# Team Taisan

Team Taisan (チーム・タイサン, stylized as Team TAISAN) is a Japanese auto racing team founded in 1983 by Yasutsune "Ricky" Chiba (3 April 1945 - 7 June 2024) and owned by the Taisan Industrial Company. Most active in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), Taisan has been involved in all but one season from 1994 to 2018, taking a sabbatical in 2015. During that time they have won eight team championships and four drivers championships, representing manufacturers Ferrari, Porsche, Dodge, Toyota, Nissan, and Audi. Team Taisan has also participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning their class on their debut in 2000. For nearly their entire career, Taisan has been sponsored by tire manufacturer Yokohama Rubber Company, often carrying the name of Yokohama's Advan brand.

## History

The team was initially formed through Nova Engineering [ja] and their efforts in the All Japan Endurance Championship and Fuji Long Distance Series. Taisan operated one of the teams' Porsche 962C with drivers Kunimitsu Takahashi and Kenji Takahashi. Kunimitsu went on to win the Endurance Championship three times from 1985 to 1987, while Nova Engineering won the team championships in the Fuji Long Distance Series those same years. Taisan expanded their program to include the Japanese Touring Car Championship in 1989 with BMW M3s, adding Briton Will Hoy to the team in 1990. A Group A category Nissan Skyline GT-R was added to the team in 1991 for Kenji Takahashi and Keiichi Tsuchiya while their BMWs continued in the lower JTC-2 category. Kunimitsu replaced Kenji in the Skyline for 1992 and 1993 before Kunimitsu and Tsuchiya left to form their own racing team and the JTCC eliminated the Group A cars from the series, leaving the team with a single Super Touring BMW for Kazuo Mogi in 1994.
Taisan returned to sports car racing in 1994 in the new All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the team participating with one of their former 962Cs and teamed alongside a Ferrari F40. Masahiko Kondo and Anthony Reid won one race for the Porsche while Tetsuya Ota and Oscar Larrauri earned one victory in the Ferrari. A switch to a pair of Porsche 911 GT2s earned three GT1 victories in 1995 and the teams championship for the GT1 category, while the team also added a GT2 class campaign under the Team Taisan Jr. moniker for a Porsche 964. Taisan Jr. became a dominant team in the rechristened GT300 class, winning the drivers and teams championships in 1996, followed by second place in 1997 and another championship in 1998 while campaigning a new Toyota MR2 in cooperation with Tsuchiya Engineering.
Taisan's success led to the team being invited to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000 for the LMGT category. Their Porsche 911 GT3-R, driven by Hideo Fukuyama, Atsushi Yogo, and Bruno Lambert won the category by a six-lap margin. Upon returning to Japan, Taisan began a streak of four consecutive GT300 team championships from 2000–2003, including a drivers championship with Fukuyama in 2000. Another Le Mans also earned the team a podium finish in their class for 2002. Taisan downsized to a single Porsche team from 2004 onward as the JGTC transitioned to the new Super GT Series; Taisan eventually joined with Endless for a joint program that earned them another drivers and teams championships in 2012. The team expanded once again in 2013, retaining the Porsche in Super GT while joining the new Asian Le Mans Series with a Ferrari 458 Italia GT2, winning the series championship and earning the team an automatic invitation to Le Mans, their first since 2006. A difficult 2014 season with a new Nissan GT-R led Taisan to take a sabbatical year from Super GT, returning in 2016 with an Audi R8 LMS in cooperation with SARD.
Team Taisan also began to embrace electric motorsport by participating in the All Japan EV-GP Series in 2011 with Tesla Roadsters as well as a modified Porsche 914, winning the 2011 championship. The team also began developing electric karts. In 2018 Chiba announced an auction of many former Taisan racing cars dating back to the early 1990s, including several JGTC and Super GT machines. Chiba also announced at the conclusion of the 2018 Super GT season that the team would cease participation in Super GT, instead concentrating solely on electric motorsports.
