2006 Japan Le Mans Challenge

August 2026 2006 Japan Le Mans Challenge none 2007 The 2006 Japan Le Mans Challenge was the inaugural season of the Japan Le Mans Challenge, a series created by SERO, and run under sanctioning from the ACO, to follow 24 Hours of Le Mans rules. It began at Sportsland SUGO on May 14 and ended at Okayama International Circuit on October 29, after three races. The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes, divided into the LMP1 and LMP2 classes, and grand tourer-style racing cars in the GT1 and GT2 classes. 2006 Pre-season In the buildup to the first season of JLMC, it was apparent from the start that unlike the Le Mans Series in Europe, JLMC would not start off with great success. A lack of commitment from major Japanese teams, especially those involved in Super GT, meant that the entry list for the season was small. An official pre-season test at Sportsland Sugo saw only 8 cars showing up. Even with this, more teams promised to eventually make it to the JLMC grid, including Team Goh, who had earned fame when they won the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans with the conquering Audi R8. However, of the teams that did show up, few had quality machinery. The entire LMP2 class was small sportscars that did not actually fit LMP2 regulations. LMP1 was able to boast some machinery that fit LMP rules with a Zytek 05S while there was promise of a new Courage LC70 for Mugen Motorsports on the way as the season went on. GT classes was made up of a large amount of machinery from Super GT, with an ex-Prodrive Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello and JLOC's Super GT Lamborghini Murcielago RG-1 joined by a privateer Mosler MT900R in GT1. GT2 was also only able to claim a few competitive entries, with some two Porsche 911 GT3s being mixed with a privateer cars that did not fully reach ACO GT2 specs. These competitors allowed for the entry list of a mere 12 competitors for the first round at Sportsland Sugo. Schedule Rnd. Round Race Circuit Date 1 Sportsland Sugo 1000 km Miyagi Prefecture Sportsland SUGO May 14 2 Motegi 1000 km Tochigi Prefecture Twin Ring Motegi July 2 3 Okayama 1000 km Okayama Prefecture Okayama International Circuit October 29 Entries LMP1 Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Car Number Drivers RoundsJPN Team Mugen4 May 2006 M-Tec Courage LC70 For Japan https://archive.dailysportscar.com/subscribers/news/other/2006other/other999_357.htm 2026-08-07 archive.dailysportscar.comCourage LC70Mugen MF458S 4.5 L V8Michelin16JPN Seiji Ara2–3JPN Haruki Kurosawa2–3 JPN Hitotsuyama Racing Zytek 05S Zytek ZB408 4.0 L V8Dunlop 21JPN Hiroki KatohAllJPN Hideki NodaAllJPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYSTOscar SK5.2Toyota ?Dunlop65JPN Toshiya Itou3JPN Tomoyuki Kawasaki3JPN Tatsuya Mizutani3Oscar SK93Mazda 13B 1.3 L 3-RotorYokohama Rubber Company66JPN Takahiko ShimazawaAllJPN Kenji Takeya1–2JPN Hiroshi Ota2–3JPN Masaya Kono1JPN Kazuya Murase3Oscar SK93Toyota ?Dunlop111JPN Tatsuya Hashimoto3JPN Kota Sasaki3JPN Yasumasa Wakahara3Source:27 October 2006 Okayama Entry List https://archive.dailysportscar.com/subscribers/news/other/2006other/other999_436.htm 2026-08-07 archive.dailysportscar.com LMP2 Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Car Number Drivers RoundsJPN MYZDallara GC21Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L I4Bridgestone3JPN Syougo SuhouAllJPN Masayuki YamamotoAllJPN Junichiro YamashitaAllBridgestone 4JPN Tomonobu FujiiAllJPN Yuuya SakamotoAllJPN Yoshihisa NamekataAllJPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYSTOscar SK5.2 1–2 Rounds 1–2Oscar RS.KK-LM 3 Round 3Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L I4Yokohama Rubber Company15JPN Ryohei SakaguchiAllJPN Masayuki UedaAllJPN Motoaki