Kunimitsu Takahashi

Template:Nihongo was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer, racing driver, and team manager. Nicknamed "Kuni-san", he is known as the "father of drifting".

His racing career lasted from 1958 to 1999.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He competed on motorcycles between 1958 and 1963, during which he became the first Japanese rider to win a World Grand Prix, taking four world-level wins in total. Injuries sustained in a crash in 1962 led to him switching to four-wheels in 1965, after which he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in class, become a four-time All-Japan Sports Prototype Champion, and won in Japanese Top Formula, JTC, and JGTC. His final victory as a driver came in 1999 at the age of 59.

His racing team, Team Kunimitsu, has won multiple championships in Super GT. He was the chairman of the GT Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.

Motorcycle racing

In 1961, Takahashi became the first Japanese rider to win a motorcycle Grand Prix riding a 250cc Honda to victory at Hockenheim. His best World Championship finishes were a fourth place in the 1961 250 world championship and a fourth place in the 1962 125 world championship, both times on a Honda.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was seriously injured in the 1962 Isle of Man TT and switched to car racing in 1965. He won four Grand Prix races during his motorcycle racing career.

Car racing

Takahashi participated in one Formula One race, the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix on 23 October 1977, driving the non-works Tyrrell that Kazuyoshi Hoshino had used in the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix. Takahashi finished 9th in his single Grand Prix outing, thus he scored no championship points. From 1987 to 1992, he competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 championship. He also competed in eight 24 Hours of Le Mans races between 1986 and 1996. In the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans, his team competed with a Honda NSX, winning the GT2 Class and finishing eighth overall.

In 1994, he formed Team Kunimitsu to compete in the inaugural JGTC season, running a Porsche 911 RSR Turbo in the GT1 class alongside Keiichi Tsuchiya. In 1996, with the advent of the GT500 class, Team Kunimitsu switched manufacturers from Porsche to Honda. The next year, Team Kunimitsu cars wore the Raybrig colors for the first time. Takahashi drove for his own team until 1999. He retired at the end of the season to focus on team management. Team Kunimitsu won their first Drivers Championship in 2018 with Naoki Yamamoto and 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button behind the wheel of the #100 Raybrig Honda.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Death

Takahashi died from lymphoma on 16 March 2022, at the age of 82.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career motorsports results

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points	Rank	Wins
1960	125cc	Honda	IOM	NED	BEL		ULS Template:Small	NAT							1	10th	0
	250cc	Honda	IOM	NED	BEL	GER Template:Small	ULS Template:Small	NAT Template:Small							6	7th	0
1961	125cc	Honda	ESP	GER Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	IOM	NED	BEL	DDR Template:Small	ULS Template:Small	NAT	SWE Template:Small	ARG Template:Small		24	5th	1
	250cc	Honda	ESP	GER Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	IOM Template:Small	NED	BEL	DDR Template:Small	ULS Template:Small	NAT	SWE Template:Small	ARG Template:Small		29	4th	1
1962	50cc	Honda	ESP Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	IOM	NED	BEL	GER		DDR	NAT	FIN	ARG		7	9th	0
	125cc	Honda	ESP Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	IOM Template:Small	NED	BEL	GER	ULS	DDR	NAT	FIN	ARG		16	4th	2
1963	50cc	Honda	ESP	GER	FRA	IOM	NED	BEL			FIN		ARG	JPN Template:Small	0	-	0
	125cc	Honda	ESP Template:Small	GER Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	IOM Template:Small	NED Template:Small	BEL	ULS Template:Small	DDR	FIN	NAT Template:Small	ARG	JPN	14	7th	0
	250cc	Honda	ESP Template:Small	GER Template:Small		IOM Template:Small	NED	BEL Template:Small	ULS Template:Small	DDR		NAT	ARG	JPN	7	9th	0
1964	50cc	Honda	USA	ESP Template:Small	FRA	IOM	NED	BEL	GER			FIN		JPN	0	-	0
	125cc	Honda	USA	ESP	FRA Template:Small	IOM	NED		GER	DDR	ULS	FIN	NAT	JPN	3	14th	0

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1977	Meiritsu Racing Team	Tyrrell 007	Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN Template:Small	NC	0
Template:Small

