Dome (constructor)
Encyclopedia
, literally "child's dream", is a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese-based racing car constructor, involved mainly in open wheel and sports car racing
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....

.

Background

In 1965 Minoru Hayashi built his first racing car, a rebodied Honda S600
Honda S600
The Honda S600 is an automobile manufactured by Honda. It was launched in March 1964. It was the first Honda car to be offered in two versions: as a roadster – bearing strong resemblance to the Honda S500 – and as a fastback coupé , introduced in March 1965...

 coupe. Belonging to Tojiro Ukiya, it was called the "Karasu" (crow in Japanese), due to its shape. Built on a small budget and in a short time, the Karasau emphasized weight reduction and aerodynamics using FRP materials. The car went on to win its debut race at the Suzuka Clubman Race, despite Hayashi having no experience in racecar construction. In 1966 he went on to build the Macransa, a more extensivey modified Honda S800
Honda S800
The S800 is a sports car from Honda. Introduced at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, the S800 would replace the successful Honda S600 as the company's image car and would compete with the Austin-Healey Sprite, MG Midget, Triumph Spitfire and Fiat 850 Spider....

 to compete at the Japanese Grand Prix
Japanese Grand Prix
The is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Traditionally one of the last, if not the last race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-deciding races, with 13 World Champions being crowned over the 27 World Championship Japanese...

, this was followed by the "Kusabi" three years later, which was a Formula Junior
Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI . The class was intended to provide an entry level class where you could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles...

 racing car, and the "Panic" in 1971.

In 1975 at Takaragaike, Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, Hayashi formed Dome with an intention to manufacture cars with small production runs, using racing machines to develop the technology. Three years after the company's formation in 1978, the company produced its first concept car designed for road use called the Dome Zero
Dome Zero
The was a prototype sportscar from DOME Co. Ltd that was exhibited at the 48th Geneva Auto Show. The 'Dome Project', started by Minoru Hayashi in 1975, had the goal of producing small volume sports cars using knowledge gained from his racing exploits...

 (童夢-零) powered by a Nissan L28 engine and made its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show of the same year. For the following year, Dome produced the production version of the Zero called the Dome P2, which was exhibited at Chicago Auto Show
Chicago Auto Show
The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Placeconvention complex. It is among the largest auto shows in North America....

 and Los Angeles Auto Expo. However, the car was refused type approval by the Japanese Government and was unable to go into production.

Dome continued as a sportscar constructor building cars for Toyota's motorsport department Tom's
TOM'S
is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing...

 to compete in the All Japan Super Silhouette Championship, then later using Group C
Group C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....

 cars at the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship
All Japan Sports Prototype Championship
The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japanese Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing in its earlier years...

 which was also used to compete in the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...

 until the end of the decade when Dome switched to Honda.

Minoru Hayashi would also assist his cousin Masakazu Hayashi establish his own formula car manufacturing concern (Masakazu of the self-named Hayashi aluminum wheel company). After producing cars for Japan's Formula Junior 1600 category for 10 years, the first F3 car was the Hayashi 803 Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...

 car, designed by the two Hayashi cousins. That was followed by the Hayashi 320 in 1981 designed by Masao Ono, who had also designed the 1976 Kojima F1 car. In a Hayashi 320 Osamu Nakako won the All-Japan Formula Three Championship
All-Japan Formula Three Championship
, also known as Japanese Formula Three, is a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis....

 title. A 320 was also modified for the Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic is a specification of open wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club of America Formula Atlantic.-History:The history of...

 category and won the Macau Grand Prix
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix is a motor-racing event held annually in Macau, one of China's Special Administrative Regions. It is known for being the only street circuit racing event in which both car and motorcycle races are held...

 driven by American Bob Earl. A further development, the 321, saw action briefly in Japan and England. Ono then switched to Dome to work on the sportscar designs and Hayashi Racing switched to Ralt
Ralt
RALT was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under the RALT name...

 chassis to win the Japanese F3 title with Kengo Nakamoto.

In 1984, the followup Hayashi 322 was a success and helped Shuji Hyodo to win the Japanese F3 championship. In 1985 the Hayashi 330 won a single Japanese F3 race but finishes were good enough to place driver Syuuji Hyoudou third in season-end standing. A development of the 322, the 331, appeared in a handful of Japanese F3 races in 1986 without success and disappeared quietly. A downturn in the aluminum wheel business is credited in causing Hayashi to abandon racing.

In 1988, Dome would return to production car design establishing a design studio called Jiotto Design to design cars with its own quarter scale windtunnel to build the Jiotto Caspita
Jiotto Caspita
The Jiotto Caspita is a prototype midship sports car designed and manufactured by Dome for a company named Jiotto in 1988. The car was billed as the F1 on the Road...

 supercar
Supercar
Supercar is a term used most often to describe an expensive high end car. It has been defined specifically as "a very expensive, fast or powerful car"...

