Kondo Racing is an automobile racing team founded, owned and headed by Masahiko Kondo. The operating body is MK Company Co., Ltd. MK is an abbreviation for Masahiko Kondo. The team competes in Super Formula as well as in Super GT in both the GT500 and GT300 classes.
History Kondo Racing was founded in 2000 by Japanese pop star Masahiko Kondo, also known as "Matchy". Kondo himself had raced for many years since the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. In 1998 Kondo launched "Masahiko Kondo Racing Project" together with Teams TMS, a team with which he raced at the time, to compete in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship in 1998 and 1999. While working to develop young drivers, Kondo himself learned how of run a racing team as a team manager. Based on that experience, in 2000 he established the "Kondo Racing Team" and began participating in Formula Nippon.
Super Formula In 2000, Kondo Racing began competing in Formula Nippon, the premier Japanese open-wheel series, and the team has continued racing in the series ever since, with the series having rebranded as Super Formula in 2013. Since 2006, Kondo Racing has raced with Toyota engines. The team has not won a drivers' championship title, but came second overall with Nick Cassidy in 2018 and with Sacha Fenestraz in 2022. Kenta Yamashita has been one of the long standing driver for Kondo's Super Formula, as he has competed since 2017 with one win to his name, along with couple of podiums. For 2024 Yamashita, paired once again with last season's driver Kazuto Kotaka.
Super GT – GT500 Kondo Racing entered Super GT in the top GT500 class with Nissan in 2006. From the first year, Yokohama Tire joined Kondo till now. Also with the introduction of a strong lineup of former F1 driver Eric Comas and Nissan's own driver Masataka Yanagida. Since there was no data available, the first priority was to develop tires. Comas temporarily withdrew due to back pain and was replaced by Seiji Ara. Although Comas returned for the sixth race, he was unable to regain his form and was forced to stay out for the rest of the season, leaving Ara to team up with Yanagida until the final race. In the final race, he fought for 2nd place with some help from his machine, and then finished in 3rd place, earning his long-awaited first podium. Throughout the years the team has won several races, but has never been a serious championship contender.
Super GT – GT300 Since 2012, it has been participating in the Super Taikyu together with five Nissan Automobile College schools (Tochigi, Yokohama, Aichi, Kyoto, and Ehime). Kondo Racing also participated in the Nürburgring 24 endurance race with a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, marking the team’s first overseas competition. Kondo’s Nurburgring 24 driver lineup was Tsugio Matsuda, Mitsunori Takaboshi, Tomonobu Fujii and Tom Coronel.
In 2019, Kondo Racing entered the GT300 class of Super GT with Kazuki Hiramine and Sacha Fenestraz as their drivers in the class in the second-generation Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. The pair came close to winning the fourth round in Buriram, battling for the win until the final lap, but ultimately finished second.
In 2020, Kondo Racing won its first titles in the category with the driver pairing of Kiyoto Fujinami & João Paulo de Oliveira. After being in title contention again in 2021, the team returned to the top of the standings in 2022, clinching the titles after their main rivals lost a decisive position on the final lap of the last race. For 2023, de Oliveira stayed with the team, while Fujinami was replaced by Teppei Natori after he was reportedly involved in a physical altercation with another driver in the smaller Vita Pro series.
Nürburgring 24 Hours
