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Kondo Racing

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(Redirected from Kondō Racing) Japanese racing team
Kondo Racing
Founded2000
BaseGotemba, Shizuoka
Team principal(s)Masahiko Kondo
Founder(s)Masahiko Kondo
Current series
Former series
Current drivers
Websitekondo-racing.jp

Kondo Racing is an automobile racing team founded, owned and headed by Masahiko Kondo. The operating body is MK Company Co., Ltd. MK is an abbreviation for Masahiko Kondo. The team competes in Super Formula as well as in Super GT in both the GT500 and GT300 classes.

History

Kondo Racing was founded in 2000 by Japanese pop star Masahiko Kondo, also known as "Matchy". Kondo himself had raced for many years since the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. In 1998 Kondo launched "Masahiko Kondo Racing Project" together with Teams TMS, a team with which he raced at the time, to compete in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship in 1998 and 1999. While working to develop young drivers, Kondo himself learned how of run a racing team as a team manager. Based on that experience, in 2000 he established the "Kondo Racing Team" and began participating in Formula Nippon.

Super Formula

In 2000, Kondo Racing began competing in Formula Nippon, the premier Japanese open-wheel series, and the team has continued racing in the series ever since, with the series having rebranded as Super Formula in 2013. Since 2006, Kondo Racing has raced with Toyota engines. The team has not won a drivers' championship title, but came second overall with Nick Cassidy in 2018 and with Sacha Fenestraz in 2022. Kenta Yamashita has been one of the long standing driver for Kondo's Super Formula, as he has competed since 2017 with one win to his name, along with couple of podiums. For 2024 Yamashita, paired once again with last season's driver Kazuto Kotaka.

Super GT – GT500

Kondo Racing entered Super GT in the top GT500 class with Nissan in 2006. From the first year, Yokohama Tire joined Kondo till now. Also with the introduction of a strong lineup of former F1 driver Eric Comas and Nissan's own driver Masataka Yanagida. Since there was no data available, the first priority was to develop tires. Comas temporarily withdrew due to back pain and was replaced by Seiji Ara. Although Comas returned for the sixth race, he was unable to regain his form and was forced to stay out for the rest of the season, leaving Ara to team up with Yanagida until the final race. In the final race, he fought for 2nd place with some help from his machine, and then finished in 3rd place, earning his long-awaited first podium. Throughout the years the team has won several races, but has never been a serious championship contender.

Super GT – GT300

Since 2012, it has been participating in the Super Taikyu together with five Nissan Automobile College schools (Tochigi, Yokohama, Aichi, Kyoto, and Ehime). Kondo Racing also participated in the Nürburgring 24 endurance race with a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, marking the team’s first overseas competition. Kondo’s Nurburgring 24 driver lineup was Tsugio Matsuda, Mitsunori Takaboshi, Tomonobu Fujii and Tom Coronel.

In 2019, Kondo Racing entered the GT300 class of Super GT with Kazuki Hiramine and Sacha Fenestraz as their drivers in the class in the second-generation Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. The pair came close to winning the fourth round in Buriram, battling for the win until the final lap, but ultimately finished second.

In 2020, Kondo Racing won its first titles in the category with the driver pairing of Kiyoto Fujinami & João Paulo de Oliveira. After being in title contention again in 2021, the team returned to the top of the standings in 2022, clinching the titles after their main rivals lost a decisive position on the final lap of the last race. For 2023, de Oliveira stayed with the team, while Fujinami was replaced by Teppei Natori after he was reportedly involved in a physical altercation with another driver in the smaller Vita Pro series.

