 Japan Toshiya Itou 3
Japan Tomoyuki Kawasaki 3
Japan Tatsuya Mizutani 3
Oscar SK93 Mazda 13B 1.3 L 3-Rotor Y 66 Japan Takahiko Shimazawa All
Japan Kenji Takeya 1–2
Japan Hiroshi Ota 2–3
Japan Masaya Kono 1
Japan Kazuya Murase 3
Oscar SK93 Toyota ? D 111 Japan Tatsuya Hashimoto 3
Japan Kota Sasaki 3
Japan Yasumasa Wakahara 3
Source:[2]

LMP2

Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Drivers Rounds
Japan MYZ Dallara GC21 Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L I4 B 3 Japan Syougo Suhou All
Japan Masayuki Yamamoto All
Japan Junichiro Yamashita All
B 4 Japan Tomonobu Fujii All
Japan Yuuya Sakamoto All
Japan Yoshihisa Namekata All
Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst Oscar SK5.2 1–2
Oscar RS.KK-LM 3		 Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L I4 Y 15 Japan Ryohei Sakaguchi All
Japan Masayuki Ueda All
Japan Motoaki Ishikawa 2–3
Oscar SK5.2 Toyota ? Y 52 Japan Masayoshi Furuya 3
Japan Hisashi Tsukahara 3
Japan Tomokuni Waki 3
Japan Aim Sports Dallara GC21 Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L I4 Y 18 Japan Yuuji Asou All
Japan Masaru Tomizawa All
Japan Shinsuke Yamazaki All
Japan Cosmos Racing Oscar SK5.2 Toyota ? D 37 Japan Takuya Andou 3
Japan Naoto Chikada 3
Japan Youichirou Suzuki 3
Source:[2]

LMGT1

Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Drivers Rounds
Japan Team LeyJun Mosler MT900R Chevrolet LS1 6.0 L V8 Y 9 Japan Hiroya Iijima All
Japan Osamu Nakajima All
Japan Masaki Tanaka All
Japan Hitotsuyama Racing Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello Ferrari F133 A 6.0 L V12 D 20 Japan Naoki Hattori All
Japan Tatsuya Kataoka All
Japan Eiichi Tajima All
Japan JLOC Lamborghini Murcielago RG-1 Lamborghini L535 6.0 L V12 Y 88 Japan Yasutaka Hinoi 1, 3
Japan Hisashi Wada 1, 3
Japan Koji Yamanishi 1, 3
Source:[2]

LMGT2

Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Drivers Rounds
Japan Team Takamizawa Porsche 996 GT3-RS Porsche M96/77 3.8 L Flat-6 Y 5 Japan Tomohiko Sunako All
Japan Kazuyoshi Takamizawa All
Japan Akihiko Tsutsumi 1–2
Japan Akazama Oyaji 3
Japan Proto Works Mazda RX-7 Mazda 20B 2.0 L 3-Rotor Y 7 Japan Naoko Hagiwara All
Japan Yuuki Kawai 1
Japan Atsuko Oomura 2
Japan Sakiko Tsuji 3
Porsche 996 GT3-RS Porsche M96/77 3.8 L Flat-6 D 77 Japan "Dragon" 3
Japan Yoshiaki Nakayama 3
Japan Motoyoshi Yoshida 3
Japan Team NRF Mazda RX-8 Mazda 13B-MSP 1.3 L 2-Rotor Y 8 Japan Jun Nakamura 3
Japan Fumihiko Nishida 3
Japan Ryuuichirou Ootsuka 3
Japan Team Nopro Mazda Roadster Mazda BP 1.8 L I4 D 17 Japan Toshihiko Nogami 2
Japan Yutaka Seki 2
Japan Team Kawamura Porsche 996 GT3-RSR Porsche M96/79 3.8 L Flat-6 Y 27 Japan Kouji Aoyama All
Japan Morio Nitta All
Japan Shinichi Takagi All
Japan Sunburst Rush Porsche 964 Porsche M64/03 3.6 L Flat-6 Y 930 Japan Takeshi Inui 3
Japan Hitoshi Kakiuchi 3
Japan Yutaka Matsushima 3
Source:[2]

Race results

Bold indicates overall winners.

Rnd Circuit LMP1 Winning Team LMP2 Winning Team LMGT1 Winning Team LMGT2 Winning Team
LMP1 Winning Drivers LMP2 Winning Drivers LMGT1 Winning Drivers LMGT2 Winning Drivers
1 Sugo Japan #66 Jidousya Koubou Myst Japan #18 Aim Sports Japan #20 Hitotsuyama Racing Japan #27 Team Kawamura
Japan Takahiko Shimazawa
Japan Masaya Kono
Japan Kenji Takeya		 Japan Shinsuke Yamakazi
Japan Yuji Aso
Japan Masaru Tomizawa		 Japan Tatsuya Kataoka
Japan Naoki Hattori
Japan Eiichi Tajima		 Japan Koji Aoyama
Japan Shinichi Takagi
Japan Morio Nitta
2 Motegi Japan #66 Jidousya Koubou Myst Japan #4 MYZ Japan #20 Hitotsuyama Racing Japan #27 Team Kawamura
Japan Takahiki Shimazawa
Japan Hiroshi Ohta
Japan Kenji Takeya		 Japan Yuya Sakamoto
Japan Yoshihisa Namekata
Japan Tomonobu Fujii		 Japan Tatsuya Kataoka
Japan Naoki Hattori
Japan Eiichi Tajima		 Japan Koji Aoyama
Japan Shinichi Takagi
Japan Morio Nitta
3 Okayama Japan #16 Team Mugen Japan #4 MYZ Japan #88 JLOC Japan #930 Sunburst Rush
Japan Seiji Ara
Japan Haruki Kurosawa		 Japan Yuya Sakamoto
Japan Yoshihisa Namekata
Japan Tomonobu Fujii		 Japan Koji Yamanishi
Japan Yasatuka Hinoi
Japan Wada-Q		 Japan Yutaka Matsushima
Japan Takeshi Inui
Japan Masashi Kakuichi

