# SARD

SARD Corporation (株式会社サード, Kabushiki gaisha Sādo, abbreviated as Sigma Advanced Racing Development) is a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi, mainly competing in the Super GT series and specializing in Toyota tuning parts.

## History

The company was formed in 1972 as Sigma Automotive Co., Ltd by Shin Kato to develop and produce motorsport related parts and accessories as well as operating their own racing team.
In 1985, the racing division of Sigma Automotive became an independent company, Kato established a company called Sigma Advanced Racing Development (SARD) specializing in motorsport as well as producing aftermarket parts for Toyota automobiles.

## Products

Sigma Advanced Racing Development (SARD) develops and manufactures tuning parts mainly for Toyota cars, namely turbochargers, redesigned fuel systems and cooling systems, suspension parts and aerodynamic kits. The company is not restricted to Toyotas as they are well known within the aftermarket tuning market for their fueling components used by numerous tuning companies.

### Current Product Lines

* Complete Car
* Aero
* Wing
* Dry Carbon
* Interior
* Exhaust
* Intake & Suction
* Fuel
* Oil
* Chemical
* Cooling
* Footwork
* Body Build
* Powertrain
* Engine Parts
* Turbo
* Electronics
* Sub Parts
* Goods & Apparel
Also, under the SARD Marine Project, a separate project to its car works, it builds and sell its Toyota powered motorboats.

## Motorsport

Sigma Automotive began its racing career in the Fuji Grand Champion Series and in 1973 participated for the first time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with their Sigma MC73, powered by a Mazda Wankel engine, becoming the first Japanese car to qualify for Le Mans, before retiring early in the race with electrical problems. The team returned for the following year with a Mazda backed MC74, finishing but not making enough laps to be classified. In 1975 the team switched to a Toyota powerplant in the MC75, only to suffer from another early retirement. After transitioning out of international motorsports, Sigma Automotive would continue to compete in numerous domestic series.
SARD returned to international motorsports in 1989, debuting as a Toyota backed team named Toyota Team SARD in the first round of World Sports Prototype Championship held in Suzuka, using a Toyota 89C-V, also competing in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. With the demise of Group C in 1993, SARD switched to the newly formed JGTC series and also return to Le Mans with a V8 powered MR2 known as the MC8-R, having the same spell of misfortune as they had during the 1970s, competing in 1995 and 1996, only to fail to pre-qualify in the face of the newer generations of GT1 cars in the following year. SARD also entered a Toyota Supra in first two years of the MC8-R program where it faced against fellow Japanese GT machines in form of Nissan Skyline GT-R and Honda NSX, the latter which also raced in and won the GT2 class in 1995. The JGTC-specification Supra was entered in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it finished 14th, the team returned again in 1996 but did not finish.
SARD continued to compete in the JGTC and Super GT series with works-backed Toyotas and Lexuses; the team currently fields a Toyota GR Supra under the Toyota Team SARD name. In the 2016 Super GT Championship, SARD won its first-ever Super GT championship with a Lexus RC F driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Kohei Hirate.
In 2006, SARD competed in the 24 Hours of Tokachi, a Super Taikyu race, with a hybrid powered Lexus GS450h finishing 4th in class and 17th overall. For the following year, SARD took their Super GT specification Supra out of retirement, installed a hybrid version of its Super GT 3UZ-FE engine, giving out 480 bhp (358 kW) and 376 lb⋅ft (510 N⋅m) of torque. The Supra, rechristened as the Denso SARD Supra HV-R and driven by series regulars André Couto, Akira Iida, Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Tatsuya Kataoka started on pole and effortlessly dominated the entire race, completing 616 laps, 19 laps ahead of the runner-up. It became the first hybrid-powered car to win a race.
SARD planned to take part in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season with a LMP2-class prototype in association with Morand Racing, with plans for a future LMP1 entry. However, SARD was forced to reduce its participation after a loss of backers before the season started; it was unable to come up with half of the season's budget, as agreed with Morand. Nevertheless, Morand continued to compete under the Team SARD Morand name during the 2015 season.