, which never went into production due to the recession.

Dome continued to compete with Lammers, Keiji Matsumoto, Ross Cheever
Ross Cheever
Ross Cheever is an American race car driver and is the younger brother of former Formula One driver and Indianapolis 500 champion Eddie Cheever. Born in Rome, Ross never completed a full season in elite level motorsport, however, he did make four CART starts for A.J...

 and Thomas Danielsson, driving until 1992, when Marco Apicella
Marco Apicella
Marco Apicella is an Italian racing driver. He competed in only one Formula One Grand Prix for the Jordan team in the 1993 Italian Grand Prix...

 was signed to drive the new Dome-Mugen
Mugen Motorsports
Mugen Motorsports is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. Mugen, meaning "Without Limit", or "Unlimited", is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer closely associated with the Honda Motor Company...

 F103, taking the title in 1994. The Formula 3000 program continued until 1998 with Shinji Nakano
Shinji Nakano
Shinji Nakano is a racing driver from Japan.His father, Tsuneharu was also a racing driver who competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship etc.-Pre Formula One Career:-Formula One Career:...

, Katsumi Yamamoto and Juichi Wakisaka
Juichi Wakisaka
is a Japanese racing driver who was a 2002, 2006 and 2009 champion in Japan's Super GT series in the GT500 category. In 2002, Wakisaka raced the Toyota Supra GT with Akira Iida, in 2006 and 2009 Wakisaka raced the Lexus SC 430 with Andre Lotterer....

 but without much success.

Formula One

Late in 1995, Tadashi Sasaki, joined Dome and that autumn the company announced its plan to enter F1 with a car designed by Akiyoshi Uko called the Dome F105
Dome F105
The Dome F105 was an unraced Formula One car designed and built by the Japanese motorsport constructor, Dome.-Concept and construction:Dome was founded in 1975 by brothers Minoru and Shoichi Hayashi, who had built their first racing car ten years earlier...

 using a Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...

 transmission and its hydraulic system. Apicella was installed as test driver 1996 and the test driving duties was later taken over by Nakano and Naoki Hattori
Naoki Hattori
is a motoring journalist and racing driver from Japan. After being Japanese Formula 3 champion in 1990, he failed to pre-qualify for two Formula One grands prix with Coloni in 1991 as a late-season replacement for Pedro Chaves...

. The planned 1997 World Championship effort came to nothing and the follow-up car, the Dome F106 never materialised due to lack of sponsorship and Mugen's refusal to supply engines. The Concorde Agreement
Concorde Agreement
The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and the Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money...

 also delayed the start for the team. By 1999, all development work would fold after Honda's involvement with British American Racing
British American Racing
British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...

.

Current projects

In 1999 Dome established Dome Cars Ltd in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the Dome Tunnel in Maihara, Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...

, which was originally intended for F1 construction and also focused its effort in the Japanese GT Championship, which they had been since 1996 and also competing as a team as well as building the Honda NSX
Honda NSX
The Honda NSX, or Acura NSX, is a sports car that was produced between 1990 and 2005 by the Japanese automaker Honda. It is equipped with a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, powered by an all-aluminium V6 gasoline engine featuring Honda's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control ...

 for other factory supported teams. They also worked on the aerodynamics on the JTCC
Japanese Touring Car Championship
The Japanese Touring Car Championship , is a former touring car racing series held in Japan...

 Honda Accord
Honda Accord
The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world....

. In 2001, DOME Carbon Magic was formed in Mishima
Mishima, Shizuoka
is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 112,078 and a population density of 1,800 persons per km². The total area is 62.13 km²...

, Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...

, specifically for carbon composite development and manufacture. They continue to build and race the NSX in the recently renamed Super GT series.

Dome also upgraded their S101 Le Mans prototype
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...

 chassis to meet new regulations for 2007. The new car has been dubbed the S101.5. The S101s were supplied to Racing for Holland
Racing for Holland
Racing for Holland is a Dutch motor racing team started by Jan Lammers in 1999. The team is initially specialised in endurance races such as 24 hours of Le Mans and FIA sportscars series. The team is now also participating in the A1 Grand Prix as the A1 Team The Netherlands.-History:Racing for...

 etc. In 2008, Dome introduced a closed-cockpit prototype called the S102 for the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) class and entered in the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans
2008 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 76th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place on 14–15 June 2008 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . The test day was on June 1. The race was attended by 258,000 spectators...

 as an entrant after an interval of 22 years from 1986
1986 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 54th Grand Prix of Endurance as well as the third round of the 1986 World Sports-Prototype Championship. It took place on May 31 and June 1, 1986.-Pre-race:...

.

External links

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