11 replies to this topic

[Jeff Weinbren]

Who was the first Japanese driver in F1 World Championship or other F1 races?

[conjohn]

With the proviso that my records don't stretch further back than 1950 , the first seems to be Noritake Takahara, 1974 International Trophy at Silverstone, in a March Engineering March 741 - 11th.

The first WDC driver was Hiroshi Fushida, 1975 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, in a Citizen Maki F1 Team Maki F101C - dnq.

[Jimmy Piget]

Noritake Takahara, in a works March, in a 1974 non-championship race — either Race of the Champions (Brands Hatch) or Silverstone International trophy (to be checked)

[Geza Sury]

The first Japanese drivers to have started a World Championship Grand Prix were Noritake Takahara (Surtees Ford), Masahiro Hasemi (Kojima Ford), and Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Tyrrell Ford). They all participated in the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix in 1976.

[KWSN - DSM]

Kazuyoshi Hoshino

The driver who was born 20 years to early.

Best Japanese driver ever, had he been born 20 years later, he would ahve had a long successfull F1 career.

Winning races and championships well into his 40ies, I thin he was close to 50 when he won his last FNippon (or waht ever it was called at the time).

A truely very very good driver, was unlucked by timing of his birth.

[BRG]

Now if I had been asked this question in a quiz, I would have said Tetsu Ikuzawa. But checking, I find that he didn't ever quite make it. He won the British F3 championship and went on to F2, but there was no Japanese involvement in F1 at that particular time (Honda had come and gone) so his climb to the top faltered. A shame, because as I recall, he was plenty good enough to have been in F1 in the period 1969-72. There were a lot of guys who made it to F1 at that time who were nowhere near as good as Ikuzawa.

[MCS]

Ikuzawa won the British F3 championship ?!! Which one?!!

Noritake Takahara was definitely the first Japanese F1 driver (at the International Trophy in 1974).

I think I can remember him spinning at some point - Becketts perhaps.

MCS

[theunions]

Originally posted by Geza Sury
The first Japanese drivers to have started a World Championship Grand Prix were Noritake Takahara (Surtees Ford), Masahiro Hasemi (Kojima Ford), and Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Tyrrell Ford). They all participated in the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix in 1976.

Technically...which one of them was the first on the track for practice?

[Mallory Dan]

Why did he spin, was it him, or one of those 'bent' March tubs I wonder, same as sorted Lella out the next year !!

[conjohn]

Originally posted by Geza Sury
The first Japanese drivers to have started a World Championship Grand Prix were Noritake Takahara (Surtees Ford), Masahiro Hasemi (Kojima Ford), and Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Tyrrell Ford). They all participated in the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix in 1976.

Originally posted by theunions
Technically...which one of them was the first on the track for practice?

Technically... it doesn't matter, as Fushida beat them all by 1 year 4 months and 2 days at Zandvoort 1975.

If we talk about who crossed the starting line first, I would say Hasemi, as he was on the 5th row, with Hoshino on the 11th and Takahara on the 12th (Masemi Kuwashima non-started a Wolf-Williams from the 13th, the non-arrival of the promised cash giving the ride to Hans Binder).

However... at the end of the first lap, Hoshino was 8th, aided by his Bridgestone wet rubber (this was the race where Lauda, Emmo, Pace and Perkins parked their cars in the atrocious conditions, and Hunt the Shunt stayed on track to claim the WDC), with Hasemi in 14th, so it is possible, but not likely, that Hoshino passed Hasemi before the start line... but my vote would go to Hasemi as the first Japanese WDC starter.

[ReWind]

Sorry, guys, but this time all of you are wide off the mark.

Must have been in the year 1963 B.D. when the first Japanese drove in Formula One. His name was Yori Yoshisa and aboard his unique Lotus-Honda he even won at Reims and at the Nürburgring eventually finishing third in the WDC behind a certain American pighead and a well-known Scottish driver, ex-aequo with a world famous French pilote. Source: "L'honneur du samurai" by Jean Graton.

Warning (for casual or gullible readers) : Appearances can be deceptive, even on TNF.




Steve Warson - 1963 WDC

[Marcor]

I'm sure nobody knows Kishichiro Okura... He drove a big racing car (GP) F.I.A.T. in the first Brooklands meeting in July 1907 and finished 2nd of 10 starters in the 1st Montagu Cup.

But this is of course OT !