## 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 | Pos | Pts |
| 1994 | Toyota Supra | M | GT1 | 39 | Jeff Krosnoff | FUJ | SEN | FUJ | SUG Ret | MIN 10 | | | | NC | 1 |
| 1995 | Toyota Supra | D | GT1 | 39 | Jeff Krosnoff | SUZ 3 | FUJ 12 | SEN 5 | FUJ 16 | SUG 3 | MIN 11 | | | 6th | 32 |
| 1996 | Toyota Supra | D | GT500 | 39 | Wayne Gardner Alain Ferté Naoki Nagasaka Giampiero Simoni | SUZ 17 | FUJ 3 | SEN 4 | FUJ 9 | SUG 7 | MIN 8 | | | 6th | 31 |
| 1997 | Toyota Supra | Y | GT500 | 39 | Masami Kageyama Tatsuya Tanigawa Olivier Grouillard | SUZ 2 | FUJ 1 | SEN 5 | FUJ 1 | MIN 13 | SUG 7 | | | 2nd | 67 |
| 1998 | Toyota Supra | Y | GT500 | 39 | Keiichi Tsuchiya Tatsuya Tanigawa | SUZ 3 | FUJ C | SEN 4 | FUJ 9 | MOT Ret | MIN 3 | SUG Ret | | 7th | 36 |
| 1999 | Toyota Supra | Y | GT500 | 39 | Keiichi Tsuchiya Masahiko Kageyama | SUZ 16 | FUJ 15 | SUG Ret | MIN 7 | FUJ 10 | OKA 13 | MOT Ret | | 12th | 5 |
| 2000 | Toyota Supra | Y | GT500 | 39 | Masahiko Kageyama Ralph Firman | MOT 10 | FUJ Ret | SUG 6 | FUJ 2 | OKA Ret | MIN 8 | SUZ 16 | | 7th | 25 |
| 2001 | Toyota Supra | Y | GT500 | 39 | Jérémie Dufour Masahiko Kageyama Romain Dumas | OKA 7 | FUJ 7 | SUG 9 | FUJ 13 | MOT Ret | SUZ 9 | MIN 4 | | 11th | 22 |
| 2002 | Toyota Supra | Y | GT500 | 39 | Jérémie Dufour Manabu Orido | OKA 3 | FUJ Ret | SUG 12 | SEP DSQ | FUJ 15 | MOT 5 | MIN 7 | SUZ 5 | 9th | 33 |
| 2003 | Toyota Supra | Y | GT500 | 39 | Manabu Orido Dominik Schwager | OKA 14 | FUJ 3 | SUG 14 | FUJ 3 | FUJ 7 | MOT 7 | AUT 1 | SUZ 9 | 6th | 57 |
| 2004 | Toyota Supra | B | GT500 | 39 | Jérémie Dufour André Couto | OKA 3 | SUG NC | SEP 1 | TOK 7 | MOT 6 | AUT 2 | SUZ 8 | | 2nd | 61 |

