Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
Encyclopedia
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
driver Aguri Suzuki
Aguri Suzuki
is a former racing driver from Japan. He participated in 88 Formula One Grands Prix, and his most notable achievement in racing was 3rd place at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix. Suzuki then became involved in team ownership, with interests firstly in the Japanese Formula Nippon Championship and the...
and Autobacs Seven Co. in 1997. The team's original name was "ARTA F1 Project," but due to copyright claims based on the usage of the word "F1," the name has since been shortened to "ARTA." ARTA is also the 2007 SuperGT GT500's series champion in both the drivers and constructor championship.
History
The team was created with the objective of developing drivers that could compete in the highest levels of F1 racing. In addition to competing in racing competitions such as Formula NipponFormula Nippon
Formula Nippon is a type of formula racing and the top level of single-seater racing in Japan.Formula Nippon evolved from the Japanese Formula 2000 series begun in 1973 by way of the Japanese Formula Two and Japanese Formula 3000 championships...
and Super GT
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...
, the team also holds its youth kart racing
Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
competition, the "ARTA Challenge," to find the next generation of competitive race drivers.
Toshihiro Kaneishi
Toshihiro Kaneishi
is an Japanese racing driver. He has competed in such series as Formula Nippon and Super GT.-External links:* *...
, a driver who received support from ARTA, won the German Formula Three Championship
German Formula Three Championship
The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...
in 2001.
As of 2007, the team competes in, or offers support to other drivers who compete in the following categories:
- Formula Nippon
- Super GT
- Indy Racing League
- All-Japan Formula Three ChampionshipAll-Japan Formula Three Championship, also known as Japanese Formula Three, is a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis....
- Formula Challenge JapanFormula Challenge JapanFormula Challenge Japan is an open wheel racing series based in Japan. The first season was in 2006 and carried on from the defunct Formula Dream series...
- Karting World ChampionshipKarting World ChampionshipThe Karting World Championship is ruled by the CIK-FIA. It takes place once a year, each year in a different country, and is kart racing's flagship event. Starting 2011, the championship will be disputed on five rounds, each of them in a different country....
The team maintained a close relationship with Aguri Suzuki's F1 team, Super Aguri F1
Super Aguri F1
Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from to . The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan but operated from the former Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical Centre, Oxfordshire. The cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team...
, before they were forced to withdraw from Formula One in 2008. ARTA is currently the largest racing team in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
GT500
The team participated with the Nissan Skyline GT-RNissan 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...
from 1998 to 1999. In 2000, the team joined up with 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...
, and began using the Honda NSX
Honda NSX
The Honda NSX, or Acura NSX, is a sports car that was produced between 1990 and 2005 by the Japanese automaker Honda. It is equipped with a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, powered by an all-aluminium V6 gasoline engine featuring Honda's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control ...
. Owner Aguri Suzuki and 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...
drove in the first year with Honda, and Katsutomo Kaneishi
Katsutomo Kaneishi
is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in such series as the Japanese Touring Car Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and Formula Nippon.-External links:*...
replaced Aguri in 2001. In 2003, Kaneishi moved on to participate in the DTM
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....
series, and his cousin, Toshihiro Kaneishi, took over as driver. Tsuchiya also announced his retirement the same year. Katsutomo Kaneishi returned from DTM in 2004, and became driver along with Daisuke Ito
Daisuke Itō (driver)
is a Japanese racing driver. He currently drives at the Super GT series in the GT500 category.In 2007 he won the Super GT 500 championship, in the ARTA NSX with Ralph Firman.Itō is also a regular presenter of Best Motoring.-24 Hours of Le Mans results:...
. Tsuchiya became team director this year, but various mechanical failures caused the team to win only 2 points in the entire competition. In 2005, ARTA became a Honda team (Team Honda Racing), along with Takata Dome NSX
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...
. Aguri returned as team director, with Ito and Ralph Firman
Ralph Firman
Ralph David Firman Jr. is an English-born racing driver who races under Irish citizenship and an Irish-issued racing licence. Earlier in his career he raced under a British licence...
as drivers. The team took pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
3 times, and was competitive all season. The team won the 7th race at Autopolis
Autopolis
Autopolis is an international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan . Opened in 1990, it hosts a range of domestic and international motorsport events throughout the year. Although the track meets a high standard in terms of its facilities, it has never hosted a...
. ARTA kept the same drivers for 2006, but was unable to win the competition despite taking the pole position several times. The team did win the 4th race at Sepang
Sepang International Circuit
The Sepang International Circuit is a racing circuit in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, approximately 60 km south of the capital city Kuala Lumpur. It is the venue used for the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, A1 Grand Prix as well as the...