Ishikawa2–3Oscar SK5.2Toyota ?Yokohama Rubber Company52JPN Masayoshi Furuya3JPN Hisashi Tsukahara3JPN Tomokuni Waki3JPN Aim SportsDallara GC21Toyota 3S-GTE 2.0 L I4Yokohama Rubber Company18JPN Yuuji AsouAllJPN Masaru TomizawaAllJPN Shinsuke YamazakiAllJPN Cosmos RacingOscar SK5.2Toyota ?Dunlop37JPN Takuya Andou3JPN Naoto Chikada3JPN Youichirou Suzuki3Source: LMGT1 Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Car Number Drivers RoundsJPN Team LeyJunMosler MT900RChevrolet LS1 6.0 L V8Yokohama Rubber Company9JPN Hiroya IijimaAllJPN Osamu NakajimaAllJPN Masaki TanakaAll JPN Hitotsuyama Racing Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello Ferrari F133 A 6.0 L V12Dunlop 20JPN Naoki HattoriAllJPN Tatsuya KataokaAllJPN Eiichi TajimaAllJPN JLOCLamborghini Murcielago RG-1Lamborghini L535 6.0 L V12Yokohama Rubber Company88JPN Yasutaka Hinoi1, 3JPN Hisashi Wada1, 3JPN Koji Yamanishi1, 3Source: LMGT2 Team Chassis Engine Tyres No. Car Number Drivers RoundsJPN Team TakamizawaPorsche 996 GT3-RSPorsche M96/77 3.8 L Flat-6Yokohama Rubber Company5JPN Tomohiko SunakoAllJPN Kazuyoshi TakamizawaAllJPN Akihiko Tsutsumi1–2JPN Akazama Oyaji3 JPN Proto Works Mazda RX-7 Mazda 20B 2.0 L 3-RotorYokohama Rubber Company 7JPN Naoko HagiwaraAllJPN Yuuki Kawai1JPN Atsuko Oomura2JPN Sakiko Tsuji3Porsche 996 GT3-RSPorsche M96/77 3.8 L Flat-6Dunlop77JPN "Dragon"3JPN Yoshiaki Nakayama3JPN Motoyoshi Yoshida3JPN Team NRFMazda RX-8Mazda 13B-MSP 1.3 L 2-RotorYokohama Rubber Company8JPN Jun Nakamura3JPN Fumihiko Nishida3JPN Ryuuichirou Ootsuka3JPN Team NoproMazda RoadsterMazda BP 1.8 L I4Dunlop17JPN Toshihiko Nogami2JPN Yutaka Seki2JPN Team Kawamura Team Kawamura ja 河村隆一#略歴Porsche 996 GT3-RSRPorsche M96/79 3.8 L Flat-6Yokohama Rubber Company27JPN Kouji AoyamaAllJPN Morio NittaAllJPN Shinichi TakagiAllJPN Sunburst RushPorsche 964Porsche M64/03 3.6 L Flat-6Yokohama Rubber Company930JPN Takeshi Inui3JPN Hitoshi Kakiuchi3JPN Yutaka Matsushima3Source: Race results Bold indicates overall winners. Rnd Circuit LMP1 Winning Team LMP2 Winning Team LMGT1 Winning Team LMGT2 Winning Team LMP1 Winning Drivers LMP2 Winning Drivers LMGT1 Winning Drivers LMGT2 Winning Drivers 1 Sugo JPN #66 Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST JPN #18 Aim Sports JPN #20 Hitotsuyama Racing JPN #27 Team Kawamura Team Kawamura ja 河村隆一#略歴 JPN Takahiko ShimazawaJPN Masaya KonoJPN Kenji Takeya JPN Shinsuke YamakaziJPN Yuji AsoJPN Masaru Tomizawa JPN Tatsuya KataokaJPN Naoki HattoriJPN Eiichi Tajima JPN Koji AoyamaJPN Shinichi TakagiJPN Morio Nitta 2 Motegi JPN #66 Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST JPN #4 MYZ JPN #20 Hitotsuyama Racing JPN #27 Team Kawamura Team Kawamura ja 河村隆一#略歴 JPN Takahiki ShimazawaJPN Hiroshi OhtaJPN Kenji Takeya JPN Yuya SakamotoJPN Yoshihisa NamekataJPN Tomonobu Fujii JPN Tatsuya KataokaJPN Naoki HattoriJPN Eiichi Tajima JPN Koji AoyamaJPN Shinichi TakagiJPN Morio Nitta 3 Okayama JPN #16 Team Mugen JPN #4 MYZ JPN #88 JLOC JPN #930 Sunburst Rush JPN Seiji AraJPN Haruki Kurosawa JPN Yuya SakamotoJPN Yoshihisa NamekataJPN Tomonobu Fujii JPN Koji YamanishiJPN Yasatuka HinoiJPN Wada-Q JPN Yutaka MatsushimaJPN Takeshi InuiJPN Masashi Kakuichi Championship standings Points system Points are awarded to finishers based on how many cars were entered in each class. For team's championships, only the top finishing car in a team scores points towards the championship. For classes with a more than five cars, points are scored as follows:JAPAN LE MANS CHALLENGE/全日本スポーツカー耐久選手権 オフィシャル ウェブサイト http://www.lmchallenge.jp/jlmc/reg.html https://web.archive.org/web/20070810091705/http://www.lmchallenge.jp/jlmc/reg.html 2007-08-10 2026-08-07 www.lmchallenge.jp ja Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th Points108654321 For classes with a fewer than five cars, points