Le Mans Ltd., headquartered in

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

is an automobile parts manufacturer founded in 1967. The original company name was Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. The company is mainly engaged in the development and sales of motorsport parts and the import and sale of race cars overseas. They also have a racing division called Team LeMans, currently compete under the Velorex name. The origin of the team name comes from

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

. The team currently competes in

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of ...

, fielding the #6 Audi R8 LMS Evo II in the GT300 class for

Yoshiaki Katayama Yoshiaki Katayama (born 13 November 1993 in the Aichi Prefecture, Aichi prefecture, Chūbu region, Chūbu Region) is a Japan, Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super GT Series, Super GT in the GT300 class. He is the 2016 Japanese Fo ...

Roberto Merhi Roberto Merhi Muntan (born 22 March 1991) is a Spanish racing driver, who competes in the GT300 class of Super GT for LeMans. Merhi competed in Formula One at 14 Grands Prix in . Merhi previously competed in Formula E for Mahindra and who ...

and Seiya Jin.

Team LeMans

In 1969 Team LeMans was established as a racing department of Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. It has been active in a variety of categories since the 1970s as one of the top teams of Japan. ENEOS Sustina SC430 2011 Super GT Fuji 250km

ENEOS Sustina SC430 2011 Super GT Fuji 250km

The team has competed in

single-seaters An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

since 1976, when they entered the All-Japan F2000 Championship. They served as the Japanese distributor of

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a list of literary cycles, literary cycle of medieval allegorical Folklore of the Low Countries, Dutch, English folklore, English, French folklore, French and German folklore, German fables. The first extant versions of the cy ...

products until 2002. In 1991,

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

, before his

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

debut, raced with the team in the

Sportsland SUGO } is a motorsports facility in the town of Murata, Miyagi, Murata, Shibata District, Miyagi, Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Course The track was opened in 1975 and is one of the largest motorsports facilities in Japan, with a total ...

round of the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, while in 1996 his brother Ralf became the champion with the same team. They also developed their own racing machine, that complied to

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

regulations. In 2012 in collaboration with

Hideki Noda is a Japanese professional racing driver. He participated in three Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the 1994 European Grand Prix, but did not score any championship points. He replaced Yannick Dalmas in the Larrousse car for the last three ...

they founded "NODA racing Academy Senior High School", several engineers such as Donuma Hiroyoshi, the team principal, have served as lecturers at the school.

History

All-Japan F2000/F2/F3000 Championship

Their participation in the All Japan F2000 Championship started with

Keiji Matsumoto was a Japanese racing driver who competed at the top level of Japanese Formula racing, currently known as Super Formula, between 1976 and 1992. Under the Japanese Formula 2 moniker, he won the championship in 1979 and was runner-up to future Fo ...

in 1976. In 1979 he won the championship title. In 1988-89 Geoff Lees and

Emanuele Pirro Emanuele Pirro (; born 12 January 1962) is an Italian racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Pirro is a List of 24 Hours of Le Mans winners, five-time winner of the 24 Hours of L ...

raced for the team, both winning one race.

Formula Nippon

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, the team had its most successful year in Japan's top level open wheel series, when

Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Schumacher won six Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Born and raised in North Rhine-Westp ...

and

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 ra ...

took the first two spots in the drivers' championship, also winning the first team title. The team repeated wins in the drivers and team championship with

Satoshi Motoyama Satoshi Motoyama (本山哲 - Motoyama Satoshi; born March 4, 1971) is a Japanese professional racing driver and team manager. He is best known for racing in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, All- ...

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Fuji GC

The team achieved titles in The

Fuji Grand Champion Series The ran from 1971 to 1989. It was a drivers' championship in Japan and was originally for 2 litre Group 6 (racing), Group B6 cars. The series was started in 1971, and all races were held at the Fuji Speedway circuit. History In its formative ...

(Fuji GC) with in

in 1983 and Geoff Lees in 1988 and 1989.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Team LeMans first entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1987 under the name Italya Sports. They competed in the race through 1990 without a single finish.

All-Japan GT Championship/Super GT

Team LeMans first entered the

All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the , the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car racing in Japan. The series was s ...

on its inaugural season in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, fielding a production based

Nissan 300ZX The Nissan 300ZX is a sports car that was produced across two different generations. As with all other versions of the Z, the 300ZX was sold within the Japanese domestic market under the name Fairlady Z. It was sold in Japan from 1983 to 2000 a ...

-LM in the GT1 class with

FedEx FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company specializing in Package delivery, transportation, e-commerce, and ...

as their primary sponsor. The team took three top-10 finishes with

Masami Kageyama is a Japanese racing driver from Kanagawa Prefecture.Masami Kageyama ...

and finished 17th in the drivers standings. Kageyama and the 300ZX returned to compete in the following year, but the team failed to score any points and was not classified in the standings. For the 1996 season, Team LeMans bought an ex-

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...

