The 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000 km was an endurance race backed by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest

Automobile Club de l'Ouest

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest , sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race...

 (ACO), who ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...

, and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), who ran the JGTC

Super GT

The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association...

 race series. It was run on November 7, 1999.

Pre-Race

Since the mid-1990s, a large number of Japanese automobile manufacturers had begun to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...

, including Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

, Toyota, and Nissan. Japanese constructors and engine builders were also competing as well, such as Dome

Dome (constructor)

, literally "child's dream", is a Japanese-based racing car constructor, involved mainly in open wheel and sports car racing.-Background:In 1965 Minoru Hayashi built his first racing car, a rebodied Honda S600 coupe. Belonging to Tojiro Ukiya, it was called the "Karasu" , due to its shape...

, Tom's

TOM'S

is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing...

, and Mugen Motorsports

Mugen Motorsports

Mugen Motorsports is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. Mugen, meaning "Without Limit", or "Unlimited", is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer closely associated with the Honda Motor Company...

. The ACO therefore was interested in the idea of creating a new sportscar series in Japan similar to the one that had recently been created in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...

. Thus, the Fuji 1000 km would serve as a one-off experiment to see how well a series would perform in Japan in the future, similar to the one-off 1998 Petit Le Mans

1998 Petit Le Mans

The 1998 Petit Le Mans was the seventh race for the 1998 IMSA GT Championship season, then known as the Professional SportsCar Racing series. It was also the first race of Don Panoz's American Le Mans Series developed with the backing of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , the ruling body of the 24...

 for the ALMS.

With an agreement between the ACO and JAF, the race was agreed to take place at Fuji Speedway

Fuji Speedway

is a race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s and hosted the first Formula One race in Japan in 1976. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and national racing...

, and to combine the ACO's LMP, LMGTP, GTS, and GT class with the JAF's JGTC series GT500 and GT300 classes. The addition of JGTC machinery was done not only to entice Japanese teams into possibly moving into the ACO's sportscars, but also to help fill the field and to bring a crowd. However, the race did not count as part of the JGTC season, thus a full JGTC field was not expected since the race was optional. For the ACO classes, an incentive to bring competitors not only from Japan but also internationally was added in that, like Petit Le Mans

Petit Le Mans

The Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.The race was...

, the winners in each class would earn automatic entry to the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans

2000 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 68th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 17 and 18 2000.-Pre-race:After the 1999 race, most of the manufacturers in the top classes went in different directions. BMW and Toyota went into Formula One, while Mercedes-Benz left sportscars after the CLR...

.

