Japanese racing legend Kunimitsu Takahashi passes away

The Japanese motorsport is mourning the loss of one of its racing pioneers. Kunimitsu Takahashi, better known as “Kuni-san”, has died at the age of 82.

Those who have been following the Japanese motorsports scene may know Kuni-san as a Super GT team boss, but what most people missed out on is Takahashi was also a Japanese racing legend himself.

In a career that lasted for 40 years, Kunimitsu Takahashi racked up victories in both two- and four-wheeled forms of motorsport. He became the first-ever Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix winner in 1961 with Honda and drove the “hakosuka” Nissan Skyline GT-R to its 50^th victory in 1972.

His motorsports outfit was also one of the most successful Japanese racing teams. Team Kunimitsu wore the iconic Raybrig livery in Super GT and took the GT500 class title in 2018 with drivers Naoki Yamamoto and F1 champ Jenson Button.

Back in 1995, Team Kunimitsu became the first all-Japanese entry to win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after drivers Keiichi Tsuchiya and Akira Iida scored a GT2 class victory driving a Honda NSX GT2.

Kuni-san was inducted in the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002, and also made it to the 24 Hours of Le Mans hall of fame in 2013.

NISMO and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) have expressed their deepest sympathies to Takahashi's family and recognize his great contributions to the rich history of Japanese motorsports.