2023 DUNLOP & FALKEN Motorsports Activity Report
Dec. 13. 2023
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is pleased to report the results of our 2023 Motorsport Activities, through which we supported many racing teams and individual racers while supplying our high-performance DUNLOP and FALKEN tires for exciting racing events held all over the world. This year, we developed numerous cutting-edge tires for state-of-the-art vehicles competing at the very pinnacle of racing, all while carefully analyzing the data from each race in order to adeptly supply tires optimized for road and weather conditions at just the right timing to give competitors an edge.
From amateurs participating in entry-level races to professionals competing in world-class tournaments, we are immensely proud to have supported so many outstanding competitors across such a wide range of racing categories and formats this year. Their daring feats on the racetrack brought fun and excitement to countless fans throughout the world. We are grateful not only to the competitors who gave it their all while working side by side with DUNLOP and FALKEN every step of the way, but also to the many fans throughout the world who cheered them on along the way.
 |
 |
 |
| "SUPER GT" | "Nürburgring 24h-Race" | "AMA Supercross" |
The "SUPER GT" is widely considered to be the pinnacle of Japanese racing. In this year’s tournament, "Modulo Nakajima Racing" placed 13th overall in the GT500 Class. Meanwhile, "R&D SPORT" placed 7th overall in the GT300 Class, followed by "GAINER (car No. 11)" in 11th Placa and "GAINER (car No. 10)" in 13th Place. In addition, Teams equipped with DUNLOP tire won the title of Series Champion in three classes at the "All Japan Gymkhana Championship", where racers competed for the best time by driving one by one on paved racecourses in four classes at the "All Japan Dirt Trial Championship", where racers competed for the best time by drifting on unpaved racecourses; and in three classes of the "All Japan Rally Championship", where racers competed for the best total time on racecourses composed of closed-off public roads.
This was also a big year for Team FALKEN Motorsports, who finished in 10th Place overall at the "Nürburgring 24h-Race", which is widely considered to be the world’s toughest endurance race. This means Team FALKEN Motorsports has now finished in the Top 10 at the Nürburgring 24h-Race for ten straigh years, keeping up a streak that started in 2014.
At the same time, thanks to our proven track record and reputation for providing high-performance tires, the Sumitomo Rubber Group had the great honor of supplying one-make tires for several two-wheel and four-wheel racing tournaments, including tires for such entry-level formula racing tournaments as the "Formula Regional Japanese Championship" and the "FIA-F4 Championship", as well as tires for the Moto2 and Moto3 Classes at the "FIM World Championship Grand Prix", which is widely considered to be the pinnacle of international motorcycle racing. We are proud to have had this opportunity to directly support competitors and competitions from the point where the vehicle meets the road. For the "All Japan Karting Championship", we have supplied DUNLOP racing tires made of sustainable raw materials accounting for 43% since the 3rd round of the EV category to contribute to the sustainable motorsports.
Through our ongoing motorsports activities, the Sumitomo Rubber Group will continue working to bring the thrill of racing to more and more people around the world while constantly stepping up the development of tires toward the higher brand value.
■ 2023 Results: DUNLOP Motorsports Activities (4W)
SUPER GT
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Driver |
Ranking |
|
GT500 |
Modulo Nakajima Racing |
Honda NSX-GT |
Takuya Izawa |
13th |
|
Kakunoshin Ota |
||||
|
GT300 |
R&D SPORT |
SUBARU BRZ GT300 |
Takuto Iguchi |
7th |
|
Hideki Yamauchi |
||||
|
GAINER |
NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 |
Ryuichiro Tomita |
11th |
|
|
Keishi Ishikawa |
||||
|
Yusuke Shiotsu |
||||
|
NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 |
Hironobu Yasuda |
13th |
||
|
Riki Okusa |
||||
|
SHADE RACING |
TOYOTA GR 86 GT |
Katsuyuki Hiranaka |
15th |
|
|
Eishiro Shimizu |
||||
|
Shinnosuke Yamada |
||||
|
K-tunes Racing |
LEXUS RC F GT3 |
Morio Nitta |
16th |
|
|
Shinichi Takagi |
||||
|
LM corsa |
TOYOTA GR Supra GT |
Hiroki Yoshimoto |
18th |
|
|
Shunsuke Kohno |
All Japan Rally Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Driver |
Ranking |
|
JN-1 |
Rally Team AICELLO |
Skoda Fabia R5 |
Heikki Kovalainen |
1st |
|
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing |
TOYOTA GR YARIS Rally2 |
Norihiko Katsuta |
2nd |
|
|
SUBARU RALLY CHALLENGE |
SUBARU WRX S4 |
Takuma Kamada |
4th |
|
|
JN5 |
TERZO MARUMURA RALLY TEAM |
TOYOTA YARIS |
Takuro Matsukura |
1st |
|
JN6 |
Toyota Industries Corporation Racing Team |
TOYOTA AQUA GR SPORT |
Tomoyuki Amano |
1st |
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Co-driver |
Ranking |
|
JN-1 |
Rally Team AICELLO |
Skoda Fabia R5 |
Sae Kitagawa |
1st |
|
JN5 |
AISIN RALLY TEAM with LUCK |
TOYOTA GR YARIS RS |
Koji Toyota |
1st |
|
JN6 |
Toyota Industries Corporation Racing Team |
TOYOTA AQUA GR SPORT |
Yukiko Inoue |
1st |
All Japan Gymkhana Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Driver |
Ranking |
|
PN1 |
TEAM ETOILE |
TOYOTA YARIS |
Takashi Asayama |
1st |
|
PN2 |
Obelisk Racing Team |
MAZDA ROADSTER |
Tadashi Kawakita |
1st |
|
PN3 |
Kanetsu Sports Club |
MAZDA ROADSTER |
Takahiro Nojima |
2nd |
|
PN4 |
T.ASSIST |
TOYOTA GR YARIS |
Shigeki Kayano |
1st |
|
BC1 |
Okinawa Exciting Motor Sports Club |
SUZUKI SWIFT |
Jun Takae |
7th |
|
BC3 |
TEAM URGENT |
TOYOTA GR YARIS |
Shinji Tsugawa |
2nd |
All Japan Dirt Trial Championship
|
Class |
Vehicle |
Driver |
Ranking |
|
SUZUKI SWIFT |
Shigeo Noir |
1st |
|
|
PN2 |
SUZUKI SWIFT |
Takayasu Nakajima |
1st |
|
N |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION X |
Norifumi Hojo |
1st |
|
D |
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE |
Yuya Sumiyama |
2nd |
|
SUBARU BRZ |
Takuma Kamada |
10th |
|
|
SA1 |
SUZUKI SWIFT |
Tomoya Hosoki |
1st |
|
SA2 |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION X |
Kazuhiro Kitamura |
2nd |
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR86/BRZ Cup
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Driver |
Ranking |
|
Professional |
OTG Motor Sports |
TOYOTA GR86 |
Togo Suganami |
3rd |
|
TOYOTA GR86 |
Remei Ito |
16th |
||
|
TOYOTA GR86 |
Ryo Ogawa |
18th |
||
|
TOYOTA GR86 |
Naoki Hattori |
- |
||
|
RECARO RACING TEAM |
SUBARU BRZ |
Takashi Kogure |
- |
FIA-F4 JAPANESE CHALLENGE
|
Team |
Driver |
Ranking |
|
OTG Motor SPORTS |
Yuto Nozawa |
- |
■ 2023 Results: FALKEN Motorsports Activities (4W)
Nürburgring 24h-Race (Official Name: ADAC TOTAL 24-Hour Race)
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Driver |
Ranking |
|
SP9(FIA-GT3) |
FALKEN Motorsports |
Porsche 911 GT3R |
Joel Eriksson |
10th |
|
Tim Heinemann |
||||
|
Nico Menzel |
||||
|
Martin Ragginger |
||||
|
Porsche 911 GT3R |
Klaus Bachler |
- |
||
|
Sven Müller |
||||
|
Alessio Picariello |
||||
|
Nico Menzel |
||||
|
SP4T |
SUBARU TECNICA INTERNATIONAL |
SUBARU WRX NBR CHALLENGE 2023 |
Carlo van Dam |
80th Overall |
|
Tim Schrick |
||||
|
Hideki Yamauchi |
||||
|
Takuto Iguchi |
■ 2023 Results: DUNLOP Motorsports Activities (2W)
[Road Racing World Championships]
FIM Endurance World Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
EWC |
BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM |
BMW |
Markus Reiterberger |
3rd |
|
Illya Mykhalchyk |
||||
|
Jeremy Guarnoni |
||||
|
KM99 |
YAMAHA |
Bastien Mackels |
10th |
|
|
Lucas Mahias |
||||
|
Florian Marino |
[Off-Road Racing World Championships]
Motocross World Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
MXGP |