. Team Honda Racing was dissolved in 2007, and ARTA participated in the competition with the same lineup as 2006. They won 3 races during the season on their way to championship victory. For 2008 Firman is joined by class newcomer Takuya Izawa
Takuya Izawa
is a Japanese racing driver. He currently drives at the Super GT GT500 series and in the Formula Nippon category.-External links:***...
while former driver Daisuke Ito left the team to drive for ENEOS TOYOTA Team LeMans.
GT300
The team made its debut in 2001 with the Toyota MR-S, and became series champion in 2002 with drivers Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi.In 2003, ARTA participated with the ASL Garaiya, which had been developed by Autobacs. The machine showed good cornering, but the Nissan SR engine
Nissan SR engine
The Nissan SR engine is a 1.6 L, 1.8 L, or 2.0 L straight-4 4-stroke internal combustion gasoline engine manufactured by Nissan Motors. It features an aluminum head and aluminum block with steel sleeves in selected models and features a DOHC 4-valve design, with variable valve timing...
lacked power, resulting in a poor finish. In 2004, the team switched over to the Nissan VQ engine
Nissan VQ engine
The VQ is a V6 piston engine produced by Nissan with displacements varying from 2.0 L to 4.0 L. It is an aluminum block DOHC 4-valve design with aluminum heads. It is fitted with Nissan's EGI/ECCS sequential multi-point fuel injection system...
, and won two consecutive races. However, they failed to win the competition by a margin of 1 point. In 2005, the team was leading in points at the 7th race, (Autopolis) but lost in the final race to place 3rd in the final standings. The team director had announced during the season that the team would be dissolved if they failed to become champion, leading ARTA to end its participation in the series.
However, in 2007, Aguri Suzuki announced that he would like to race the Garaiya to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the start of ARTA, and the team renewed its participation in the series with the same lineup as 2005. The Garaiya won the 3rd race, (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...
) but crashed in all of the proceeding races and was forced to retire from the competition.
Indy Racing League
ARTA first entered the Indy Racing League in 20032003 in IRL
The 2003 IRL IndyCar Series season brought some of the biggest changes in its history. The league adopted the name IndyCar Series, after a settlement with CART prohibiting its use, had expired...
backing a car driven by Japanese-American Roger Yasukawa
Roger Yasukawa
Roger Yasukawa is a Japanese-American auto racing driver.Yasukawa started karting in Southern California, winning the California State Championship in 1991 in Junior Sportsman. He then moved to Italy to compete in JICA...
that was prepared by Fernandez Racing
Fernández Racing
Fernández Racing is a Mexican motor racing team that competes in the American Le Mans Series and previously Champ Car, the IRL IndyCar Series, and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The team was co-founded by Adrian Fernández and Tom Anderson in 2001.-Open wheel:...
. This car was called "Super Aguri Fernandez Racing" and Aguri Suzuki was listed as a team owner. In 2004
2004 in IRL
The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season was dominated by two teams, Andretti Green Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing. While there was great parity in 2003 between Honda and Toyota powered teams, in 2004 Honda began to outshine Toyota bringing their teams Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing down with...
, Yasukawa was replaced by Kosuke Matsuura
Kosuke Matsuura
is a race car driver currently competing in the Formula Nippon series. He previously competed in the IRL IndyCar Series.-Early career:After winning the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2001, Kosuke attracted the attention of former Formula One driver Aguri Suzuki as a teenager and was placed...
who won both the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
and the league's rookie of the year honors. In 2007, ARTA and Aguri switched their support from Fernandez to Panther Racing
Panther Racing
Panther Racing is an American open wheel auto racing team. It is one of the oldest continually operating teams in Indy Racing League LLC's IZOD IndyCar Series....
, bringing Matsuura with them as well as a Japanese rookie to run in the Indy Pro Series
Indy Pro Series
Firestone Indy Lights is a developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar. Previously, another series named Indy Lights filled the same role for CART and ran from 1986 to 1993 as the American Racing Series and Dayton Indy Lights from 1991 to 2001...
developmental league, Hideki Mutoh
Hideki Mutoh
is a Japanese race car driver from Tokyo currently racing in the IndyCar Series for Newman/Haas Racing.- History :He began karting at age 12 in 1996 and quickly moved through the ranks, becoming a part of Honda's Formula Dream Project. He moved to Europe in 1998 to compete in Formula Vauxhall...
. Mutoh won 2 races, finished second in Pro Series points, and made his IndyCar debut at the final race of the 2007 season, finishing 8th and recording the fastest race lap. Matsuura has finished no better than 13th in IndyCar Series points and has not won a race in his four years in the series. Mutoh took on the Panasonic and Formula Dream sponsorship for 2008 and moved to Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship, and U.S. F2000 National Championship.-Current IndyCar Drivers and Cars:*7 Danica Patrick, GoDaddy.com*26 Marco Andretti...
and won Rookie of the Year honors. However, the entry is no longer branded as an ARTA project.