* 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R Group A
* 1994 Porsche 962C
* 1994 Ferrari F40
* 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 R
* 2014 Nissan GT-R GT3
* 2017 Audi R8 LMS

## Complete race results
### Complete JGTC Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Car | Tyres | Class | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pos | Pts |
| 1994 | Ferrari F40 LM | Y | GT1 | 34 | Keiichi Suzuki Hideshi Matsuda | FUJ | SEN | FUJ | SUG | MIN 8 | | | | | 2nd | 64 |
| 1994 | Porsche 962C | Y | GT1 | 35 | Anthony Reid Kazuo Mogi Masahiko Kondo | FUJ NC | SEN | FUJ 1 | SUG | MIN 3 | | | | | 2nd | 64 |
| 1994 | Ferrari F40 LM | Y | GT1 | 40 | Tetsuya Ota Keiichi Suzuki Anthony Reid Oscar Larrauri | FUJ 3 | SEN 3 | FUJ 3 | SUG Ret | MIN 1 | | | | | 2nd | 64 |
| 1995 | BMW M3 (E30) | Y | GT2 | 26 | Motoji Sekine Fumio Mutoh Junichi Yamanashi Masaoki Nagashima | SUZ 4 | FUJ 11 | SEN 6 | FUJ 5 | SUG 5 | MIN Ret | | | | 5th | 44 |
| 1995 | BMW M3 (E30) | Y | GT2 | 28 | Motoji Sekine Fumio Mutoh | SUZ | FUJ | SEN | FUJ Ret | SUG 4 | MIN 4 | | | | 5th | 44 |
| 1995 | Porsche 911 GT2 | Y | GT1 | 33 | Hideshi Matsuda Kaoru Iida Keiichi Suzuki | SUZ | FUJ 1 | SEN 8 | FUJ Ret | SUG | MIN | | | | 1st | 80 |
| 1995 | Ferrari F40 LM | Y | GT1 | 34 | Anthony Reid Masahiko Kondo Hideshi Matsuda Takeshi Tsuchiya Oscar Larrauri Keiichi Suzuki | SUZ 11 | FUJ Ret | SEN 3 | FUJ 5 | SUG 6 | MIN 1 | | | | 1st | 80 |
| 1995 | Porsche 911 GT2 | Y | GT1 | 34 | Anthony Reid Masahiko Kondo Hideshi Matsuda Takeshi Tsuchiya Oscar Larrauri Keiichi Suzuki | SUZ 11 | FUJ Ret | SEN 3 | FUJ 5 | SUG 6 | MIN 1 | | | | 1st | 80 |
| 1995 | Porsche 911 GT2 | Y | GT1 | 35 | Keiichi Suzuki Hideshi Matsuda Takeshi Tsuchiya Anthony Reid Masahiko Kondo | SUZ Ret | FUJ 7 | SEN | FUJ 9 | SUG 1 | MIN 9 | | | | 1st | 80 |
| 1995 | Ferrari F40 LM | Y | GT1 | 40 | Oscar Larrauri Tetsuya Ota | SUZ Ret | FUJ 9 | SEN | FUJ 18 | SUG | MIN 12 | | | | 1st | 80 |
| 1996 | Porsche 964 RSR | Y | GT300 | 26 | Keiichi Suzuki Morio Nitta | SUZ 1 | FUJ 2 | SEN Ret | FUJ 2 | SUG 1 | MIN 1 | NC1 3 | | | 1st | 93 |
| 1996 | BMW M3 (E30) | Y | GT300 | 28 | Masaoki Nagashima Junichi Yamanashi Manabu Orido Takeshi Tsuchiya | SUZ 12 | FUJ | SEN | FUJ | | | | | | 1st | 93 |
| 1996 | Toyota MR2 | Y | GT300 | 28 | Masaoki Nagashima Junichi Yamanashi Manabu Orido Takeshi Tsuchiya | | | | | SUG 4 | MIN DNA | NC1 | | | 1st | 93 |
| 1996 | Porsche 993 RSR | Y | GT300 | 38 | Adrian Fu Rodney Jones Masaoki Nagashima | SUZ 9 | FUJ DNA | SEN 8 | FUJ 12 | SUG DNA | MIN 8 | NC1 | | | 1st | 93 |
| 1996 | Porsche 993 GT2 | Y | GT500 | 34 | Hideshi Matsuda Osamu Nakako | SUZ 9 | FUJ 9 | SEN Ret | FUJ 12 | SUG 12 | MIN 6 | NC1 8 | | | 8th | 12 |
