All Japan Sports Prototype Championship
Encyclopedia
The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japanese Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan
for Group C
and IMSA GTP prototype
cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing
in its earlier years. Class A and Class B for production cars which were defined by the FIA (Group A
and Group B
) and the lead category, Class C would be for cars that are similar to IMSA's
Camel Lights and the WEC's C2, whereas Class D was for C1/GTP cars.
The series began in 1983 as All Japan Endurance Championship, an endurance championship with an intention to replace its domestic touring car championship and started out as a three round event, including one which as it was part of the WEC round which meant drivers competing in the national series was counted into the world championship. In 1987, the championship would be broken up into two as production cars from the lower categories would be moved into the All Japan Touring Car Championship (now Super GT
) formed two years earlier to become a dedicated championship and was renamed the All Japan Sports Prototype Car Endurance Championship.
The series was noted throughout its ten year run for battles between the various Porsche 956
/962C
and Japanese manufacturers presented by works teams of Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. Due to waning popularity and seeking to prevent the spiraling budgets and the disappearance of Gr. C and IMSA GTP, the JAF would dissolve the series at the end of 1992 and for the following year replace the series with the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. This was not to be the end for Group C cars as they would be allowed to compete in the newly formed series for two more years before being banished altogether.
Major sportscar racing in Japan would return again in 2006 with the Japan Le Mans Challenge
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for Group C
Group C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....
and IMSA GTP prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
in its earlier years. Class A and Class B for production cars which were defined by the FIA (Group A
Group A
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...
and Group B
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were...
) and the lead category, Class C would be for cars that are similar to IMSA's
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
Camel Lights and the WEC's C2, whereas Class D was for C1/GTP cars.
The series began in 1983 as All Japan Endurance Championship, an endurance championship with an intention to replace its domestic touring car championship and started out as a three round event, including one which as it was part of the WEC round which meant drivers competing in the national series was counted into the world championship. In 1987, the championship would be broken up into two as production cars from the lower categories would be moved into the All Japan Touring Car Championship (now Super GT
Super GT
The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association...
) formed two years earlier to become a dedicated championship and was renamed the All Japan Sports Prototype Car Endurance Championship.
The series was noted throughout its ten year run for battles between the various Porsche 956
Porsche 956
The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...
/962C
Porsche 962
The Porsche 962 was a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the European Group C formula as the 956 had...
and Japanese manufacturers presented by works teams of Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. Due to waning popularity and seeking to prevent the spiraling budgets and the disappearance of Gr. C and IMSA GTP, the JAF would dissolve the series at the end of 1992 and for the following year replace the series with the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. This was not to be the end for Group C cars as they would be allowed to compete in the newly formed series for two more years before being banished altogether.
Major sportscar racing in Japan would return again in 2006 with the Japan Le Mans Challenge
Japan Le Mans Challenge
The Japan Le Mans Challenge was an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. It was run by the Sports Car Endurance Race Operation sanctioning body and ran under the rules laid out by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest...
.
Champions
| Winning Driver(s) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winning Manufacturer | ||
| 1983 |  Japan Naohiro Fujita Australia Vern SchuppanVern Schuppan Vernon "Vern" Schuppan is a racing driver from Whyalla, South Australia. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.-Formula One:... |
|
 Germany PorschePorsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry.... |
||
| 1984 | Japan Naoki Nagasaka Japan Keiichi Suzuki Keiichi Suzuki is a Japanese composer and performer, known for his music for the Super Nintendo game EarthBound, released on the Mother 2 soundtrack. Recently, his work has been featured in Uzumaki and Tokyo Godfathers. He is also a member of the Moonriders.... |
|
| Germany Lotec-BMW BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands... |
||
| 1985 | Japan Kunimitsu Takahashi Kunimitsu Takahashi is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing driver from Japan who is also considered as the "father of drifting". He was the chairman of the GT-Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.-Motorcycle racing:... Japan Kenji Takahashi |
|
| Germany Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry.... |
||
| 1986 | Japan Kunimitsu Takahashi Kunimitsu Takahashi is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing driver from Japan who is also considered as the "father of drifting". He was the chairman of the GT-Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.-Motorcycle racing:... Japan Kenji Takahashi |
|
| Germany Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry.... |
||
| 1987 | Japan Kunimitsu Takahashi Kunimitsu Takahashi is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing driver from Japan who is also considered as the "father of drifting". He was the chairman of the GT-Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.-Motorcycle racing:...  United Kingdom Kenny AchesonKenny Acheson Kenneth Henry Acheson is a British former racing driver who participated during the 1983 and 1985 Formula One seasons for the RAM team. He completed only one of his three race starts, finishing in 12th position in the 1983 South African Grand Prix... |
|
| Germany Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry.... |
||
| 1988 | Japan Hideki Okada Sweden Stanley DickensStanley Dickens Stanley Dickens is a Swedish race car driver who won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1989 driving a Sauber C9-Mercedes.-External links:*http://stanleydickens.com/... |
|
| Germany Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry.... |
||
| 1989 | Japan Kunimitsu Takahashi Kunimitsu Takahashi is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing driver from Japan who is also considered as the "father of drifting". He was the chairman of the GT-Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.-Motorcycle racing:... Sweden Stanley DickensStanley Dickens Stanley Dickens is a Swedish race car driver who won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1989 driving a Sauber C9-Mercedes.-External links:*http://stanleydickens.com/... |
|
| Germany Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry.... |
||
| 1990 | Japan Masahiro Hasemi 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 One race at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix for Kojima... Sweden Anders Olofsson |
|
| Japan Nissan |
||
| 1991 | Japan Kazuyoshi Hoshino Kazuyoshi Hoshino is a former racing driver and businessman from Japan.Hoshino's nickname was . He won the Japanese motocross national championships in the 90cc and 125cc classes for Kawasaki in 1968 before switching to cars as a Nissan factory driver in 1969.... Japan Toshio Suzuki |
|
| Japan Nissan |
||
| 1992 | C Class | C1 Class |
| United Kingdom Geoff Lees Geoff Lees Geoffrey Lees is a former racing driver from England. He participated in 12 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 July 1978. He scored no championship points.-Career:...  Netherlands Jan LammersJan Lammers Johannes "Jan" Lammers, , is a racing driver and team principal from the Netherlands. He participated in 41 Formula One Grand Prix races, debuting on January 21, 1979. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988 and later participated in the race with his own team Racing for Holland... |
Japan Kazuyoshi Hoshino Kazuyoshi Hoshino is a former racing driver and businessman from Japan.Hoshino's nickname was . He won the Japanese motocross national championships in the 90cc and 125cc classes for Kawasaki in 1968 before switching to cars as a Nissan factory driver in 1969.... |
|
| Japan Toyota |
Japan Nissan |
|