The ppl here seem to be very knowledgable about not only US-based racing, but also Japan-based racing. I'm wondering what kind of racing series there are in Japan. The only ones I know of are JGTC and N1 Endurance. However, I've seen all these Spoon S2000, CTR, and ITR race cars and other cars and I have no idea what races they compete in. Can anyone give me some info on what types of racing series there are in Japan and if possible, an example or 2 of some cars that compete in those races? Also, where might I find video's of these races?...aside from Options, which usually doesn't have very much race-dedicated coverage. Thanks very much.

 

The major race series in Japan are JGTC and the Super Taikyu series. N1 endurance has evolved into something a bit different. There are also lots of smaller series, like "one car make" series like the Vitz cup, Netz cup, or all Civic races, etc.

JGTC is the most famous. The cars in JGTC are heavily modified GT cars. There are all kinds of makes, not just Japanese. There are teams that run Mclaren F1 GTR, Viper GTS, Diablos, and 360 Modenas. Of course the famous teams are the orange/white Arta NSX, Raybrig NSX, Castrol Supra, Calsonic Skyline, etc. JGTC is divided into two classes, GT500, and GT300. The difference is the power limit. In GT500, max horsepower is 500 and in GT300, max is 300. In GT300, u find cars like Apexi MRS, Daishin Silvia, etc. Many of these race cars are found in Gran Turismo 2 and 3.

Super Taikyu is a series that few know about or follow here. Yet the cars in Super Taikyu are the ones we constantly refer to. Super Taikyu is much more like stock car racing. It is in this series we find teams like Spoon, 5 Zigen, C-West, etc. Super Taikyu is divided into five classes, which all race together.

Class 1 includes cars with displacement over 3501cc. This includes the blue green Falken Skyline GTR.

Class 2 is cars with displacement between 2001-3500cc and AWD. This includes the Black Puma Lancer EVO 7.

Class 3 is displacement betwen 2001-3500cc but no AWD. The C-West RX-7 is in this class.

Class 4 is our favourite, 2000cc and under. HERE is the Spoon S2000, 5Zigen S2000, C-West S2000, BEAMS Racing DC5R. A few CTR and DC2R race as well.

The final class is the famous Group N+. Currently, this class is dominated by Altezzas, the famous black and red Advan Altezza, the silver JIC Altezza, the Endless Altezza, etc. This is the class that the DC2R used to race and dominate up to 1999. This is the class that had the Spoon DC2R, C-Westin DC2R, etc. The Altezzas came out in 99, and were instantly competitive, and in 2000, kicked the DC2R so bad that pretty much all teams with DC2R pulled out and switched to S2000 in class 4. The only remaining team with DC2R in GN+ is 5Zigen, and they suck. Sorry folks, but the DC2R is no longer a competitive car on the track. DC5R races in class 4, not GN+ and has done well instantly. Incidentally, the Beams Racing DC5R team was put together by Honda just to win one race, the prestigious Tokachi 24 hours. They never raced again after that; however, the DC5R has been adopted by other teams and has won several times.

One more tidbit about GN+, it's regulations are based upon FIA Group N, however, it allows more modification then FIA regs. This is why when the GN+ Altezzas went to Macau in November, they had to switch to smaller rims, etc.

The regulations for Group N are extremely strict, which is why Spoon engine products do not create mega huge power, since Spoon is producing parts as allowed by Group N formula. Unfortunately, not a lot of people in North America appreciate the fact that many of the japanese tuners are producing parts and tuning cars according to what is allowed by formula rules. Likewise, the rules for the other four classes are pretty strict too.

Videos of these races are not easily available. If you are in Japan, you can look around for the official race videos. Options tends to focus on JGTC and modified cars. Neither HyperRev, Revspeed, VideoOptions, or Best Motoring cover Super Taikyu much at all.

HTH


[Modified by Spikey, 9:23 AM 12/17/2001]

 

ahhhh..the sound of a japanese racing engine....