Official results

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyres	Laps
					Engine
1	LMP	23	Nissan Motorsports Nismo Nismo is the motorsports and performance division of Nissan Motor Company. Formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departments, Nismo cars have participated in JSPC, Formula Nippon, JTCC, 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona...	Érik Comas Érik Comas Érik Comas is a former Formula One driver from France. He was French Formula 3 champion in 1988, and then Formula 3000 champion in 1990, after scoring the same number of points as Jean Alesi in 1989 but losing on a count-back of positions. He participated in 63 Grands Prix, debuting on 10 March...   Satoshi Motoyama Satoshi Motoyama Satoshi Motoyama is a Japanese racing driver.-Career:He gathered an impressive résumé of results in his native country, winning the Formula Nippon championship in 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2005. He also competes in the Japan GT Championship and won that series title in 2003 and 2004...   Masami Kageyama	Nissan R391 Nissan R391 The Nissan R391 was a prototype racing car built by Nissan and their motorsports counterpart Nismo for competition at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans...		228
					Nissan VRH50A Nissan VH engine The VH series consists of 4.1 and 4.5 liter engines built from 1989-2001 by the Nissan Motor Corporation. The design consists of a 90 degree V8 with an aluminum cylinder block that features a closed upper deck and a deep skirt. The cylinder heads are also aluminum with a DOHC 4-valve design and...  5.0 L V8
2	LMGTP	1	Toyota Motorsport   Toyota Team Europe	Ukyo Katayama Ukyo Katayama is a Japanese racing driver, most notable for competing six years in Formula One. Despite struggling with under-funded teams throughout his career, Katayama's performances impressed on several occasions, and was popular in the F1 paddock for his unshakeably sunny disposition and self-deprecating...   Toshio Suzuki   Keiichi Tsuchiya Keiichi Tsuchiya is a professional race car driver. He is also known as the "Drift King" for his nontraditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport...	Toyota TS020 Toyota GT-One The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.-History:...		227
					Toyota R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8
3	LMP	61	Team Goh Team Goh Team Goh International is a Japanese auto racing team founded by Kazimuchi Goh in 1990s. Initially competing in the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship , Team Goh won the 1996 championship with a McLaren F1 GTR and drivers John Nielsen and David Brabham...   Dome Co. Ltd. Dome (constructor) , literally "child's dream", is a Japanese-based racing car constructor, involved mainly in open wheel and sports car racing.-Background:In 1965 Minoru Hayashi built his first racing car, a rebodied Honda S600 coupe. Belonging to Tojiro Ukiya, it was called the "Karasu" , due to its shape...	Hiroki Katou   Juichi Wakisaka	Dome Dome (constructor) , literally "child's dream", is a Japanese-based racing car constructor, involved mainly in open wheel and sports car racing.-Background:In 1965 Minoru Hayashi built his first racing car, a rebodied Honda S600 coupe. Belonging to Tojiro Ukiya, it was called the "Karasu" , due to its shape... -BMW V12 LM BMW V12 LM The BMW V12 LM was a racing car built for sports car racing in 1998. The car was built using a combination of WilliamsF1 engineering and construction and a BMW powerplant...		222
					BMW S70 BMW M70 The BMW M70 is a V12 piston engine and featured heavily in the 7-Series and 8-Series BMWs of the late 80s and early 1990s. Models included:*1988–1994 BMW 750i*1988–1994 BMW 750iL*1991–1993 BMW 850i*1993–1995 BMW 850Ci*1994–1996 BMW 850Csi...  6.0 L V12
4	GT500	35	Matsumoto-Kiyoshi Team Tom's TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing...	Pierre-Henri Raphanel Pierre-Henri Raphanel Pierre-Henri Raphanel, born 27 May 1961 in Algiers, Algeria, is a former French racing driver.He participated in 17 Formula One Grands Prix for Larrousse, Coloni and Rial, debuting on 13 November 1988...   Shinichi Yamaji   Takeshi Tsuchiya	Toyota Supra Toyota Supra The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica...		211
					Toyota 3S-GTE Toyota 3S-GTE engine The 3S-GTE is an in-line 4-cylinder 1998cc engine from Toyota, based on the 3S-GE with reduced compression ratio and addition of a turbocharger.There are four generations of this engine, which were manufactured from 1986 to 2007....  2.1 L Turbo I4
5	GT500	6	Team Le Mans	Hideki Noda Hideki Noda is a racing driver from Japan. He participated in 3 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the 1994 European Grand Prix, but did not score any championship points. He replaced Yannick Dalmas in the Larrousse car for the last 3 Grands Prix of the season, but failed to finish in any of the three races....   Wayne Gardner Wayne Gardner Wayne Michael Gardner OAM is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Australian to win motorcycling's premier class...	Toyota Supra Toyota Supra The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica...		209
					Toyota 3S-GTE Toyota 3S-GTE engine The 3S-GTE is an in-line 4-cylinder 1998cc engine from Toyota, based on the 3S-GE with reduced compression ratio and addition of a turbocharger.There are four generations of this engine, which were manufactured from 1986 to 2007....  2.1 L Turbo I4