are scored as follows: Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th Points5432.52 Drivers' Championship LMP1 standings Pos. Position number Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN Takahiko Shimazawa JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 1 1 4 12.5 2 JPN Kenji Takeya JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 1 1 10 3 JPN Hiroshi Ohta JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 1 4 7.54 JPN Seiji AraJPN Haruki Kurosawa JPN Team Mugen NC 1 55 JPN Masaya Kono JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 1 56 JPN Hiroki KatohJPN Hideki Noda JPN Hitotsuyama Racing Ret Ret 2 47 JPN Tatsuya HashimotoJPN Kota SasakiJPN Yasumasa Wakahara JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 3 38 JPN Kazuya Murase JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 4 2.59 JPN Toshiya ItouJPN Tomoyuki KawasakiJPN Tatsuya Mizutani JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 5 2Bold – Pole Italic – Fastest Lap LMP2 standings Pos. Position number Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN Yuya SakamotoJPN Yoshihisa NamekataJPN Tomonobu Fujii JPN MYZ NC 1 1 15 2 JPN Tomokuni WakiJPN Masayoshi FuruyaJPN Hisashi Tsukahara JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 2 8 3 JPN Shinsuke YamazakiJPN Yuji AsoJPN Masaru Tomizawa JPN Aim Sports 1 Ret Ret 54 JPN Syougo SuhouJPN Masayuki YamamotoJPN Junichiro Yamashita JPN MYZ Ret 2 Ret 45 JPN Ryohei SakaguchiJPN Masayuki Ueda JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 2 Ret NC4NC JPN Motoaki Ishikawa JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST Ret NC0NC JPN Takuya AndouJPN Naoto ChikadaJPN Youichirou Suzuki JPN Cosmos Racing NC0 LMGT1 standings Pos. Position number Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN Tatsuya KataokaJPN Naoki HattoriJPN Eiichi Tajima JPN Hitotsuyama Racing 1 1 313 2 JPN Osamu NakajimaJPN Masaki TanakaJPN Hiroya Iijima JPN Team Leyjun 2 2 212 3 JPN Koji YamanishiJPN Yasutaka HinoiJPN Hisashi Wada JPN JLOC Ret 15 LMGT2 standings Pos. Position number Drivers Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN Koji AoyamaJPN Shinichi TakagiJPN Morio Nitta JPN Team Kawamura Team Kawamura ja 河村隆一#略歴 1 1 218 2 JPN Yutaka MatsushimaJPN Masashi KakiuchiJPN Takeshi Inui JPN Sunburst Rush 110 3 JPN Kazuyoshi TakamizawaJPN Tomohiko Sunako JPN Team Takamizawa 2 2 Ret8JPN Akihiko Tsutsumi 2 24JPN "Dragon"JPN Yoshiaki NakayamaJPN Motoyoshi YoshidaJPN Proto Works 365JPN Naoko HagiwaraJPN Proto Works 3 3 NC66JPN Yuuki KawaiJPN Proto Works 337JPN Atsuko OomuraJPN Proto Works 33NCJPN Sakiko TsujiJPN Proto Works NC0NCJPN Akazama OyajiJPN Team Takamizawa Ret0NCJPN Jun NakamuraJPN Fumihiko NishidaJPN Ryuuichirou OotsukaJPN Team NRF Ret0NCJPN Toshihiko NogamiJPN Yutaka SekiJPN Team Nopro DNQ0 Teams' Championship LMP1 standings Pos. Position number Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 1 1 313 2 JPN Team Mugen NC 15 3 JPN Hitotsuyama Racing Ret Ret 24Bold – Pole Italic – Fastest Lap LMP2 standings Pos. Position number Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN MYZ NC 1 115 2 JPN Jidousya Koubou Myst Jidousya Koubou Myst ja 自動車工房MYST 2 Ret 212 3 JPN AIM Sports 1 Ret Ret5NC JPN Cosmos Racing NC0 LMGT1 standings Pos. Position number Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN Hitotsuyama Racing 1 1 313 2 JPN Team LeyJun 2 2 212 3 JPN JLOC Ret 15 LMGT2 standings Pos. Position number Team SUG MOT OKA Points 1 JPN Team Kawamura Team Kawamura ja 河村隆一#略歴 1 1 218 2 JPN Proto Works 3 3 312 3 JPN Sunburst Rush 110 4 JPN Team Takamizawa 2 2 Ret 8NC JPN Team NRF Ret0NC JPN Team Nopro DNQ0 References External links JLMC Official Website (English) JLMC Points Standings World Sports Racing Prototypes – Results Category:Japan Le Mans Challenge Le Mans Challenge