| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Born | 20 November 1948 Ōta, Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | 18 March 2024 (aged 75) Suwa, Nagano, Japan |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1976–1997 |
| Co-driver |  Bob Graham Quentin Thomson Ron Richardson Bryan Harris Fred Gocentas John Meadows Pentti Kuukkala |
| Teams | Mitsubishi Motors |
| Rallies | 20 |
| Rally wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 3 |
| Stage wins | 3 |
| Total points | 88 |
| First rally | 1976 Safari Rally |
| First win | 1991 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire |
| Last win | 1992 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire |
| Last rally | 1997 Rally Australia |
Kenjiro Shinozuka (篠塚 建次郎, Shinozuka Kenjirō, November 20, 1948 – March 18, 2024) was a Japanese rally driver. After his debut in 1967, his greatest successes were as a works driver for Mitsubishi Motors. Behind the wheel of a Galant VR-4 he won the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and scored consecutive victories in the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire Bandama in 1991 and 1992, when it was a round of the World Rally Championship, making him the first Japanese competitor to win a WRC event.[1] He was also of note for his success in the Dakar Rally, where he became the first Japanese winner of the world's most famous endurance rally in 1997 driving a Mitsubishi Pajero.[2]
Shinozuka resigned from Mitsubishi in 2002,[3] but continued to compete. He drove a Nissan pickup in the 2003 Dakar, but after hitting a sand dune he rolled his vehicle several times, enduring severe facial injuries and being placed in a coma. His co-driver Thierry Delli-Zotti suffered fractures to both his legs, although unlike Shinuzoka his injuries were not life-threatening.[4]
Shinuzoka announced before the 2006 event that it would be his final appearance as a competitor, saying "[m]y decision has been taken: it’s my last Dakar. But I still hope to enjoy myself one last time behind the steering wheel. To win? No, that’s not my goal. After that, I don’t yet know what I’ll do but I do know that we need new talents in Japan. Just look at our drivers, they're all sixty or over, like Asaga san or Sugawara san… So I might help out in finding new promising competitors for the future."[5] However, despite this, he returned for the 2007 Dakar, again driving a Nissan, and finished in 59th place out of the 109 cars that finished the race.
Kenjiro Shinozuka died after a battle with pancreatic cancer at a hospital in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, on March 18, 2024. He was 75.[6]
- ^ History of Galant VR-4 Archived 2006-04-09 at the Wayback Machine, Mitsubishi Motors website
- ^ 1997 Dakar-Agades-Dakar Archived 2006-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, Mitsubishi Motors website
- ^ "Mitsubishi Motors' Kenjiro Shinozuka resigns" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Ralliart.com press release, June 13, 2002
- ^ "Rally driver escapes with his life", Taipei Times, January 11, 2003
- ^ "Kenjiro Shinozuka: "It’s my last Dakar!", Dakar.com official website
- ^ Kenjiro Shinozuka, Race Car Driver, Dies of Pancreatic Cancer at 75