All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship

All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC is a touring car race series authorized by the Japan Automobile Federation.

JGTC races

Races are held as part of a yearly series. Races take place on well known Japanese racetracks like Motegi Twin Ring and Suzuka Circuit. Races have also been held in Malaysia, China, and most recently California Speedway. JGTC is continuing to evolve and will likely play a more significant role internationally as Super GT.

The cars

The cars are divided into two groups GT500 and GT300 (cars with approximately 500 and 300 horsepower (374 and 224 kW) respectively). Many GT cars are based on popular Japanese sports cars like the Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline, Honda NSX and Mazda RX7. Other racers are based on Ferrari and Lamborghini marques. Due to regulations the cars must maintain much of the appearance of the original car. This adds to the visual appeal of a JGTC race as the cars closely resemble the sports cars available to the general public. Weight is added to the race cars in order to maintain a consitant power to weight ratio among GT classes. Winners are "rewarded" with extra weight added to their car. This keeps the JGTC very competative and many times the champion is decided in the last few laps.

The drivers

JGTC drivers are very popular in Japan and some are gaining recognition internationally. One of these drivers who has gained international appeal is Keiichi Tsuchiya who raced for team ARTA and now manages the team. Tsuchiya popularized drifting and is frequently seen in Best Motoring International videos. He is also one of the links between JGTC and D1 Grand Prix drift competitions.

External links

JGTC website (english)