It’s that time of the week again: time for us to look at the past teams that made an exit from the sport of Formula One, having scored no points. This week, we remember Kojima Engineering.
Kojima Engineering was a small Formula One team founded by Matsuhisa Kojima, banana import tycoon and motorsport enthusiast. Kojima began in the motorsport world entering Formula Two cars into races in Japan.
The team’s Formula One life began when Kojima was given a deal on Dunlop tyres for the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix. Kojima hired some mechanics from the defunct Maki team and the team designed the KE007 chassis. The former members of the Maki team helped get Kojima an entry into the Japanese Grand Prix and provided a Cosworth engine.
The car was tested extensively by Masahiro Hasemi, a Japanese Formula Two driver, during the fall and was ready in time for the Japanese Grand Prix. Hasemi and the car performed very well, with Hasemi setting a qualifying time in the top five. However, Hasemi crashed the car in the second qualifying session and the car needed to practically be rebuilt for the event.
Despite the early setback, the team was able to start in P10 on the grid, but tyre issues saw him finish in P11. However, it was a big win for the team who were awarded the fastest lap of the race. However, the celebrations were short lived as the circuit later revealed that it was a timing mistake and that Jacques Laffite was indeed the fastest driver.
Plans to enter into some of the 1977 races in South America were never put into action, although the team again entered into the Japanese Grand Prix that season. This year the team hired local driver Noritake Takahara and designed a brand new KE009 chassis. The team also provided a car to Heros Racing at the same event.
The Bridgestone tyres provided to the team performed poorly and allowed Takahara to only start in P19. His race was cut short after only one lap, as he was involved with a collision between Mario Andretti and Hans Binder.
The team planned to enter the Japanese Grand Prix in 1978, but the event was cancelled and removed from the Formula One schedule. Kojima continued as a Formula Two entry participating in Japanese events.
Points are a difficult thing to obtain in Formula One. In this weekly series, we will look back the past teams who gave it their all, but fell short.
Points are a difficult thing to obtain in Formula One. In this weekly series, we will look back the past teams who gave it their all, but fell short.