6	GT500	32	cmda One Toyota Team Cerumo	Takayuki Kinoshita   Masahiko Kondo Masahiko Kondo or Matchy is a Japanese singer, lyricist and actor represented by Johnny & Associates.Kondō is also a semi-professional racing driver and a racing team owner. He founded the racing team Kondo Racing in 2000 which competes in Formula Nippon and the Super GT.- 1980–1987: Early recording career :As a...   Hironori Takeuchi Hironori Takeuchi Hironori Takeuchi is a Japanese auto racing driver.-Career:Takeuchi competed in the Japanese Touring Car Championship between 1996 and 1998. He competed in the All-Japan GT Championship between 1995 and 2004, winning it in 2001...	Toyota Supra Toyota Supra The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica...		208
					Toyota 3S-GTE Toyota 3S-GTE engine The 3S-GTE is an in-line 4-cylinder 1998cc engine from Toyota, based on the 3S-GE with reduced compression ratio and addition of a turbocharger.There are four generations of this engine, which were manufactured from 1986 to 2007....  2.1 L Turbo I4
7	GTS	60	Team Goh Team Goh Team Goh International is a Japanese auto racing team founded by Kazimuchi Goh in 1990s. Initially competing in the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship , Team Goh won the 1996 championship with a McLaren F1 GTR and drivers John Nielsen and David Brabham...   Chamberlain Engineering	Seiji Ara Seiji Ara Seiji Ara is a race car driver.He was the winner of the 24 hour Le Mans race in 2004, driving an Audi R8...   Hideki Okada	Chrysler Viper GTS-R Chrysler Viper GTS-R The Chrysler Viper GTS-R was a successful racing variant of the Dodge Viper developed in conjunction with Chrysler of North America, Oreca of France, and Reynard Motorsport of the United Kingdom. Officially unveiled at the 1995 Pebble Beach Concours, it has won numerous championships and famous...		203
					Chrysler Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....  8.0 L V10
8	GT500	11	Endless Sports	Takao Wada   Mitsuhiro Kinoshita   Yasushi Kikuchi	Nissan Skyline GT-R Nissan Skyline GT-R The Nissan Skyline GT-R is a Japanese sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range.The first GT-Rs were produced from 1969–1973. After a 16 year hiatus since the KPGC110 in 1972, the GT-R name was revived in 1989 with the Skyline R32. This car was nicknamed "Godzilla" by the Australian motoring...		200
					Nissan RB26DETT Nissan RB engine The RB engine is a 2.0–3.0 L straight-6 four-stroke petrol/gasoline engine from Nissan produced from 1980-2004. A special limited edition the LMRB26 was also built during this time by General Motors in Australia....  2.8 L Turbo I6
9	GTS	16	Freisinger Motorsport Freisinger Motorsport Freisinger Motorsport is a German company which has tuned, restored, and raced Porsches since 1967. Founded by Manfred Freisinger in Karlsruhe, the company now is run by his son Manfred Freisinger Jr....	Ernst Palmberger   Yukihiro Hane	Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 911 GT2 The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...		198
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
10	GT	81	Team Taisan Advan Yokohama Rubber Company is a tire company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company founded and started in 1917 in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969 the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire Corporation. The Aspec A300 was the driving force behind its tremendous...	Hideshi Matsuda Hideshi Matsuda Hideshi Matsuda , is a racecar driver and Japanese TV reporter. He has raced in several 24-hour races, including Daytona and LeMans. He also raced 4 times in the Indianapolis 500, in 1994-1996 and 1999, usually for Beck Motorsports. He also drove in one CART Championship Car race at Twin Ring...   Dominik Schwager Dominik Schwager Dominik Schwager is a German auto racing driver. He currently drives for Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini in the FIA GT1 World Championship.-Career:...	Porsche 911 GT3 Porsche 911 GT3 The Porsche 911 GT3 is a higher performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is the latest in a line of high performance models, beginning with the 1973 911 RS... -R		197
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Flat-6
11	GTS	69	Proton Competition	Gerold Ried   Christian Ried   Manfred Jurasz	Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 911 GT2 The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...		185
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
12	GTS	15	Freisinger Motorsport Freisinger Motorsport Freisinger Motorsport is a German company which has tuned, restored, and raced Porsches since 1967. Founded by Manfred Freisinger in Karlsruhe, the company now is run by his son Manfred Freisinger Jr....	Wolfgang Kaufmann   Bob Wollek Bob Wollek Bob Wollek , nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on March 16, 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of...	Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 911 GT2 The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...		180
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
13	GT300	91	910 Racing	Masamitsu Ishihara   Keiichi Takahashi   Tomohiko Sunako	Porsche 911 Porsche 993 The Porsche 993 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between late 1993 and early 1998, replacing the 964...  3.8 RSR		178
