Kunimitsu Takahashi
| Kunimitsu Takahashi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jim Redman, Luigi Taveri and Kunimitsu Takahashi (1963) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Japanese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1940-01-29) 29 January 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| Active years | 1977 |
| Teams | non-works Tyrrell |
| Entries | 1 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1977 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1977 Japanese Grand Prix |
24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1986-1990, 1994-1996 |
| Teams | Team Kunimitsu Honda, Kremer Racing |
| Best finish | 8th (1995) |
| Class wins | 1 (1995) |
Kunimitsu Takahashi (Shinjitai: 高橋 国光, Takahashi Kunimitsu, born Tokyo, January 29, 1940) is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, racing driver, and current team manager. He is considered as the "father of drifting". He was the chairman of the GT-Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.
Contents
1 Motorcycle racing
2 Car racing
3 Career motorsports results
3.1 Motorcycle Grand Prix results
3.2 Complete Formula One results[3]
4 References
5 External links
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 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.[1] He was seriously injured in the 1962 Isle of Man TT and switched to car racing in 1965. He won four Grands Prix in his motorcycle racing career.
Car racing
He participated in one Formula One race, the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix on October 23, 1977, driving a non-works Tyrrell. This was in fact the same car that Kazuyoshi Hoshino 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 would adorn the Raybrig colors for the first time. Takahashi would drive for his own team until 1999, where he retired at the end of the season to focus on team management role. Team Kunimitsu is currently the defending champions of Super GT, with the team winning its first championship in 2018 with Naoki Yamamoto and 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button behind the wheel of the #100 Raybrig Honda.[2]
Career motorsports results
Motorcycle Grand Prix results
Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Points | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
(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 6 | NAT | 1 | 10th | 0 | |||||||
| 250cc | Honda | IOM | NED | BEL | GER 6 | ULS 5 | NAT 4 | 6 | 7th | 0 | |||||||
1961 | 125cc | Honda | ESP | GER 6 | FRA 6 | IOM | NED | BEL | DDR 3 | ULS 1 | NAT | SWE 2 | ARG 3 | 24 | 5th | 1 | |
| 250cc | Honda | ESP | GER 1 | FRA 3 | IOM 4 | NED | BEL | DDR 3 | ULS 6 | NAT | SWE 3 | ARG 2 | 29 | 4th | 1 | ||
1962 | 50cc | Honda | ESP 6 | FRA 2 | IOM | NED | BEL | GER | DDR | NAT | FIN | ARG | 7 | 9th | 0 | ||
| 125cc | Honda | ESP 1 | FRA 1 | IOM NC | NED | BEL | GER | ULS | DDR | NAT | FIN | ARG | 16 | 4th | 2 | ||
1963 | 50cc | Honda | ESP | GER | FRA | IOM | NED | BEL | FIN | ARG | JPN 11 | 0 | - | 0 | |||
| 125cc | Honda | ESP 3 | GER 5 | FRA 3 | IOM 8 | NED 5 | BEL | ULS 5 | DDR | FIN | NAT 3 | ARG | JPN | 14 | 7th | 0 | |
| 250cc | Honda | ESP 4 | GER NC | IOM NC | NED | BEL 6 | ULS 4 | DDR | NAT | ARG | JPN | 7 | 9th | 0 | |||
1964 | 50cc | Honda | USA | ESP NC | FRA | IOM | NED | BEL | GER | FIN | JPN | 0 | - | 0 | |||
| 125cc | Honda | USA | ESP | FRA 4 | IOM | NED | GER | DDR | ULS | FIN | NAT | JPN | 3 | 14th | 0 |
Complete Formula One results[3]
(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 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | MON | BEL | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | JPN 9 | NC | 0 |
References
^ Kunimitsu Takahashi career statistics at MotoGP.com
^ "Motegi Super GT: Jenson Button holds off late threat for title". Autosport.com. Autosport. Retrieved 2 January 2019..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Kunimitsu Takahashi Formula One statistics at formula1.com
External links
- Kunimitsu Takahashi career statistics at MotoGP.com
- Official Team Site
Kunimitsu Takahashi career summary at DriverDB.com
Authority control  |
|
|---|