## 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 | Pos | Points |
| 2005 | Toyota Supra | B | GT500 | 39 | André Couto Ronnie Quintarelli | OKA 8 | FUJ Ret | SEP 9 | SUG 2 | MOT 14 | FUJ 12 | AUT 11 | SUZ 11 | | 12th | 21 |
| 2006 | Toyota Supra | B | GT500 | 66 | André Couto Katsuyuki Hiranaka Soheil Ayari | SUZ 11 | OKA 13 | FUJ 11 | SEP 13 | SUG Ret | SUZ 11 | MOT 9 | AUT 10 | FUJ 10 | 15th | 9 |
| 2007 | Lexus SC430 | B | GT500 | 39 | André Couto Katsuyuki Hiranaka | SUZ Ret | OKA 12 | FUJ 8 | SEP 13 | SUG 6 | SUZ 11 | MOT 10 | AUT 3 | FUJ 13 | 15th | 37 |
| 2008 | Lexus SC430 | D | GT500 | 39 | André Couto Toranosuke Takagi Koki Saga | SUZ 12 | OKA 14 | FUJ 13 | SEP 12 | SUG 6 | SUZ 15 | MOT 13 | AUT 13 | FUJ 5 | 16th | 29 |
| 2009 | Lexus SC430 | D | GT500 | 39 | André Couto Kohei Hirate | OKA 15 | SUZ 10 | FUJ 10 | SEP 13 | SUG 2 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 11 | AUT 12 | MOT 5 | 13th | 48 |
| 2010 | Lexus SC430 | D | GT500 | 39 | André Couto Kohei Hirate Carlo van Dam | SUZ 5 | OKA 10 | FUJ Ret | SEP 10 | SUG 10 | SUZ 8 | FUJ C | MOT 11 | | 12th | 26 |
| 2011 | Lexus SC430 | M | GT500 | 39 | Hiroaki Ishiura Takuto Iguchi | OKA 13 | FUJ 6 | SEP 13 | SUG 2 | SUZ 5 | FUJ 8 | AUT 15 | MOT 3 | | 7th | 61 |
| 2012 | Lexus SC430 | M | GT500 | 39 | Hiroaki Ishiura Juichi Wakisaka | OKA 9 | FUJ 1 | SEP 4 | SUG 4 | SUZ Ret | FUJ 6 | AUT 5 | MOT 5 | | 3rd | 78 |
| 2013 | Lexus SC430 | B | GT500 | 39 | Hiroaki Ishiura Juichi Wakisaka | OKA 8 | FUJ 4 | SEP 2 | SUG 4 | SUZ 9 | FUJ 11 | AUT 7 | MOT 4 | | 7th | 70 |
| 2014 | Lexus RC F | B | GT500 | 39 | Hiroaki Ishiura Oliver Jarvis | OKA 4 | FUJ 6 | AUT 11 | SUG 6 | FUJ 12 | SUZ 11 | BUR 7 | MOT 9 | | 10th | 43 |
| 2015 | Lexus RC F | B | GT500 | 39 | Heikki Kovalainen Kohei Hirate Christian Klien | OKA 5 | FUJ 5 | CHA 7 | FUJ 9 | SUZ 11 | SUG Ret | AUT 13 | MOT 6 | | 13th | 40 |
| 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 |
| 2016 | Lexus RC F | B | GT500 | 39 | Heikki Kovalainen Kohei Hirate | OKA 7 | FUJ 2 | SUG 2 | FUJ 8 | SUZ 8 | CHA 7 | MOT 2 | MOT 1 | | 1st | 103 |
| 2017 | Lexus LC500 GT500 | B | GT500 | 1 | Heikki Kovalainen Kohei Hirate | OKA 3 | FUJ 7 | AUT 14 | SUG 1 | FUJ 10 | SUZ 13 | CHA 6 | MOT 8 | | 6th | 64 |
| 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 | Lexus LC500 GT500 | B | GT500 | 39 | Heikki Kovalainen Kamui Kobayashi Sho Tsuboi | OKA 12 | FUJ 2 | SUZ Ret | CHA 1 | FUJ 11 | SUG 10 | AUT 8 | MOT 8 | | 9th | 62 |
| 2019 | Lexus LC500 GT500 | B | GT500 | 39 | Heikki Kovalainen Yuichi Nakayama | OKA 11 | FUJ 4 | SUZ 5 | BUR 5 | FUJ Ret | AUT 1 | SUG 7 | MOT 11 | | 5th | 64 |
| 2020 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 | B | GT500 | 39 | Yuichi Nakayama Heikki Kovalainen Kenta Yamashita Sena Sakaguchi | FUJ 5 | FUJ 6 | SUZ 5 | MOT 9 | FUJ 1 | SUZ 11 | MOT 8 | FUJ 14 | | 8th | 64 |
| 2021 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 | B | GT500 | 39 | Heikki Kovalainen Yuichi Nakayama | OKA 4 | FUJ 6 | MOT 10 | SUZ 14 | SUG 5 | AUT 5 | MOT 11 | FUJ 4 | | 9th | 58 |
| 2022 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 | B | GT500 | 39 | Yuichi Nakayama Yuhi Sekiguchi | OKA 8 | FUJ 13 | SUZ 4 | FUJ 6 | SUZ 3 | SUG 6 | AUT 10 | MOT Ret | | 8th | 51.5 |
| 2023 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 | B | GT500 | 39 | Yuichi Nakayama Yuhi Sekiguchi | OKA 8 | FUJ 8 | SUZ 15 | FUJ 9 | SUZ 2 | SUG 3 | AUT 14 | MOT 7 | | 8th | 58 |
| 2024 | Toyota GR Supra GT500 | B | GT500 | 39 | Yuichi Nakayama Yuhi Sekiguchi | OKA 2 | FUJ 9 | SUZ 11 | FUJ 15 | SUG 11 | AUT 1 | MOT 5 | SUZ 10 | | 7th | 64 |
$^‡$ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.