Nissan 300ZX-GTS to compete in the rebranded GT500 class. Kageyama and series debutant

Yuji Tachikawa is a Japanese team executive and retired racing driver who competed in Super GT between 1996 and 2023, and in Formula Nippon between 1997 and 2009. He is a three-time Super GT champion in the GT500 class, having won the championship in its prev ...

took one top-10 finish in the final round of the championship at

Mine Circuit Mine Circuit (みねサーキット) was a motor racing circuit in Nagao, Nishiatsu-cho, Mine, Yamaguchi, Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It used to be known as ''Nishinihon''. The track closed in February 2006 as it was sold to Mazda for deve ...

and finished 25th in the drivers standings. Tachikawa stayed with the team for the 1997 season and was partnered by Tsuyoshi Takahashi, who replaced Kageyama after he was signed by

SARD Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used int ...

. The team took a 10th place finish in the season opening round at Suzuka, but a practice crash in the next round at Fuji totaled their 300ZX-GTS and the team was forced to withdraw their entry for the rest of the season. Team LeMans didn't take part in the 1998 season, but they returned in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

after they took over the entry of the #6

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (from the phon ...

Tiger

Toyota Supra is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured and developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name " supra" is a definition from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond". The initial four generations ...

from Inging Motorsport. LeMans signed former

driver

and reigning GT300 champion

Shingo Tachi was a Japanese racing driver, the son of Nobuhide Tachi (舘信秀), founder and head of TOM's, the motorsport side of Toyota. Racing career Tachi raced in British Formula Vauxhall with Rowan Racing in 1994 and 1995 before switching to B ...

to compete with the team, but Tachi was killed in a pre-season testing accident at TI Aida with less than two weeks before the start of the 1999 season. Former

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

champion

Wayne Gardner Wayne Michael Gardner (born 11 October 1959) is an Australian former professional motorcycle and touring car racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to , most prominently as a member of the Honda factor ...

was then signed by the team to replace Tachi. The team took a pole position in the third round at

Sportsland Sugo } is a motorsports facility in the town of Murata, Miyagi, Murata, Shibata District, Miyagi, Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Course The track was opened in 1975 and is one of the largest motorsports facilities in Japan, with a total ...

and a victory in the fifth round at

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Shizuoka, Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the ...

on their first season with

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

, finishing 12th in the drivers standings. In 2002, the team won drivers' championship in the GT500 class of the

with

Akira Iida is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in the Super GT series in GT300 class with LM corsa, one of the teams under Toyota Motorsport's GAZOO racing arm. Iida won the 2002 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship GT500 class with Ess ...

and

Juichi Wakisaka is a former Japanese racing driver who was a 2002, 2006 and 2009 champion in Japan's Super GT series in the Super GT#GT500, GT500 category. Prior to the 1998 Formula One World Championship , 1998 Formula One season he tested for the Jordan Grand ...

, who competed in a

race car. Wakisaka, as team principal, would later led Team LeMans to a second GT500 class title in 2019 with the driving pairing of

Kazuya Oshima is a Japanese racing driver, currently racing in the Super GT Series and the Super Formula Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing and ROOKIE Racing. Oshima is one of only three drivers that have won championships in both classes of Super GT, ha ...

and

Kenta Yamashita is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing who is currently competing in Super GT for Rookie Racing, ROOKIE Racing and in Super Formula Championship, Super Formula for Masahiko Kondō, Kondō Racing. He won the GT500-class Super GT cham ...

, but the team left the series at the conclusion of the season. Team LeMans provided support to Hitotsuyama Racing in 2020 before they reentered the series in 2021 under a collaboration with Motoyama Racing. LeMans entered the #6 Audi R8 LMS Evo for ex-GT500 champion

and Yoshiaki Katayama, son of the team's owner Yoshinori Katayama, in the GT300 class. The team finished all races that year, but was not classified as they failed to score a points finish. Motoyama and Katayama returned the following year with an Evo II model of the Audi R8 LMS, but Motoyama was released after one round. Financial issues on Motoyama's sponsors was reported to be the primary reason of Motoyama's dismissal.

was then signed by the team to replace Motoyama for the rest of the season.

Team LeMans Results

Complete JGTC Results

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

Complete Super GT Results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.

All Japan Sports Prototype Championship

24 Hours of Le Mans

Super Formula (Formula Nippon, Japanese Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 2000)

Footnotes

External links

Ltd. Le Mans

Team LeMans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Mans Japanese racecar constructors Japanese auto racing teams Automotive companies based in Tokyo Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Japanese Formula 3 Championship teams Formula Nippon teams Super GT teams Super Formula teams Toyota in motorsport World Sportscar Championship teams Auto racing teams established in 1969 Formula Regional teams