 

DAMN!...that's a lotta good info...Thanks Spikey!! Where'd you find out all this stuff? ARe there any websites or anything where I can find more info? The only one I know of is http://www.autobacs.co.jp or something like that. I got some nice photos of some of the JGTC races, but not much else. Again, thanks a lot! Damn, I need to plan a vacation out to Japan and just take a camcorder and about 48 hours worth of video tape with me!

 

http://www.jgtc.net/index_en.htm

 

Goddamn--I think Spikey gets the award for 'most informative post of the day'.

Great info!

 

GRAN TURISMO REAL LIFE

 

I learned more in that one post then I do in one of my calc 2 classes, maybe I should pay attention and stop thinking about me car.

ryan-who is trying to put off studying

 

YA DAMN SHOWOFF....Spikey!!

HAhhaa.... luckily that guy is local to me and I can raid or TRY to raid his video vault for all the awesome CAR ****.... (well essentially that is what it is.....sigh)
Fast chix we will never get to bang....err....I mean fast cars we might never get to drive...

 

unfortunately, u'r not gonna find any sites in english that will give you good info... you'll have a very hard time figuring out the japanese. SOME of the race companies like C-West, Spoon, 5 Zigen, have sections on their sites devoted to their racing activities. There, you MIGHT be able to piece together info or find links. If u have access to a Japanese bookstore, check out the 'AUTOSPORT' magazine, which has coverage of all the race series

 

Hey guys, check out this link...it's got some awesome videos (realplayer) of the super taikyu series!! The only thing is that you gotta be online to watch them cuz they're realplayer stuff. Is there a way to download them to my harddrive?...anyways, here's the link:
http://www.so-net.ne.jp/s-taikyu/brdbnd/index.html

Also, here's some pics from that website too:




If anyone knows how to DL those realplayer movies, it'd be sooooo much appreciated!! I can only view them while I'm at work cuz I don't have a broadband connection able to support that type of streaming video. Thanks.

 

Hey bhcvc--

GREAT FIND!!! I have that site bookmarked for the next time there is nothing interesting on TV--that's a buttload of streaming video!

Sorry, but I have no insight into how to save them, though.

This is a phenomenal thread, by the way--

 

how do i get those videos to work?

 

Great site!!

I love this car...

 

Thanks for the Japanese Racing Web Sites. Great Stuff Guys! Made my Day!!!!

 

Nice find guys! I have been looking for info on this series for a while. I picked up some mags the last time in Japan but couldn't find much else! Too bad you can't save those streams to the hard drive. It would be nice to get more racing like this and JGTCC over here.

Quick question. The RB26DETT is 2.6L TT right? So why does the GT-R run in the over 3.5L class? Not that it matters .. since the Skylines are always running up front.

Unfortunately in North America, if it is not nA$$car, most people don't know about it.

Thanks for the link guys.

 

man why cant i see it. i have real player. when i click on "play" it just makes me d/l a tiny file. and that dont even work. help me guys, i wanna see this

 

Wow, that is some awesome info...thanks!

 

man this is a great thread.. to everybody

 

hehe..what are the JDM chicks in the website with the falken azenis shirts saying????

 

OMFG!!! I just found my new Avatar!!!!!

Thanx for the very very imformative post! I love it!!!

 

599: I had to DL that lil file too. I think you HAVE to have that lil file for it to work. Keep trying cuz it's got the vids of 2 FULL races ,and when I say full, I mean full...it starts out with an intro to the track so the viewer is familiar with it, then they interview the teams and race queens and show the cars, then finally the race, and they even show the winner's ceremony w/ the trophies and wine! Badass stuff!! I hope some computer genious will help us out here and tell us all how we can DL those vids!!

 

So does anyone know where i can purchase JGTC videos??
Do they show JGTC on Speedvision ?

 

They do not show JGTC on Speedvision - I've never even see it covered on Motorsport Mundial (all you Speedvision junkies know what show I am talking about...)

Yoshi may know where to get some videos....

 

http://www.teletech-tv.com/gtc/video/index.html

Vol 4 of the 2001 season just came out.