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.8 L Flat-6
14	GT	65	Roock Sport System Japan	Manabu Orido   Takashi Suzuki   Tomiko Yoshikawa	Porsche 911 Porsche 993 The Porsche 993 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between late 1993 and early 1998, replacing the 964...  3.8 RSR		176
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.8 L Flat-6
15	GT	17	Freisinger Motorsport Freisinger Motorsport Freisinger Motorsport is a German company which has tuned, restored, and raced Porsches since 1967. Founded by Manfred Freisinger in Karlsruhe, the company now is run by his son Manfred Freisinger Jr....	Katsunori Iketani   Hiroyuki Nodi	Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 911 GT2 The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...		167
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
16 NC	GT300	70	Team Gaikokuya	Yoshimi Ishibashi   Patrick van Schoote   Jun Harada	Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 911 GT2 The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...		157
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
17 NC	GT	80	Team Taisan Advan Yokohama Rubber Company is a tire company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company founded and started in 1917 in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969 the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire Corporation. The Aspec A300 was the driving force behind its tremendous...	Eiichi Tajima   Hiroaki Suga   Morio Nitta	Porsche 911 Porsche 993 The Porsche 993 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between late 1993 and early 1998, replacing the 964...  3.8 RSR		155
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.8 L Flat-6
18 NC	GT500	28	Tomei Sport	Kazuyuki Nishizawa   Takuya Kurosawa   Peter Dumbreck Peter Dumbreck Peter Dumbreck is a racing driver from Scotland.In 1994 he dominated the British Formula Vauxhall Junior championship and followed this in 1996 with a similarly strong performance when he won ten races to take the full Formula Vauxhall Championship.After finishing third in British Formula 3 in...	Porsche 911 Porsche 993 The Porsche 993 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between late 1993 and early 1998, replacing the 964...  3.8 RSR		115
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.8 L Flat-6
19 DNF	LMP	24	Autoexe Motorsports	Yojiro Terada Yojiro Terada is a Japanese racing driver from Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. He is known for holding the record for the most participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans without winning, having run on 29 occasions since . He is also third behind Henri Pescarolo and Bob Wollek for the drivers with the most participations...   Keichi Satou   Franck Fréon Franck Fréon Franck Fréon is a French race car driver. He began his career in the French Renault 5 Turbo Championship in 1986 and 1987 then competed in French Formula Three from 1988 to 1989...	Autoexe LMP99		158
					Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...  (Roush Roush Racing Roush Fenway Racing is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint and Nationwide Series, and formerly in the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series.Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but had... ) 6.0 L V8
20 DNF	LMGTP	21	Hitotsuyama Racing	Akira Iida Akira Iida is a Japanese racing driver in the Super GT series, since 2002 affiliated with Toyota and Lexus. First driving in the series since 1994, Iida has won five races altogether and took one driver's title in 2002....   Yasushi Hitotsuyama   Mikio Hitotsuyama	McLaren F1 GTR McLaren F1 GTR The McLaren F1 GTR was a racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it...		147
					BMW S70 BMW M70 The BMW M70 is a V12 piston engine and featured heavily in the 7-Series and 8-Series BMWs of the late 80s and early 1990s. Models included:*1988–1994 BMW 750i*1988–1994 BMW 750iL*1991–1993 BMW 850i*1993–1995 BMW 850Ci*1994–1996 BMW 850Csi...  6.0 L V12
21 DNF	GTS	10	Ability Motorsports	Hidehiko Asou   Yasutaka Hinoi   Atsushi Yogou	Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 911 GT2 The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...		74
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
22 DNF	GTS	56	Chamberlain Engineering	Vincent Vosse   Xavier Pompidou	Chrysler Viper GTS-R Chrysler Viper GTS-R The Chrysler Viper GTS-R was a successful racing variant of the Dodge Viper developed in conjunction with Chrysler of North America, Oreca of France, and Reynard Motorsport of the United Kingdom. Officially unveiled at the 1995 Pebble Beach Concours, it has won numerous championships and famous...		40
					Chrysler Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....  8.0 L V10
23 DNF	GTS	64	Roock Racing System Japan	Hisashi Wada   Stéphane Ortelli Stéphane Ortelli Stéphane Ortelli is a Monagasque motor racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in . He also won the GT1 Class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005, driving for Aston Martin.-2008 Monza Le Mans Series crash:...	Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 911 GT2 The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...		40
					Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....  3.6 L Turbo Flat-6

