Kunimitsu Takahashi built an exceptional career on both motorcycles and cars, becoming a central figure in Japanese motorsport. Born on 29 January 1940 and affectionately known as “Kuni-san”, he was also widely recognised as an important early influence on drifting.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Birthplace | Tokyo, Japan |
| Born | 29 January 1940 |
| Died | 16 March 2022 |
| First Grand Prix | 1977 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1977 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Current/Last Team | Privateer: Meiritsu Racing Team Tyrrell |
His competition career began in 1958. Riding for Honda, he became the first Japanese winner of a motorcycle Grand Prix when he won the 250cc race at Hockenheim in 1961. Four Grand Prix victories followed across his motorcycle career, with fourth in the 1961 250cc standings and fourth in the 1962 125cc championship among his best season results.
Serious injuries at the 1962 Isle of Man TT interrupted his progress. He subsequently moved to cars in 1965, beginning a second career that proved even longer and broader than the first. He won in Japan’s leading single-seater, touring-car and GT categories and collected four All-Japan Sports Prototype championships.
Formula One entered the story on 23 October 1977. Takahashi drove a privately entered Tyrrell in the Japanese Grand Prix, using the car Kazuyoshi Hoshino had raced the previous year. Ninth place brought no points, but it gave him a World Championship start at home. It remained his only F1 appearance.
He continued in Japanese Formula 3000 between 1987 and 1992 and made eight Le Mans starts from 1986 to 1996. His most significant French result came in 1995, when a Honda NSX delivered victory in the GT2 class and eighth overall.
Takahashi established Team Kunimitsu in 1994, initially racing a Porsche 911 RSR Turbo with Keiichi Tsuchiya in Japan’s GT1 category. The team moved to Honda’s GT500 programme in 1996, with Raybrig becoming a familiar part of its identity from 1997. Takahashi continued driving until 1999, winning that year at the age of 59 before concentrating on management.
The team’s first GT500 drivers’ championship arrived in 2018 with Naoki Yamamoto and Jenson Button. It was a major achievement for an organisation built around Takahashi’s experience and lasting involvement in Japanese racing. His wider contribution included serving as chairman of the GT Association from 1993 to 2007.
His roles therefore extended from driving the cars to running a team and helping oversee the category in which it competed.
Takahashi died from lymphoma on 16 March 2022, aged 82. His lone Formula One result occupies only a small space in a record that includes motorcycle history, decades of domestic success, a Le Mans class victory and a championship-winning team. The breadth of that contribution explains why his standing in Japanese motorsport extends far beyond a single category.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 1 |
| Race Starts | 1 |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Best Race Start | 22nd |
| Best Race Finish | 9th |
| Retirements | 0 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 0 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 1 |
| Reached Q3 | 0 |
| Q2 Eliminations | 0 |
| Q1 Eliminations | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