| 1996 | Porsche 993 GT2 | Y | GT500 | 35 | Takeshi Tsuchiya Anthony Reid Oscar Larrauri Mitsuhiro Kinoshita | SUZ 12 | FUJ 7 | SEN Ret | FUJ DNS | SUG 15 | MIN Ret | NC1 | | | 8th | 12 |
| 1997 | Porsche 993 RSR | Y | GT300 | 26 | Keiichi Suzuki Morio Nitta | SUZ 4 | FUJ 1 | SEN 3 | FUJ 1 | MIN 3 | SUG 2 | NC1 DNS | NC2 DNS | | 2nd | 89 |
| 1997 | Porsche 993 GT2 | Y | GT500 | 34 | Keiichi Tsuchiya Hideshi Matsuda | SUZ | FUJ | SEN 10 | FUJ Ret | | | | | | 13th | 4 |
| 1997 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Y | GT500 | 34 | Keiichi Tsuchiya Hideshi Matsuda | | | | | MIN 14 | SUG 8 | NC1 6 | NC2 Ret | | 13th | 4 |
| 1998 | Toyota MR2 | Y | GT300 | 25 | Keiichi Suzuki Shingo Tachi | SUZ 1 | FUJ C | SEN 1 | FUJ 1 | MOT 6 | MIN 1 | SUG 1 | NC1 1 | | 1st | 106 |
| 1998 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Y | GT500 | 55 | Hideshi Matsuda Eiichi Tajima Fuminori Mizuno Anthony Reid Mitsuhiro Kinoshita | SUZ 14 | FUJ C | SEN | FUJ 14 | MOT | MIN DNA | SUG 10 | NC1 8 | | 17th | 1 |
| 1999 | Porsche 993 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 26 | Hiroaki Suga Dilantha Malagamuwa Dominik Schwager Hideshi Matsuda Tomohiko Sunako | SUZ 5 | FUJ Ret | SUG Ret | MIN Ret | | | | | | 5th | 48 |
| 1999 | Porsche 996 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 26 | Hiroaki Suga Dilantha Malagamuwa Dominik Schwager Hideshi Matsuda Tomohiko Sunako | | | | | FUJ 1 | OKA Ret | MOT 1 | NC1 7 | | 5th | 48 |
| 1999 | Porsche 993 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 55 | Hiroaki Suga Eiichi Tajima | | | | | FUJ 7 | OKA 6 | MOT 11 | | | 14th | 10 |
| 1999 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Y | GT500 | 55 | Eiichi Tajima Hideshi Matsuda Dominik Schwager Yasuyuki Honjo | SUZ 9 | FUJ 13 | SUG 15 | MIN 13 | | | | NC1 10 | | 13th | 2 |
| 2000 | Porsche 996 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 26 | Hideshi Matsuda Hideo Fukuyama Fuminori Mizuno Atsushi Yogo | MOT 1 | FUJ 1 | SUG 9 | NC1 5 | FUJ 7 | OKA 7 | MIN 1 | SUZ 2 | | 1st | 101 |
| 2000 | Porsche 996 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 28 | Hiroaki Suga Shinsuke Shibahara | MOT | FUJ | SUG 10 | NC1 | FUJ 1 | OKA 8 | MIN 3 | SUZ Ret | | 1st | 101 |
| 2000 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Y | GT300 | 55 | Hiroaki Suga Shinsuke Shibahara Eiji Yamada Takahide Tasaki Dilantha Malagamuwa | | | | | | | MIN 10 | SUZ 15 | | 17th | 1 |
| 2000 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Y | GT500 | 55 | Hiroaki Suga Shinsuke Shibahara Eiji Yamada Takahide Tasaki Dilantha Malagamuwa | MOT 16 | FUJ Ret | SUG DNA | NC1 Ret | FUJ 18 | OKA DNA | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2001 | Porsche 996 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 24 | Hideshi Matsuda Kazuyushi Nishizawa | OKA 11 | FUJ 4 | SUG 5 | NC1 6 | FUJ 7 | MOT 3 | SUZ 16 | MIN 2 | | 1st | 74 |
