Dandelion Racing is a Japanese racing team, mainly running in Super Formula. The team was founded by Kiyoshi Muraoka in 1989 as "Dandelion Racing Project".

Early years (1993-1998)

The team made a small sponsor contract with NTT Docomo in 1993. It made a way to enter the Japanese local racing series. The team ran in the

All-Japan Formula Three Championship was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series pro ...

(1993 and 1994 seasons) and

Japanese Touring Car Championship The Japanese Touring Car Championship (abbr: 1985–1993: JTC, 1994–1998: JTCC, officially known as All Japan Touring Car Championship, ja, 全日本ツーリングカー選手権, link=no), was a former touring car racing series held in Japan. ...

(

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, 1996,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

), and suffered from poor results through the 1990s. The relationship with NTT Docomo will continue to date, though there is no capital ties.

Formula Nippon/Super Formula (1999- )

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, the team switched from the defunct JTCC to

Formula Nippon The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

as a Honda engine user. Though the team continuously suffered from poor result at first, the fortune was changed in the 2002 season when Richard Lyons scored team's first point-finish in the series with finishing 2nd at the SUGO round. In the 2003 season, Lyons won the Suzuka round in July. It was also the first race win for the team. In the 2004 season, Lyons became the drivers' champion of the series and the team finished as 3rd in the teams' championship. During the following years, the team came to leave steady results. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, the last season of Formula Nippon, the team became the teams' champion of the series with beating

TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT, Super Formula and Super Form ...

at the final round of the season.

Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Notable and veteran drivers

Formula Nippon/Super Formula

* Richard Lyons (2002–2005, 2009) *

Naoki Hattori is a motoring journalist and racing driver from Japan. After he won the Japanese Formula 3 championship in 1990, he failed to pre-qualify for two Formula One Grands Prix with Coloni in 1991 as a late-season replacement for Pedro Chaves. He r ...

(2003–2005) *

Takuya Izawa is a Japanese racing driver. Racing record Complete Super GT results ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Rac ...

(2009–2013, 2017) *

Tomoki Nojiri is a Japanese racing driver for the Honda Motor Company. He currently drives in the GT500 class of the Autobacs Super GT Series, and the Super Formula Championship, where he is the 2021 and 2022 series champion. Racing career Early career ...

(2014–2018) *

Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently racing for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren from 2016 to 2018. He is currently a test driver of M ...

(2016)

External links

Dandelion Racing official website
- {{Authority control Japanese auto racing teams Formula Nippon teams Super Formula teams Japanese Formula 3 Championship teams Auto racing teams established in 1989 1989 establishments in Japan Honda in motorsport