SARD
 | |
 SARD Headquarters inToyota, Aichi | |
| Company type | Limited |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motorsport and car tuning |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
Key people | Shin Kato,President |
| Products | Racing team, aftermarket tuning component |
| Owner | Shin Kato |
| Website | https:// sard.co.jp |
SARD Corporation(Kabushiki gaisha サード,Kabushiki gaishaSādo,abbreviated as Sigma Advanced Racing Development)is a Japanese tuning company and racing team fromToyota, Aichi,mainly competing in theSuper GTseries and specializing inToyotatuning parts.
History
[edit]The company was formed in 1972 asSigma Automotive Co., Ltdby Shin Kato to develop and produce motorsport related parts and accessories as well as operating their own racing team.[1]
In 1985, the racing division of Sigma Automotive became an independent company, Kato established a company calledSigma Advanced Racing Development(SARD) specializing in motorsport as well as producing aftermarket parts for Toyota automobiles.[2]
Products
[edit]
Sigma Advanced Racing Development (SARD) develops and manufactures tuning parts mainly forToyotacars, namelyturbochargers,redesignedfuel systemsandcooling systems,suspensionparts andaerodynamic kits.[3]The company is not restricted to Toyotas as they are well known within theaftermarket tuningmarket for their fueling components used by numerous tuning companies.[1][4]
Current Product Lines
[edit]- Complete Car
- Aero
- Wing
- Dry Carbon
- Interior
- Exhaust
- Intake & Suction
- Fuel
- Oil
- Chemical
- Cooling
- Footwork
- Body Build
- Powertrain
- Engine Parts
- Turbo
- Electronics
- Sub Parts
- Goods & Apparel
Also, under theSARD Marine Project,a separate project to its car works, it builds and sell its Toyota poweredmotorboats.[5]
Motorsport
[edit]
Sigma Automotive began its racing career in theFuji Grand Champion Seriesand in 1973 participated for the first time in the24 Hours of Le Manswith theirSigma MC73,powered by aMazdaWankel engine,becoming the first Japanese car to qualify for Le Mans,[3]before retiring early in the race with electrical problems.[6]The team returned for thefollowing yearwith aMazdabackedMC74,finishing but not making enough laps to be classified. In1975the team switched to a Toyota powerplant in theMC75,only to suffer from another early retirement. After transitioning out of international motorsports, Sigma Automotive would continue to compete in numerous domestic series.
SARD returned to international motorsports in 1989, debuting as a Toyota backed team namedToyota Team SARDin the first round ofWorld Sports Prototype Championshipheld inSuzuka,using aToyota 89C-V,also competing in theAll Japan Sports Prototype Championship.With the demise ofGroup Cin 1993, SARD switched to the newly formedJGTCseries and also return to Le Mans with a V8 poweredMR2known as theMC8-R,having the same spell of misfortune as they had during the 1970s, competing in1995and1996,only to fail to pre-qualify in the face of the newer generations of GT1 cars in thefollowing year.SARD also entered aToyota Suprain first two years of the MC8-R program where it faced against fellow Japanese GT machines in form ofNissan Skyline GT-RandHonda NSX,the latter which also raced in and won the GT2 class in 1995. The JGTC-specification Supra was entered in the1995 24 Hours of Le Manswhere it finished 14th, the team returned again in1996but did not finish.[7]
SARD continued to compete in the JGTC and Super GT series with works-backed Toyotas and Lexuses; the team currently fields aToyota GR Supraunder theToyota Team SARDname. In the2016 Super GT Championship,SARD won its first-ever Super GT championship with aLexus RC Fdriven byHeikki KovalainenandKohei Hirate.[8][9][10]
In 2006, SARD competed in the24 Hours of Tokachi,aSuper Taikyurace, with a hybrid poweredLexus GS450h[2]finishing 4th in class and 17th overall.[11]For the following year, SARD took their Super GT specification Supra out of retirement, installed ahybrid versionof its Super GT3UZ-FEengine, giving out 480 bhp (358 kW) and 376 lb⋅ft (510 N⋅m) of torque.[12]The Supra, rechristened as theDenso SARD Supra HV-Rand driven by series regularsAndré Couto,Akira Iida,Katsuyuki HiranakaandTatsuya Kataoka[13]started on pole and effortlessly dominated the entire race, completing 616 laps, 19 laps ahead of the runner-up. It became the first hybrid-powered car to win a race.[12]
SARD planned to take part in the2015 FIA World Endurance Championship seasonwith a LMP2-class prototype in association withMorand Racing,with plans for a future LMP1 entry.[14]However, SARD was forced to reduce its participation after a loss of backers before the season started; it was unable to come up with half of the season's budget, as agreed with Morand.[15]Nevertheless, Morand continued to compete under theTeam SARD Morandname during the 2015 season.
(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position) (Races initalicsindicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position) (Races initalicsindicate fastest lap)
‡Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abSARDArchived2007-08-15 at theWayback Machine
- ^abJCN Network: Toyota to Enter Hybrid Sedan in 24-hour RaceArchived2007-09-28 at theWayback Machine
- ^abSard Racing
- ^"SARD:: PRODUCTS".sard.co.jp.Retrieved2023-02-13.
- ^SARD Marine ProjectArchived2007-07-11 at theWayback Machine
- ^Le Mans and the Racing RotaryArchived2011-05-25 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Retrospective>>toyota Supra Gt Lm At Le Mans".Speedhunters.2009-02-18.Retrieved2023-07-25.
- ^Clifford, Joe (2019-01-21)."Lexus RC F in motorsport: the story so far".Lexus UK Magazine.Retrieved2023-07-25.
- ^"DENSO TEAM SARD RC F Clinches Title In Motegi Finale | dailysportscar".dailysportscar.Retrieved2023-07-25.
- ^"Lexus RC F Team SARD Wins Japan's 2016 Super GT Championship".Lexus Enthusiast Community Forums.Retrieved2023-07-25.
- ^Autoblog: Denso SARD Supra HV-R takes the pole at Tokachi 24
- ^abAutoblog: Toyota SARD entering Supra HV-R hybrid racer in Tokachi 24 hours
- ^(in Japanese)TOYOTA MOTOR SPORTS − mười thắng 24 thời gian レース スペシャルサイトArchived2007-09-26 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Noda (SARD):" In the Future, We'll Move to LMP1 "– Sportscar365".17 February 2015.
- ^Dagys, John (21 April 2015)."Inside the Developing Tale of Team SARD-Morand".Sportscar365.Retrieved1 August2017.
- ^"World Sports Racing Prototypes - All Japan Grand Touring Championship".wsrp.cz.Retrieved2022-08-24.
- ^"SUPERGT.net | Race Archive".supergt.net.Retrieved2022-11-10.
- ^"World Sports Racing Prototypes - All Japan Grand Touring Championship".wsrp.cz.Retrieved2022-08-24.
- Auto parts suppliers of Japan
- Automotive motorsports and performance companies
- Companies based in Aichi Prefecture
- Toyota
- Japanese auto racing teams
- Super GT teams
- 24 Hours of Le Mans teams
- Auto tuning companies
- FIA World Endurance Championship teams
- Turbocharger manufacturers
- Japanese brands
- Toyota in motorsport
- World Sportscar Championship teams
- FIA GT Championship teams
- Auto racing teams established in 1985