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP |
KAWASAKI |
Romain Febvre |
2nd |
|
Mitch Evans |
16th |
|||
|
Standing Construct Honda MXGP |
HONDA |
Brian Bogers |
15th |
|
|
Pauls Jonass |
19th |
[National Road Racing Tournaments]
All Japan Road Race Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
JSB1000 |
TONE RT SYNCEDGE4413 BMW |
BMW |
Tomoya Hoshino |
21st |
|
Waveinn-R |
YAMAHA |
Shinichi Nakatomi |
27th |
|
|
J-GP3 |
Team P.MU 7C |
HONDA |
Hiroki Ono |
1st |
|
Aoi Uezu |
8th |
[National Off-Road Racing Tournaments]
AMA Supercross Championship (USA)
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
450SX |
Factory HRC Honda |
HONDA |
Chase Sexton |
1st |
|
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
YAMAHA |
Eli Tomac |
2nd |
|
|
Factory Red Bull KTM |
KTM |
Cooper Webb |
3rd |
|
|
HEP Motorsports Suzuki |
SUZUKI |
Ken Roczen |
4th |
|
|
Red Bull Troy Lee Designs GASGAS Factory Racing Team |
GASGAS |
Justin Barcia |
5th |
|
|
Monster Energy Kawasaki |
KAWASAKI |
Jason Anderson |
6th |
|
|
Factory Red Bull KTM |
KTM |
Aaron Plessinger |
7th |
|
|
Monster Energy Kawasaki |
KAWASAKI |
Adam Cianciarulo |
9th |
|
|
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna |
HUSQVARNA |
Christian Craig |
12th |
|
|
Factory HRC Honda |
HONDA |
Colt Nichols |
14th |
|
|
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
YAMAHA |
Justin Cooper |
22nd |
|
|
Dylan Ferrandis |
25th |
|||
|
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna |
HUSQVARNA |
Malcolm Stewart |
32nd |
|
|
Factory Red Bull KTM |
KTM |
Marvin Musquin |
34th |
|
|
250SX |
Factory HRC Honda |
HONDA |
Jett Lawrence |
1st |
|
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna |
HUSQVARNA |
RJ Hampshire |
2nd |
|
|
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
YAMAHA |
Levi Kitchen |
3rd |
|
|
Factory Red Bull KTM |
KTM |
Max Vohland |
6th |
|
|
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki |
KAWASAKI |
Cameron McAdoo |
7th |
|
|
Red Bull Troy Lee Designs GASGAS Factory Racing Team |
GASGAS |
Pierce Brown |
8th |
|
|
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
YAMAHA |
Stilez Robertson |
13th |
|
|
250SX |
Factory HRC Honda |
HONDA |
Hunter Lawrence |
1st |
|
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
YAMAHA |
Haiden Deegan |
2nd |
|
|
Jordon Smith |
4th |
|||
|
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki |
KAWASAKI |
Chris Blose |
5th |
|
|
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
YAMAHA |
Nate Thrasher |
7th |
|
|
Factory Red Bull KTM |
KTM |
Tom Vialle |
8th |
|
|
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki |
KAWASAKI |
Jo Shimoda |
13th |
|
|
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna |
HUSQVARNA |
Talon Hawkins |
14th |
|
|
Red Bull Troy Lee Designs GASGAS Factory Racing Team |
GASGAS |
Michael Mosiman |
19th |
|
|
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki |
KAWASAKI |
Seth Hammaker |
- |
|
|
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna |
HUSQVARNA |
Jalek Swoll |
- |
AMA Pro Motocross (USA)
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
450 |
Team Honda HRC |
HONDA |
Jett Lawrence |
1st |
|
250 |
Team Honda HRC |
HONDA |
Hunter Lawrence |
1st |
All Japan Motocross Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
IA1 |
YAMAHA FACTORY INNOVATION TEAM |
YAMAHA |
Jay Wilson |
1st |
|
Team Kawasaki R&D |
KAWASAKI |
Chihiro Notsuka |
7th |
|
|
TEAM HAMMER |
HONDA |
Makoto Ogata |
9th |
|
|
YAMAHA FACTORY INNOVATION TEAM |
YAMAHA |
Asato Machida |
16th |
All Japan Trials Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
IAS |
TEAM MITANI Honda |
HONDA |
Tomoyuki Ogawa |
1st |
|
Seiya Ujikawa |
2nd |
|||
|
YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM |
YAMAHA |
Kenichi Kuroyama |
3rd |
|
|
Team NOZAKI YAMALUBE YAMAHA |
YAMAHA |
Fumitaka Nozaki |
4th |
Japan Enduro Championship
|
Class |
Team |
Vehicle |
Rider |
Ranking |
|
IA |
BIVOUAC OSAKA with RG3 Racing |
GASGAS |
Yoshikazu Hosaka |
3rd |
 |