| 2001 | Porsche 996 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 26 | Hideo Fukuyama Atsushi Yogo | OKA 4 | FUJ 17 | SUG 7 | NC1 4 | FUJ 13 | MOT 2 | SUZ 3 | MIN 8 | | 1st | 74 |
| 2001 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Y | GT300 | 55 | Eiji Yamada Takayuki Kinoshita | OKA 8 | FUJ 9 | SUG DNA | NC1 8 | FUJ 9 | MOT 14 | SUZ DNA | MIN 3 | | 12th | 19 |
| 2002 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 24 | Hideo Fukuyama Mitsuhiro Kinoshita | OKA 2 | FUJ Ret | SUG 16 | SEP 5 | FUJ 1 | MOT 7 | MIN Ret | SUZ 2 | | 1st | 102 |
| 2002 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 26 | Atsushi Yogo Kazuyushi Nishizawa Takayuki Kinoshita | OKA 5 | FUJ 3 | SUG 7 | SEP 10 | FUJ 7 | MOT 3 | MIN 3 | SUZ 17 | | 1st | 102 |
| 2002 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 28 | Yutaka Yamagishi Yukihiro Hane Sunako Jukuchō | OKA 11 | FUJ 7 | SUG 6 | SEP 11 | FUJ 11 | MOT 17 | MIN Ret | SUZ 8 | | 9th | 33 |
| 2002 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Y | GT300 | 55 | Eiji Yamada Takashi Shimizu Takayuki Kinoshita | OKA 10 | FUJ 16 | SUG 5 | SEP 9 | FUJ 8 | MOT 9 | MIN 4 | SUZ 21 | | 9th | 33 |
| 2003 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 24 | Akihiro Asai Atsushi Yogo Adam Wilcox | OKA 1 | FUJ 11 | SUG 13 | FUJ 8 | FUJ 10 | MOT 18 | AUT 8 | SUZ 5 | | 9th | 38 |
| 2003 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 26 | Shinichi Yamaji Kazuyushi Nishizawa | OKA 2 | FUJ 1 | SUG 8 | FUJ 6 | FUJ 4 | MOT Ret | AUT 3 | SUZ 9 | | 1st | 88 |
| 2003 | Dodge Viper Competition Coupe | Y | GT300 | 55 | Eiji Yamada Takayuki Kinoshita | OKA 16 | FUJ 16 | SUG Ret | FUJ 1 | FUJ 5 | MOT Ret | AUT 7 | SUZ Ret | | 1st | 88 |
| 2004 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 26 | Yutaka Yamagishi Kaoru Ijiri Akihiro Asai | OKA 9 | SUG 10 | SEP Ret | TOK 11 | MOT Ret | AUT 13 | SUZ 8 | NC1 | NC2 | 14th | 6 |
| 2004 | Dodge Viper Competition Coupe | Y | GT300 | 55 | Eiji Yamada Patrick Van Schoot | OKA | SUG | SEP | TOK | MOT | AUT | SUZ | NC1 9 | NC2 6 | NC | 0 |

### Complete Super GT Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Car | Tyres | Class | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
| 2005 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Yutaka Yamagishi Kaoru Ijiri Takashi Inoue Isao Ihashi | OKA Ret | FUJ 12 | SEP 16 | SUG | MOT | FUJ | AUT | SUZ 19 | | | NC | 0 |
| 2006 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Kazuyuki Nishizawa Shinichi Yamaji | SUZ | OKA 8 | FUJ 7 | SEP | SUG | SUZ | MOT | AUT | FUJ 8 | | 18th | 10 |
