The Lamborghini, with its unique impressive Italian design, has been an indispensable star in the entrant lineup since the establishment of the JGTC, not only for Italian car fans, but as a competitor and rival for the other teams in the series. The presence of such beautiful cars adds immensely to the gaiety of the event. Spectators gasp in awe of the sleek machines when they see them. But competing in the GT500 class is most trying for the Lamborghini team as they are battling against a field comprised of mainly of works teams or teams supported by works. Nevertheless, that is the team where you'll always find its members smiling and cheerful as they battle for victory... Team JLOC, the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club.

Round 5 Fuji in 2002

"Our team is based on the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club, an organization established in 1988," commented Masahiko Mearashi, one of the team founders and man in charge of the team's public relations. "Those club members interested in motor sports wanted to race Lamborghinis in a series, and so the planning was implemented. The instigators, Teruaki Terai and me." The year was 1993, one year before the start of the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC).

The group located the chassis of an old Lamborghini Countach and decided that, with a bit of work and TLC (tender loving care) it could be brought in to racing form. Terai and Mearashi planned to reinforce the chassis and rebuild it with FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) bodywork. But they had no support from the Italian constructor or the financial backup of a major sponsor. It seemed certain that they wouldn't be able to complete the car before the opening race of the JGTC Series. Suddenly, out of the blue, a savior appeared, in the for of ART SPORT, a foreign car import and sales company, graciously provided the club with a Countach for the project. As a consequence, Terai and Mearashi diligently promoted their plan and began working to make the car ready for the first race.

They started by removing all the luxurious interior equipment and accessories and stripping off unnecessary components in order to reduce the car's weight, but it was still much too heavy for racing. Yet another concern was the powertrain; the engine, gearbox and differential were all standard road-use equipment. Even so, they were determined to be ready for the opening race of the series, and accordingly, simultaneously began putting together their team. They approached Isao Noritake, president of the Owners Club, and upon his consent to be team director, Team JLOC was born.

"At the beginning, we were really working at the amateur level, " reflected Mearashi.

The team's Lamborghini was far from what could be considered a full-racing version, but at the time the JGTC was initially started, car performance was not as high as it is today and the level of competition during the races was not nearly as fierce.

First Podium Finish at Suzuka 1000km

1996's Machine

The level of competition for the championship rose quickly, however, and soon the team, earnestly wanting to fight for victories, approached the manufacturer and requested them to construct a racecar.

"Lamborghini usually doesn't accept such request, but they did accept ours. I believe that much of the decision was due to the excellent relationship that had been built between our club and the manufacturer. Lamborghini is not a big constructor like Porsche or Ferrari, and they had to stop production in their factory for the expressed purpose of building our car. As a result, the chassis of our racecar was stamped with a Lamborghini production line serial number."

The machine built for them was the Lamborghini Diablo Jota. The team raced the car in the 1995 and 1996 seasons. But during this period, they also experienced a most saddening tragedy: Terai died of cancer in August 1995.

Having a racing version of the car personally built by the Italian constructor was indeed a Godsend of sorts, but Team JLOC still had a number of problems, two of them being a lack of spare parts and a budget insufficient to support continued development. Furthermore, Lamborghini has no experience in racing.

"We were fortunate that the Constructor had taken part in Formula 1 as an engine supplier at one time, and the technicians that built the F1 engines assembled our engine as well, so it was quite powerful," recollected Mearashi.

1999's Machine

In contrast, the popularity of the JGTC began rising rapidly and Japanese constructors were quick to increase their presence and budgets. Consequently, the Japanese make cars running in the JGTC, especially in the GT500 class, became more sophisticated and performance began improving with every race, placing Team JLOC and their Lamborghini in a tough position to fight for wins.

Giving up, however, was not in the team's forecast of the future. In order to make up for their lack of know-how and funding, JLOC sent the JGTC regulations, which are quite unique compared to those of other GT series around the world, to the Italian constructor, and in 1997, Lamborghini constructed a new racecar: its name, the Lamborghini Diablo GTR.

"This was the second machine that we asked them to build for us. It was kind of an order-made racecar. Again, the only reason Lamborghini produced it was our good relationship...," commented Mearashi humbly. "For this reason, our car is a very unique. It's a Lamborghini-made racecar that you can find only in Japan," he exclaimed with pride and delight. (Mearashi and his teammates are first and foremost Lamborghini enthusiasts.)