Championship standings

Points system

Points are awarded to finishers based on how many cars were entered in each class. For team's championships, only the top finishing car in a team scores points towards the championship. For classes with a more than five cars, points are scored as follows:[3]

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th 
Points 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

For classes with a fewer than five cars, points are scored as follows:

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th 
Points 5 4 3 2.5 2

Drivers' Championship

LMP1 standings

Pos. Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan Takahiko Shimazawa Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 1 1 4 12.5
2 Japan Kenji Takeya Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 1 1 10
3 Japan Hiroshi Ohta Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 1 4 7.5
4 Japan Seiji Ara
Japan Haruki Kurosawa		 Japan Team Mugen NC 1 5
5 Japan Masaya Kono Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 1 5
6 Japan Hiroki Katoh
Japan Hideki Noda		 Japan Hitotsuyama Racing Ret Ret 2 4
7 Japan Tatsuya Hashimoto
Japan Kota Sasaki
Japan Yasumasa Wakahara		 Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 3 3
8 Japan Kazuya Murase Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 4 2.5
9 Japan Toshiya Itou
Japan Tomoyuki Kawasaki
Japan Tatsuya Mizutani		 Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 5 2
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints classification
BlueNon-points classification
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired, not classified (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
 Italic – Fastest Lap

LMP2 standings

Pos. Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan Yuya Sakamoto
Japan Yoshihisa Namekata
Japan Tomonobu Fujii		 Japan MYZ NC 1 1 15
2 Japan Tomokuni Waki
Japan Masayoshi Furuya
Japan Hisashi Tsukahara		 Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 2 8
3 Japan Shinsuke Yamazaki
Japan Yuji Aso
Japan Masaru Tomizawa		 Japan Aim Sports 1 Ret Ret 5
4 Japan Syougo Suhou
Japan Masayuki Yamamoto
Japan Junichiro Yamashita		 Japan MYZ Ret 2 Ret 4
5 Japan Ryohei Sakaguchi
Japan Masayuki Ueda		 Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 2 Ret NC 4
NC Japan Motoaki Ishikawa Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst Ret NC 0
NC Japan Takuya Andou
Japan Naoto Chikada
Japan Youichirou Suzuki		 Japan Cosmos Racing NC 0

LMGT1 standings

Pos. Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan Tatsuya Kataoka
Japan Naoki Hattori
Japan Eiichi Tajima		 Japan Hitotsuyama Racing 1 1 3 13
2 Japan Osamu Nakajima
Japan Masaki Tanaka
Japan Hiroya Iijima		 Japan Team Leyjun 2 2 2 12
3 Japan Koji Yamanishi
Japan Yasutaka Hinoi
Japan Hisashi Wada		 Japan JLOC Ret 1 5

LMGT2 standings

Pos. Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan Koji Aoyama
Japan Shinichi Takagi
Japan Morio Nitta		 Japan Team Kawamura 1 1 2 18
2 Japan Yutaka Matsushima
Japan Masashi Kakiuchi
Japan Takeshi Inui		 Japan Sunburst Rush 1 10
3 Japan Kazuyoshi Takamizawa
Japan Tomohiko Sunako		 Japan Team Takamizawa 2 2 Ret 8
Japan Akihiko Tsutsumi 2 2
4 Japan "Dragon"
Japan Yoshiaki Nakayama
Japan Motoyoshi Yoshida		 Japan Proto Works 3 6
5 Japan Naoko Hagiwara Japan Proto Works 3 3 NC 6
6 Japan Yuuki Kawai Japan Proto Works 3 3
7 Japan Atsuko Oomura Japan Proto Works 3 3
NC Japan Sakiko Tsuji Japan Proto Works NC 0
NC Japan Akazama Oyaji Japan Team Takamizawa Ret 0
NC Japan Jun Nakamura
Japan Fumihiko Nishida
Japan Ryuuichirou Ootsuka		 Japan Team NRF Ret 0
NC Japan Toshihiko Nogami
Japan Yutaka Seki		 Japan Team Nopro DNQ 0

Teams' Championship

LMP1 standings

Pos. Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 1 1 3 13
2 Japan Team Mugen NC 1 5
3 Japan Hitotsuyama Racing Ret Ret 2 4
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints classification
BlueNon-points classification
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired, not classified (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
 Italic – Fastest Lap

LMP2 standings

Pos. Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan MYZ NC 1 1 15
2 Japan Jidousya Koubou Myst 2 Ret 2 12
3 Japan AIM Sports 1 Ret Ret 5
NC Japan Cosmos Racing NC 0

LMGT1 standings

Pos. Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan Hitotsuyama Racing 1 1 3 13
2 Japan Team LeyJun 2 2 2 12
3 Japan JLOC Ret 1 5

LMGT2 standings

Pos. Team SUG MOT OKA Points
1 Japan Team Kawamura 1 1 2 18
2 Japan Proto Works 3 3 3 12
3 Japan Sunburst Rush 1 10
4 Japan Team Takamizawa 2 2 Ret 8
NC Japan Team NRF Ret 0
NC Japan Team Nopro DNQ 0

References

  1. 1 2 3 "M-Tec Courage LC70 For Japan". archive.dailysportscar.com. 4 May 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Okayama Entry List". archive.dailysportscar.com. 27 October 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "JAPAN LE MANS CHALLENGE/全日本スポーツカー耐久選手権 オフィシャル ウェブサイト". www.lmchallenge.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
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