| 2007 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Nobuteru Taniguchi Shinichi Yamaji Kazuyuki Nishizawa Dominik Farnbacher | SUZ 11 | OKA 3 | FUJ 19 | SEP 13 | SUG Ret | SUZ Ret | MOT 1 | AUT 8 | FUJ 1 | | 5th | 72 |
| 2008 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Nobuteru Taniguchi Shinichi Yamaji Keita Sawa Dominik Farnbacher | SUZ 3 | OKA 2 | FUJ Ret | SEP 15 | SUG 7 | SUZ 5 | MOT 4 | AUT 15 | FUJ 1 | | 4th | 83 |
| 2009 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Haruki Kurosawa Tsubasa Abe Katsuhiko Tsutsui Tsubasa Kurosawa | OKA 10 | SUZ 10 | FUJ 4 | SEP Ret | SUG 7 | SUZ 16 | FUJ 14 | AUT 9 | MOT 9 | | 11th | 38 |
| 2010 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Igor Sushko Masayuki Ueda Shogo Mitsuyama | SUZ 11 | OKA 13 | FUJ 10 | SEP | SUG 18 | SUZ Ret | FUJ C | MOT 11 | NC1 14 | NC2 Ret | 20th | 12 |
| 2010 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 51 | Yuya Sakamoto Shogo Mitsuyama Hideki Yamauchi | SUZ | OKA | FUJ 20 | SEP | SUG 15 | SUZ | FUJ C | MOT 16 | NC1 8 | NC2 8 | 22nd | 5 |
| 2011 | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Kyosuke Mineo Hideshi Matsuda Junichiro Yamashita Shogo Mitsuyama | OKA 12 | FUJ 11 | SEP 13 | SUG 11 | SUZ 14 | FUJ 15 | AUT 20 | MOT 10 | NC1 Ret | NC2 14 | 16th | 19 |
| 2011 | Ferrari F430 GT2 | Y | GT300 | 41 | Shinichi Yamaji Hiroshi Koizumi Kyosuke Mineo Junichiro Yamashita | OKA 9 | FUJ 9 | SEP | SUG 12 | SUZ 17 | FUJ 21 | AUT | MOT Ret | NC1 15 | NC2 13 | 17th | 15 |
| 2012 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 911 | Kyosuke Mineo Naoki Yokomizo | OKA 2 | FUJ 8 | SEP 2 | SUG 5 | SUZ Ret | FUJ 4 | AUT 2 | MOT 1 | NC1 8 | NC2 18 | 1st | 102 |
| 2013 | Porsche 911 GT3-R | Y | GT300 | 0 | Kyosuke Mineo Naoki Yokomizo | OKA 10 | FUJ Ret | SEP 11 | SUG 3 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 19 | AUT 8 | MOT 10 | NC1 7 | NC2 13 | 9th | 40 |
| 2014 | Nissan GT-R GT3 | Y | GT300 | 67 | Shogo Mitsuyama Naoki Yokomizo Kyosuke Mineo | OKA 19 | FUJ 9 | AUT 9 | SUG 5 | FUJ 17 | SUZ Ret | BUR | MOT 16 | | | 16th | 24 |
| 2016 | Audi R8 LMS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Shogo Mitsuyama Yuya Motojima Tsubasa Kondo | OKA 20 | FUJ 15 | SUG 19 | FUJ 8 | SUZ 20 | CHA | MOT 6 | MOT 7 | | | 16th | 27 |
| 2017 | Audi R8 LMS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Shinnosuke Yamada Jake Parsons Christian Klien | OKA 21 | FUJ 21 | AUT 14 | SUG 18 | FUJ 19 | SUZ Ret | CHA 19 | MOT 14 | | | 24th | 11 |
| 2018 | Audi R8 LMS | Y | GT300 | 26 | Shinnosuke Yamada Shintaro Kawabata Shinji Nakano | OKA 9 | FUJ 15 | SUZ 28 | CHA | FUJ Ret | SUG 20 | AUT 20 | MOT 16 | | | 19th | 16 |
Note: Non-championship races (NC1,NC2) are major races that did not count towards the championship.