2001's Machine

In 2000, the team accomplished a splendid feat, finishing third in the Suzuka 1000km event using the Diablo GT1, evolved from further development of the GTR and first introduced in 1998. The driver trio, Naohiro Furuya, Tsuyoshi Takahashi and Hisashi Wada, drove the GT1 hard and clenched the team's first podium finish. This is the best result the team has obtained to date, and they are looking to repeat it or even better it in a JGTC race.

Looking back on the August endurance race, Mearashi spoke, "Everybody cried for joy. We became to understand that we can do it if we try."

2002Driver Apicella & Wada, Center is Mr.Mearashi

The team has continued to fight hard in the JGTC Series ever since. In 2001, a new version of the Diablo, the JGT-1, was introduced. Drastic changes in chassis and suspension design were made while being sure to maintain alterations to within the limits of the JGTC technical regulations. Although based on the previous year's GT1, some of the design work for the new car was carried out in Japan.

"We were anticipating good performance, and we opted to bring a quick Italian driver on board."
(Marco Apicella joined the team from the 2001 season.)

"Noritake-san and his wife know Italian culture very well."

Diabro's Driver, Marco Apicella

"This is not a works team, but private, small team compared to the other JGTC competitors," pointed out Apicella during an interview. "Of course, we try hard to get good results, but we seem to have problems most of the time at the moment. This championship is very competitive, and in this environment, I think the ideas of Noritake-san are good. The team is looking towards taking steps forward, and I'm here because he thinks the help of a professional driver will be able to assist in that big step of aiming for the top.
We are all trying to push this, and we all hope to get good results. It's frustrating when there are problems with the car. If you ask any driver, 'Which do you prefer, the Ferrari or the Minardi?', all drivers will say, 'The Ferrari.' But this is my job. Mr. Noritake asked me to drive and I'm doing my job here.
The atmosphere of the team is very good. As I said before, this is not a factory team where everybody concentrates on work and friendship is not so high. This team is the opposite. The work level is not the same as the works teams, but on the other side, we eat very good yakiniku all night! (laughing)
Noritake-san and his wife have made trips to Italy many times, so they know the Italian culture very well. I try to explain it to all the other people because I am also here to represent Italy."

Right:Mr.Noritake,and Marco

Hisashi Wada is also a long-time Lamborghini fan, and has a special kind of relationship with Italian culture.
"I think Noritake-san is a very courageous person to promote this team. He sometimes goes to the Italian restaurant that my elder brother owns," said Wada. "I love Lamborghini's, especially the Miura. I have admired it since my childhood. This team is so different from others because the members are strong-willed, yet a truly friendly atmosphere is maintained. In 2000, we finished in 3rd and were on the podium at the Suzuka 1000km race. It's rare to be on the podium with a Lamborghini. I think the last time before us was Aguri Suzuki in the F1 Japanese GP in 1990, when he finished 3rd in a car powered by a Lamborghini engine. So it really is very rare. We aim is to finish on the podium in the JGTC."

"In 2-3 years' time, we want to challenge the Le Mans 24 Hours."

The team leaders Noritake and Mearashi have a common goal, the desire to attain greater achievements in the future. Both men sat at our sides smiling contently throughout the interview. The following is a mixture of their comments.
"The high level of competition among the works teams is good. That is a part of motor racing. But we don't believe that that is all racing is about. There is another part of motor sports that you'd better have, 'fun.' That is our philosophy.
We are trying our best, but it's very hard for a private team like ours to keep running in the JGTC, especially in the GT500 class where car development evolves so quickly, best laps improving by two seconds every year. Of course, since we are taking part in the competition, we want to win and that is our aim.
Someone once asked, 'Why a Lamborghini? Why not another car, like a Porsche?' If we chose a Porsche, it would be quick and possibly much easier to run as a result of its proven reliability. But for us, the idea is meaningless. We want to compete with a Lamborghini. In 2-3 years, we want to challenge the Le Mans 24 Hours, of course, with a Lamborghini.."

In closing, Mearashi added, "I have to realize it. It's a promise that I made to Terai."

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