Nürburgring 24 Hours

Race results

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
2006 Nissan Fairlady Z Y GT500 24 Japan Masataka Yanagida
France Érik Comas
Japan Seiji Ara 		SUZ
10 		OKA
10 		FUJ
10 		SEP
8 		SUG
10 		SUZ
5 		MOT
6 		AUT
14 		FUJ
3 		12th 33
2007 Nissan Fairlady Z Y GT500 24 Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira
Japan Seiji Ara 		SUZ
Ret 		OKA
15 		FUJ
Ret 		SEP
1 		SUG
10 		SUZ
10 		MOT
5 		AUT
Ret 		FUJ
5 		12th 47
2008 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira
Japan Seiji Ara 		SUZ
5 		OKA
8 		FUJ
11 		SEP
1 		SUG
8 		SUZ
7 		MOT
14 		AUT
16 		FUJ
15 		11th 56
2009 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira
Japan Seiji Ara 		OKA
1 		SUZ
8 		FUJ
4 		SEP
5 		SUG
13 		SUZ
11 		FUJ
13 		AUT
3 		MOT
11 		7th 69
2010 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira
Japan Hironobu Yasuda 		SUZ
1 		OKA
12 		FUJ
8 		SEP
9 		SUG
5 		SUZ
Ret 		FUJ
C 		MOT
10 		NC1
4 		NC2
10 		10th 48
2011 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Hironobu Yasuda
Sweden Björn Wirdheim 		OKA
9 		FUJ
7 		SEP
4 		SUG
4 		SUZ
10 		FUJ
11 		AUT
5 		MOT
12 		NC1
Ret 		NC2
9 		11th 50
2012 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Hironobu Yasuda
Sweden Björn Wirdheim 		OKA
11 		FUJ
14 		SEP
Ret 		SUG
10 		SUZ
3 		FUJ
13 		AUT
4 		MOT
11 		NC1
9 		NC2
5 		14th 38
2013 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Hironobu Yasuda
Germany Michael Krumm 		OKA
13 		FUJ
12 		SEP
13 		SUG
5 		SUZ
Ret 		FUJ
10 		AUT
6 		MOT
9 		NC1
10 		NC2
10 		13th 32
2014 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Germany Michael Krumm
Japan Daiki Sasaki 		OKA
12 		FUJ
4 		AUT
13 		SUG
10 		FUJ
15 		SUZ
9 		BUR
2 		MOT
4 		8th 51
2015 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Daiki Sasaki
Spain Lucas Ordóñez
Germany Michael Krumm 		OKA
11 		FUJ
11 		CHA
Ret 		FUJ
1 		SUZ
13 		SUG
3 		AUT
15 		MOT
12 		12th 43
2016 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Daiki Sasaki
Japan Masataka Yanagida 		OKA
13 		FUJ
9 		SUG
1 		FUJ
Ret 		SUZ
12 		CHA
13 		MOT
1 		MOT
10 		7th 57
2017 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Daiki Sasaki
Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira 		OKA
10 		FUJ
12 		AUT
9 		SUG
Ret 		FUJ
13 		SUZ
5 		CHA
Ret 		MOT
12 		14th 24
2018 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira
Japan Mitsunori Takaboshi 		OKA
6 		FUJ
13 		SUZ
9 		CHA
Ret 		FUJ
6 		SUG
6 		AUT
7 		MOT
10 		12th 42
2019 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Mitsunori Takaboshi
United Kingdom Jann Mardenborough 		OKA
5 		FUJ
14 		SUZ
8 		BUR
4 		FUJ
Ret 		AUT
9 		SUG
15 		MOT
10 		NC1
17 		NC2
12 		13th 34
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Y GT300 56 Japan Kazuki Hiramine
France Sacha Fenestraz 		OKA
5 		FUJ
4 		SUZ
18 		BUR
2 		FUJ
7 		AUT
8 		SUG
5 		MOT
6 		NC1 NC2 5th 69
2020 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Mitsunori Takaboshi
United Kingdom Jann Mardenborough 		FUJ
10 		FUJ
12 		SUZ
11 		MOT
13 		FUJ
14 		SUZ
8 		MOT
14 		FUJ
13 		15th 19
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Y GT300 56 Japan Kiyoto Fujinami
Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira 		FUJ
4 		FUJ
5 		SUZ
9 		MOT
20 		FUJ
1 		SUZ
16 		MOT
1 		FUJ
2 		1st 95
2021 Nissan GT-R Y GT500 24 Japan Mitsunori Takaboshi
Japan Daiki Sasaki 		OKA
14 		FUJ
12 		MOT
12 		SUZ
3 		SUG
6 		AUT
14 		MOT
7 		FUJ
11 		13th 40
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Y GT300 56 Japan Kiyoto Fujinami
Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira 		OKA
1 		FUJ
7 		MOT
26 		SUZ
8 		SUG
3 		AUT
11 		MOT
3 		FUJ
5 		2nd 77
2022 Nissan Z Y GT500 24 Japan Daiki Sasaki
Japan Kohei Hirate 		OKA
14 		FUJ
8 		SUZ
6 		FUJ
3 		SUZ
10 		SUG
14 		AUT
3 		MOT
Ret 		10th 46
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Y GT300 56 Japan Kiyoto Fujinami
Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira 		OKA
1 		FUJ
7 		SUZ
3 		FUJ
6 		SUZ
13 		SUG
4 		AUT
5 		MOT
19 		1st 74.5
2023 Nissan Z Y GT500 24 Japan Daiki Sasaki
Japan Kohei Hirate 		OKA
14 		FUJ
15 		SUZ
8 		FUJ
10 		SUZ
13 		SUG
5 		AUT
12 		MOT
14 		15th 25
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Y GT300 56 Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira
Japan Teppei Natori 		OKA
10 		FUJ
1 		SUZ
4 		FUJ
4 		SUZ
Ret 		SUG
10 		AUT
5 		MOT
6 		3rd 70
2024 Nissan Z Y GT500 24 Japan Tsugio Matsuda
Japan Teppei Natori 		OKA
12 		FUJ
13 		SUZ
9 		FUJ
14 		SUG
13 		AUT
12† 		MOT
8 		SUZ
15 		14th 22
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Y GT300 56 Japan Daiki Sasaki
Brazil João Paulo de Oliveira 		OKA
15 		FUJ
2 		SUZ
16 		FUJ
3 		SUG
11 		AUT
12 		MOT
8 		SUZ
Ret 		6th 49

Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.

Note: Non-championship races (NC1,NC2) are major races that do not count towards the championship.

References

  1. "近藤真彦56歳はレース界でどう評価されてきた？「『レースは近藤の趣味』と言われても全部笑い過ごせます」（大串信）". Number Web - ナンバー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  2. "Toyota GAZOO Racing Outlines 2018 Motorsports Activities". Toyota Motor Corporation. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  3. "Late-night parts run transformed Cassidy's Suzuka fortunes". www.motorsport.com. 2018-10-27. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  4. "Cassidy: Top speed deficit cost me title chance". www.motorsport.com. 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  5. "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing announced its 2022 motorsport team setups". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  6. "Super Formula: Sacha Fenestraz bids series goodbye "for now"". www.motorsport.com. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  7. "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2024 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  8. "2019 Super GT GT500 Preview: Part 1, Nissan". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  9. "Kondo Set for GT300, N24 Programs With Nissan". sportscar365.com. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  10. "Nissan, Kondo Racing Announce Nürburgring 24 Hours & GT300 Entries". dailysportscar.com. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  11. "KONDO RACINGと日産自動車大学校の挑戦が結実。「嬉しいんだけど、ちょっと遅かったね（笑）」と近藤真彦監督《第5戦富士GT300決勝あと読み》 | スーパーGT | autosport web". AUTO SPORT web (in Japanese). 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  12. "Super GT Wrap-Up, GT300: Kondo Racing Crowned At Fuji". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  13. "Nissan Confirms 2021 Sports Car Racing Activities". dailysportscar.com. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  14. "Fujinami and Oliveira Retained By Kondo Racing For 2022 GT300 Effort". dailysportscar.com. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  15. "Can Kondo Racing make a piece of SUPER GT history?". www.motorsport.com. 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  16. "SUPER GT: Kondo Nissan champions had 'star watching over us'". www.motorsport.com. 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  17. "Nissan/NISMO announces teams for 2023 Super GT and GT4 programs". NISMO. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  18. "Fujinami breaks silence after losing Nissan SUPER GT drive". www.motorsport.com. 2023-02-18. Retrieved 2024-01-07.

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