The team's entry in the Formula Nippon Championship

PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S
2009 Season
Team Profile

PETRONAS TEAM TOM'S - The right tune

Japan’s motorsports landscape would not be complete without the presence of the TOM’S team. Dominant in Japan’s formula and GT racing scene with an impressive list of accolades to its name, TOM’S is also a successful business in its own right.

The team’s history traces back more than three decades when former Toyota works drivers Nobuhide Tachi and Kiyoshi Oiwa decided to form the TOM’S Co. Ltd., in 1974 with the acronym TOM’S standing for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Both men were already engaged in the sales of performance accessories for the auto-racing scene through Toyota dealerships. 

Despite the onslaught of an oil crisis at the time, the company was able to produce a healthy profit margin in the development of motorsports for Toyota. Within a year of its establishment, Toyota Motor Corporation officially afforded TOM’S the recognition of being the manufacturer’s authorised tuning shop.

With the support of Toyota, the company commenced its motorsports activities the same year of its establishment. It would not be long before TOM’S started making waves with impressive results including a 6th place finish in the Japan round of the World Endurance Championship with the very first Japanese-made Group C car, the TOM’S Celica C in 1982.

Expanding its wings out of Japan, the company headed west to the UK to set up base for its European racing as well as parts and accessory activities in 1987. That same year TOM’S made its debut in the All Japan Championship under the name of Toyota Team TOM’S as the auto-manufacturer’s works team. Its success at home was matched in the UK when the team became the series champion in the British F3 championship the following year.

The momentum of TOM’S success carried on into the 1990s with more racing successes including a 2nd place finish in the LeMans 24hours. The list of championship accomplishments in the various championships includes an equally impressive list of the who’s who of the racing industry, including that of Tom Kristensen, Pedro de la Rosa, Tom Coronel and Adrian Sutil. Making its debut in the Japan GT Championship in 1995, it was not long before the team claimed its first title as the series champion in 1997.


The team is also actively involved in Toyota's TDP programme with drivers in the All Japan Formula 3 Championship

Having successfully cemented its position amongst Japan’s premier motorsports teams, TOM’S long racing history, impressive racing credential and successful performance accessories business attracted the interest of Malaysian Oil and Gas corporation PETRONAS in 2008.

The partnership was designed to meet the Malaysian corporation’s dual aim of matching a strategic business objective in Japan’s downstream lubricant market and brand positioning opportunities through the team’s sporting accomplishments. Partnering TOM’S to compete in Japan’s three main racing categories – Super GT Series, Formula Nippon Championship and the All Japan F3 Championship – the PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S was on the top step taking home the team champion title in the Super GT Series as well as winning the driver, team and tuner categories in the All Japan F3 Championship in the first year of the partnership in 2008.

Related:
- 2009 Formula Nippon Championship Driver Profile: Andre Lotterer
- 2009 Formula Nippon Championship Driver Profile: Kazuya Oshima
- 2009 Formula Nippon Championship - Part 1: Change is in the air - engine and chassis
- 2009 Formula Nippon Championship - Part 2: Change is in the air - overtaking system, tyres
- 2009 Formula Nippon Championship - Profile and Calendar

More on TOM’S Co. Ltd., - http://www.tomsracing.co.jp/
More on PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S – http://36toms.com