Super Formula Championship results

Template:Expand section (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Points
1975	Sakai Racing Shop	FUJ Template:Small											NC	0
	Racing Shop Yatsuka		SUZ Template:Small	FUJ	SUZ	SUZ
1976	Sakai Racing Shop	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small							6th	22
1977	Speed Star Racing	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				2nd	87 (117)
1978	Speed Star Wheel Racing	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	MIN	SUZ Template:Small					6th	40
1979	Speed Star Wheel Racing	SUZ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small					4th	57 (64)
1980	Royce Racing Team Suzuki Racing	SUZ	MIN	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ	SUZ Template:Small						15th	4
1981	Suzuki Racing	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small							8th	23
1982	Shift	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small						15th	9
1983	Nova Engineering	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				6th	46
1984	Advan Sports Nova	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				13th	11
1985	Advan Sports Nova	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				13th	17
1986	Team JPS Advan	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				10th	22
1987	Advan Sports Nova	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small			9th	33
1988	Advan Sports Nova	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				7th	12
1989	Advan Sports Nova	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				15th	3
1990	Advan Sports Nova	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small		9th	7
1991	Advan Sports Nova	SUZ Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	32nd	0
1992	Advan Sport Pal	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	22nd	0
1993	Advan Sport Pal	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	20th	0
1994	Advan Sport Pal	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN	SUZ Template:Small	SUG	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small		10th	4

All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Rank	Points
1984	Advan Nova	Porsche 956	C1	SUZ	TSU	SUZ 1	FUJ				9th	20
1985	Advan Nova	Porsche 962C	C1	SUZ 3	FUJ Ret	FUJ 1	SUZ 1	FUJ Ret	FUJ 1		1st	72
1986	Advan Nova	Porsche 962C	C1	SUZ 1	FUJ 1	FUJ 2	SUZ Ret	FUJ 8	FUJ 2		1st	70
1987	Advan Nova	Porsche 962C	C1	SUZ 2	FUJ 3	FUJ 1	SUZ 3	FUJ 11	FUJ 1		1st	59
1988	Advan Nova	Porsche 962C	C1	FUJ 3	SUZ Ret	FUJ 2	FUJ Ret	SUZ 2	FUJ 6		4th	48
1989	Advan Nova	Porsche 962C	C1	FUJ 6	FUJ 4	FUJ 4	SUZ 1	FUJ 4			1st	56
1990	Advan Nova	Porsche 962C	C1	FUJ 8	FUJ C	FUJ 5	SUZ Ret	SUG 6	FUJ Ret		22nd	9
1991	Team Taisan	Porsche 962C	C1	FUJ 5	FUJ Ret	FUJ	SUZ	SUG	FUJ	SUG	27th	8

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1986	Template:Flagicon Kremer Racing	Template:Flagicon Jo Gartner Template:Flagicon Sarel van der Merwe	Porsche 962C	C1	169	NC	NC
1987		Template:Flagicon Kris Nissen Template:Flagicon Volker Weidler		C1	6	DNF	DNF
1988		Template:Flagicon Hideki Okada Template:Flagicon Bruno Giacomelli		C1	370	9th	9th
1989		Template:Flagicon Bruno Giacomelli Template:Flagicon Giovanni Lavaggi		C1	303	DNF	DNF
1990		Template:Flagicon Sarel van der Merwe Template:Flagicon Hideki Okada		C1	279	24th	21st
1994	Template:Flagicon Kremer Honda Racing	Template:Flagicon Keiichi Tsuchiya Template:Flagicon Akira Iida	Honda NSX GT2	GT2	222	18th	9th
1995	Template:Flagicon Team Kunimitsu	Template:Flagicon Keiichi Tsuchiya Template:Flagicon Akira Iida		GT2	275	8th	1st
1996		Template:Flagicon Keiichi Tsuchiya Template:Flagicon Akira Iida		GT2	305	16th	3rd

Complete JGTC results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Rank	Points
1994	Team Kunimitsu	Porsche 911 RSR-T	GT1	FUJ	SEN	FUJ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	MIN Template:Small			7th	35
1995	Team Kunimitsu	Porsche 911 RSR-T	GT1	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	MIN Template:Small		10th	28
1996	Team Kunimitsu	Honda NSX	GT500	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	MIN Template:Small		17th	8
1997	Team Kunimitsu	Honda NSX	GT500	SUZ	FUJ Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUG Template:Small		9th	30
1998	Team Kunimitsu	Honda NSX	GT500	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MOT Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	10th	25
1999	Team Kunimitsu	Honda NSX	GT500	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	TAI Template:Small	MOT Template:Small	11th	34

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Pts	Class
1985	Mitsubishi Colt Racing	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo	Template:Tooltip	SIL	OUL	THR	DON	THR	SIL	DON	SIL	SNE	BRH	BRH	SIL ovr:9 cls:8	NC	0	NC
Template:Small {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	DC	Pts
1986	STP Ralliart	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo	Div.3	NIS Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	TSU Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				?	?
1987	STP Ralliart	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo	Div.3	NIS Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	TSU Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small				?	?
1988	STP Ralliart	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo	JTC-1	SUZ	NIS Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	TSU Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small				?	?
1992	Team Taisan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	JTC-1	AID Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	TSU Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small		9th	74
1993	Team Taisan	Nissan Skyline GT-R	JTC-1	MIN Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	AID Template:Small	TSU Template:Small	TOK Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	11th	59

External links

• Template:MotoGP.com
• Official Team Site Template:Webarchive
• Template:DriverDB driver