Race results Complete Super GT results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year CarTyres Class No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 Pos Points 2006 Nissan Fairlady Z GT500 24 Masataka Yanagida Érik Comas Seiji AraSUZOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZMOTAUTFUJ 12th 33 2007 Nissan Fairlady Z GT500 24 João Paulo de Oliveira Seiji AraSUZOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZMOTAUTFUJ 12th 47 2008 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 João Paulo de Oliveira Seiji AraSUZOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZMOTAUTFUJ 11th 56 2009 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 João Paulo de Oliveira Seiji AraOKASUZFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJAUTMOT7th69 2010 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 João Paulo de Oliveira Hironobu YasudaSUZOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJMOTNC1NC210th482011Nissan GT-RGT50024 Hironobu Yasuda Björn WirdheimOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJAUTMOTNC1NC2 11th 50 2012 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 Hironobu Yasuda Björn WirdheimOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJAUTMOTNC1NC2 14th 38 2013 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 Hironobu Yasuda Michael KrummOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJAUTMOTNC1NC2 13th 32 2014 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 Michael Krumm Daiki SasakiOKAFUJAUTSUGFUJSUZBURMOT 8th 512015Nissan GT-RGT50024 Daiki Sasaki Lucas Ordóñez Michael KrummOKAFUJCHAFUJSUZSUGAUTMOT12th432016Nissan GT-RGT50024 Daiki Sasaki Masataka YanagidaOKAFUJSUGFUJSUZCHAMOTMOT7th57 2017 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 Daiki Sasaki João Paulo de OliveiraOKAFUJAUTSUGFUJSUZCHAMOT 14th 24 2018 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 João Paulo de Oliveira Mitsunori TakaboshiOKAFUJSUZCHAFUJSUGAUTMOT12th42 2019 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 Mitsunori Takaboshi Jann MardenboroughOKAFUJSUZBURFUJAUTSUGMOTNC1NC2 13th 34Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3GT30056 Kazuki Hiramine Sacha FenestrazOKAFUJSUZBURFUJAUTSUGMOTNC1NC25th69 2020 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 Mitsunori Takaboshi Jann MardenboroughFUJFUJSUZMOTFUJSUZMOTFUJ15th19Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3GT30056 Kiyoto Fujinami João Paulo de OliveiraFUJFUJSUZMOTFUJSUZMOTFUJ1st95 2021 Nissan GT-R GT500 24 Mitsunori Takaboshi Daiki SasakiOKAFUJMOTSUZSUGAUTMOTFUJ13th40Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3GT30056 Kiyoto Fujinami João Paulo de OliveiraOKAFUJMOTSUZSUGAUTMOTFUJ2nd77 2022 Nissan Z GT500 24 Daiki Sasaki Kohei HirateOKAFUJSUZFUJSUZSUGAUTMOT 10th 46Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3GT30056 Kiyoto Fujinami João Paulo de OliveiraOKAFUJSUZFUJSUZSUGAUTMOT1st74.52023Nissan ZGT50024 Daiki Sasaki Kohei HirateOKAFUJSUZFUJSUZSUGAUTMOT 15th 25Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3GT30056 João Paulo de Oliveira Teppei NatoriOKAFUJSUZFUJSUZSUGAUTMOT3rd702024Nissan ZGT50024 Tsugio Matsuda Teppei NatoriOKAFUJSUZFUJSUGAUTMOTSUZ 14th 22Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3GT30056 Daiki Sasaki João Paulo de OliveiraOKAFUJSUZFUJSUGAUTMOTSUZ6th492025Nissan ZGT50024 Tsugio Matsuda Teppei NatoriOKAFUJSEPFS1FS2SUZSUGAUTMOT15th35.5Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3GT30056 Kohei Hirate João Paulo de Oliveira Yu KanamaruOKAFUJSEPFS1FS2SUZSUGAUTMOT2nd106 ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.
Note: Non-championship races (NC1, NC2) are major races that do not count towards the championship.
Complete Japanese Top Formula racing results
Source:
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Chassis EngineTyres No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112 D.C. Pts T.C. PtsFormula Nippon 2000 Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 3 Masahiko KondoSUZMOTMINFUJSUZSUGMOTFUJMINSUZ 15th 010th0G-Force GF034 Takeshi TsuchiyaSUZMOTMINFUJSUZSUGMOTFUJMINSUZ21st0 2001 Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 3 Yuji TachikawaSUZMOTMINFUJSUZSUGFUJMINMOTSUZ3rd30 5th 34 4 Katsutomo KaneishiSUZMOTMINFUJSUZSUGFUJMINMOTSUZ13th4 2002 Reynard 99L Mugen MF308 3 Seiji AraSUZFUJMINSUZMOTSUGFUJMINMOTSUZ11th37th3Reynard 99LReynard 2KL4 Katsutomo KaneishiSUZFUJMINSUZMOTSUGFUJMINMOTSUZ 7th 11 2003 Lola B03/51 Mugen MF308 3 Yuji TachikawaSUZFUJMINMOTSUZSUGFUJMINMOTSUZ 18th 0 10th 0 4 Dominik