Kunimitsu Takahashi

Kunimitsu Takahashi
Takahashi in 1963
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(1940-01-29)29 January 1940 Tokyo, Japan
Died	16 March 2022(2022-03-16) (aged 82)
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1960–1964 First race 1960 250cc German Grand Prix Last race 1964 125cc French Grand Prix First win 1961 250cc German Grand Prix Last win 1962 125cc Spanish Grand Prix Team(s) Honda Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 129 4 15 N/A 3 107
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, 29 January 1940 – 16 March 2022) was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer, racing driver, and team manager. Nicknamed "Kuni-san", he is known as the "father of drifting".

His racing career lasted from 1958 to 1999.^[1] He competed on motorcycles between 1958 and 1963, during which he became the first Japanese rider to win a World Grand Prix, taking four world-level wins in total. Injuries sustained in a crash in 1962 led to him switching to four-wheels in 1965, after which he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in class, become a four-time All-Japan Sports Prototype Champion, and won in Japanese Top Formula, JTC, and JGTC. His final victory as a driver in 1999 came at the age of 59.

His racing team, Team Kunimitsu, has won multiple championships in Super GT. He was the chairman of the GT Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.