to fail to pre-qualify in the face of the newer generations of GT1 cars in the following year. SARD also entered a Toyota Supra in first two years of the MC8-R program where it faced against fellow Japanese GT machines in form of Nissan Skyline GT-R and Honda NSX, the latter which also raced in and won the GT2 class in 1995. SARD continued to compete in the JGTC and Super GT series with works-backed Toyotas and Lexuses; the team currently fields a Toyota GR Supra under the Toyota Team SARD name. In 2016, SARD won its first-ever Super GT championship with a Lexus RC F driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Kohei Hirate. In 2006, SARD competed in the 24 Hours of Tokachi, a Super Taikyu race, with a hybrid powered Lexus GS450h finishing 4th in class and 17th overall. For the following year, SARD took their Super GT specification Supra out of retirement, installed a hybrid version of its Super GT 3UZ-FE engine, giving out and of torque. The Supra, rechristened as the Denso SARD Supra HV-R and driven by series regulars André Couto, Akira Iida, Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Tatsuya Kataoka 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. SARD planned to take part in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season with a LMP2-class prototype in association with Morand Racing, with plans for a future LMP1 entry. 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. Nevertheless, Morand continued to compete under the Team SARD Morand name during the 2015 season. Complete JGTC Results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) External links Super GT profile References 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