Statistics

• Pole Position - #1 Toyota Motorsport - 1:16.349
• Fastest Lap - #1 Toyota Motorsport - 1:18.806
• Average Speed - 180.792 km/h

Post-race

Although the race was very competitive for Japanese manufacturer's Nissan and Toyota, the event was not considered a major success. Only twenty three entrants showed in total, with just sixteen being in the ACO's classes. Although Nissan and Toyota both had more cars they could have entered, each chose only to compete with a single car. A large number of European teams which had been on the entry list also failed to show up, most notably BMW Motorsport

BMW Motorsport

BMW Motorsport is the division of BMW responsible for motorsport-related activities, including works-run competition programmes in touring car racing, sportscar racing and Formula One.-See also:* BMW M* BMW in motorsport* BMW Sauber* Schnitzer Motorsport...

 with their V12 LMR prototypes.

Toyota and Nissan had both decided to abandon their sportscar efforts after 1999, meaning neither team took their automatic entries for Le Mans in 2000. European interest in the series was also lacking, especially since teams like BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

 and Audi

Audi

Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....

 seemed more interested in competing in the American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...

. This left the proposed series with no major manufacturer involvement to help bring in fans as well as other competition.

Consideration for a Japanese series was revived once again in late 2000 when Don Panoz

Don Panoz

Dr. h.c. Donald Panoz is an American entrepreneur who made his name in pharmaceuticals and has since become a successful owner of various motorsport ventures.- Early life :...

 and the International Motor Sports Association

International Motor Sports Association

The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...

 (IMSA) announced their intentions to expand upon their American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...

, a series endorsed by the ACO. Panoz would plan an Asian-Pacific Le Mans Series (APLMS), competing throughout the entire Pacific rim. An exhibition event was held in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 at the end of 2000 with mixed success, with another event played for Malaysia in 2001. However Panoz's other expansion outside the United States, the European Le Mans Series

European Le Mans Series

The European Le Mans Series was a sports car endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that was created in 2000 and ran its only season in 2001 before being cancelled. It was created by Don Panoz as an expansion on his successful American Le Mans Series run by IMSA...

, would suffer from small fields and lack of competition throughout 2001. With a continued lack of interest from major manufacturers in teams in the ELMS as well as the APLMS, both series would be cancelled.

In 2006, the ACO was finally able to create a new sports car series in Japan with the launch of the Japan Le Mans Challenge

Japan Le Mans Challenge

The Japan Le Mans Challenge was an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. It was run by the Sports Car Endurance Race Operation sanctioning body and ran under the rules laid out by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest...

. The series has already announced that for 2007 they will return to Fuji for another 1000 km event.

External link

• Le Mans Fuji 1000 Kilometers Results