Japanese former motorcycle road racer, Kunimitsu Takahashi, has died at 82, after a battle with cancer.
Kunimitsu Takahashi was a former professional motorcycle road racer, racing driver, and current owner and team manager of Team Kunimitsu in Super GT.
Takahashi was known as the “father of drifting” and was nicknamed “Kuni-san.” From 1958 through 1999, he competed in motorsport.
Between 1958 and 1963, he competed on motorcycles, becoming the first Japanese rider to win a World Grand Prix and winning four world championships in all.
Team Kunimitsu, his racing team, has won many Super GT championships. From 1993 to 2007, he was the chairman of the GT Association, which organizes the Super GT competition.
Takahashi has won 71 races in a total of 489 events, including two-wheeled and four-wheeled wheels.
He joined Honda as a working slider in 1960 and made his debut at the Two-Wheeled World Grand Prix the same year. The following year, he won the West German Grand Prix for the first time.
Farewell to Kunimitsu Takahashi, the first Japanese rider to win a motorcycle Grand Prix riding a 250cc Honda to victory at Hockenheim, a 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and the ‘father of drifting’.
“Today, we’ve lost a true legend. I learned deeply regret Kunimitsu Takahashi’s death this afternoon after a long fight with cancer, he was 82 years old when he died. I had the good fortune to meet him while working for Honda Malaysia and being a member of the HMRT.” said one of his followers.
He received the “Sports Merit Award” in 2020 for his great contribution to motorsports development in Japan over the years. Kunimitsu received an award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology on July 27.