SchwagerSUZFUJMINMOTSUZSUGFUJMINMOTSUZ 16th 0 2004 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 3 Ryō MichigamiSUZSUGMOTSUZSUGMINSEPMOTSUZ 10th 7 6th 10 4 Yuji TachikawaSUZSUGMOTSUZSUGMINSEPMOTSUZ 14th 3 2005 Lola B3/51 Mugen MF308 3 Sakon YamamotoMOTSUZSUGFUJSUZMINFUJMOTSUZ 10th 9 4th 21 4 Jaroslav JanišMOTSUZSUG 14th 0 Ronnie QuintarelliFUJSUZMINFUJMOTSUZ9th12 2006 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J 3 Sakon YamamotoFUJSUZMOT 11th 3.5 10th 4.5 Seiji AraSUZAUTFUJSUGMOTSUZ20th0 4 Masataka YanagidaFUJSUZMOTSUZAUTFUJSUGMOTSUZ 15th 1 2007 Lola FN06 Toyota RV8J 3 Masataka YanagidaFUJSUZMOTOKASUZFUJSUGMOTSUZ 19th 0 7th 18 4 João Paulo de OliveiraFUJSUZMOTOKASUZFUJSUGMOTSUZ8th18 2008 Lola FN06 Honda HF386E 3 Naoki YokomizoFUJSUZMOTOKASUZSUZMOTMOTFUJFUJSUG12th12 5th 44 4 João Paulo de OliveiraFUJSUZMOTOKASUZSUZMOTMOTFUJFUJSUG 6th 33 2010 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K 3 Tsugio MatsudaSUZMOTFUJMOTSUGAUTSUZSUZFUJ‡FUJ‡ 15th 1 9th 1 2011 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K 3 Andrea CaldarelliSUZAUTFUJMOTSUZSUGMOTMOTFUJ‡ 16th 0 11th 0 2012 Swift 017.n Toyota RV8K 3 Hironobu YasudaSUZMOTAUTFUJMOTSUGSUZSUZFUJ‡ 14th 0 10th 0 Super Formula 2013 Swift SF13 Toyota RV8K 3 Hironobu YasudaSUZAUTFUJMOTSUGSUZSUZFUJ‡ 14th 3.5 9th 3.5 2014 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A 3 James RossiterSUZFUJFUJFUJMOTAUTSUGSUZSUZ 6th 22 5th 22 2015 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A 3 James RossiterSUZOKAFUJMOTAUTSUGSUZSUZ 12th 5 8th 5 4 William BullerSUZOKAFUJMOTAUTSUGSUZSUZ 19th 0 2016 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A 3 James RossiterSUZOKAFUJMOTOKAOKASUGSUZSUZ 10th 12 8th 12 4 William BullerSUZOKAFUJMOTOKAOKASUGSUZSUZ 19th 0 2017 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A 3 Nick CassidySUZOKAOKAFUJMOTAUTSUG SUZ SUZ 10th 8 7th 12.5 4 Kenta YamashitaSUZOKAOKAFUJMOTAUTSUG SUZ SUZ 11th 6.5 2018 Dallara SF14 Toyota RI4A 3 Nick CassidySUZAUTSUGFUJMOTOKASUZ 2nd 37 1st 47.5 4 Kenta YamashitaSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTOKASUZ 9th 11.5 2019 Dallara SF19 Toyota RI4A 3 Kenta YamashitaSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTOKASUZ 5th 21 6th 25 4 Yuji KunimotoSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTOKASUZ 17th 5 2020 Dallara SF19 Toyota RI4A 3 Kenta YamashitaMOTSUGAUTSUZSUZFUJ 7th 34 6th 46 Sena SakaguchiOKA NC 04 Sacha FenestrazMOTOKASUGAUTSUZSUZFUJ 13th 19 2021 Dallara SF19 Toyota RI4A 3 Kenta YamashitaFUJSUZAUTSUGMOTMOTSUZ 14th 8 9th 12 4 Yuichi NakayamaFUJSUZAUTSUGMOT 23rd 0 Sacha FenestrazMOTSUZ17th42022Dallara SF19Toyota RI4A3 Kenta YamashitaFUJFUJSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTMOTSUZSUZ 15th 193rd994 Sacha FenestrazFUJFUJSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTMOTSUZSUZ2nd892023Dallara SF23Toyota TRD-01F3 Kenta YamashitaFUJFUJSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTSUZSUZ 8th 326th424 Kazuto KotakaFUJFUJSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTSUZSUZ 15th 102024Dallara SF23Toyota TRD-01F3 Kenta YamashitaSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTFUJFUJSUZSUZ7th48.56th504 Kazuto KotakaSUZAUTSUGFUJMOTFUJFUJSUZSUZ14th4.52025Dallara SF23Toyota TRD-01F3 Kenta YamashitaSUZSUZMOTMOTAUTFUJFUJSUGFUJSUZSUZSUZ11th27.57th29.54 Zak O'SullivanSUZSUZMOTMOTAUTFUJFUJSUGFUJSUZSUZSUZ15th7 ‡ Non-championship round, with no points awarded.
24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Entrant Car Drivers Class Laps Kondo Racing 9 Dome S101 Masahiko Kondo Ian McKellar Jr. François Migault LMP900 182 DNF DNF Kondo Racing 9 Dome S101 Ryo Fukuda Ukyo Katayama Masahiko Kondo LMP900 322 13th 8th Kondo Racing 9 Dome S101 Ryo Fukuda Hiroki Katoh Ryo Michigami LMP1 206 DNF DNF
24 Hours of Nürburgring results Year Entrant No. Car Drivers Class Laps 2025 Realize Kondo Racing with Rinaldi 45 Ferrari 296 GT3 Felipe Fernández Laser Axcil Jefferies Thomas Neubauer David Perel SP9 Pro 115 DNF DNF 2026 Realize Kondo Racing with Rinaldi 45 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo Dennis Marschall Thomas Neubauer David Perel Thierry Vermeulen SP9 Pro 14 DNF DNF
References
External links