is a Japanese automotive manufacturer which produces wheel parts, exhaust systems, which mostly involved in the motorsport industry. The company also runs a racing team, Team 5ZIGEN

Company's history

5ZIGEN was founded in February 1987, starting out by developing sports mufflers. Following that, the company expanded into motorsport related parts, developing wheel rims, suspensions, etc.

Racing team's history

5ZIGEN then expanded into racing in 1989, as the company built a racing team named "Team 5ZIGEN". They first competed in the Regional Championship Suzuka RS Race. In 1991, the team competed in the

Japanese Formula 3 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 pr ...

. For 1992, they competed in

Japanese Touring Car Championship The Japanese Touring Car Championship (abbr: 1985–1993: JTC, 1994–1998: JTCC, officially known as All Japan Touring Car Championship, ) was a former touring car racing series held in Japan. The series was held under various regulations during ...

. Team 5ZIGEN then participated in the All-Japan Formula 3000 in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

with Ad Racing Team Co. Ltd., using a Lola Mugen Honda, with Minoru Tanaka as the driver, but in the following season the team ran independently, with

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as their driver. For 1997, the team started to get involved in Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. They raced with

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, and

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drove the car. The pair won on the last race of the season, and finished in 8th in the standings. In 2003 the elected to focus on the maintenance of teams competing in Super GT, and other local Japanese series. In 2008, the team stopped racing under the "Team 5ZIGEN" banner, as they elected to focus more on running other teams' operational technical cooperation in various categories, including Super GT GT300. Team 5ZIGEN returned racing the brand in 2020, competing in the

Super Taikyu Series Super Taikyu (スーパー耐久, ''Super Endurance''), formerly known as the Super N1 Taikyu Series prior to 2005 and N1 Endurance Series prior to 1995, and currently named the Eneos Super Taikyu Series Empowered by Bridgestone for sponsorship ...

. They race in the ST-Z Class with a

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. In

, Ryuichiro Otsuka,

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, and

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won the Super Taikyu ST-Z title. The team changed their car to

Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 The Nissan GT-R (''Gran Turismo–Racing''; model code: R35; Japanese: 日産・GT-R; ''Nissan GT-R'') is a series of cars built by Japanese marque Nissan from 2007 to 2025. It has a 2+2 seating layout and is considered both a sports car and ...

as they moved to the ST-X class. Shintaro Kawabata, "Hirobon", Hiromasa Kitano, and

Yu Kanamaru is a Japanese racing driver. Career Kanamaru's single seater career began in 2012 after graduating from karting. He took a surprise win in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC in 2012 at the final race of the season at Spa-Francorchamps. He made his F ...

competed for the first round and sixth round. The team are currently focusing on the

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four-round

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Japan Cup for 2023, as Shintaro Kawabata, and "Hirobon" compete with the same Nissan they race in Super Taikyu. The team continued to compete in the

, this time doing the full calendar with

and "Hirobon". They won in the second race at Buriram in the Silver Am Class. The team also entered in the

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, with Motohiro Kotani as their Independent class driver.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.5zigen.co.jp Japanese auto racing teams Super Formula teams Super Taikyu teams Auto racing teams established in 1989 Nissan in motorsport Toyota in motorsport Formula Nippon teams Japanese Formula 3 Championship teams