Tsuchiya Engineering

Tsuchiya Engineering
Founded	1971
Base	Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
Team principal(s)	Takeshi Tsuchiya
Founder(s)	Haruo Tsuchiya
Current series	Super GT
Former series	Japanese Formula 3 Championship ; Japan Formula 4 ; Super Taikyu
Current drivers	Takamitsu Matsui ; Kimiya Sato ;
Teams'; Championships	JGTC :; 1998 ; 1999 ; Super GT ; 2016
Drivers'; Championships	JGTC :; 1998: Keiichi Suzuki & Shingo Tachi ; 1999: Morio Nitta ; Super GT :; 2016: Takeshi Tsuchiya & Takamitsu Matsui
Website	http://tsuchiya25.com

Last updated January 22, 2025

Tsuchiya Engineering is a team located in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, founded by Haruo Tsuchiya, and now ran by his son, Takeshi.^[1]

Origins

Haruo Tsuchiya used to work at TOMEI Automotive, before leaving in 1971 to create his own shop and team.

The team initially competed in local touring car races, before entering JTC, where it won the Division-3 title twice, in 1989 and 1990.

Tsuchiya later entered JGTC, and not long after, in 1998, they set a record-breaking season. A partnership with Team Taisan and with drivers Shingo Tachi and Keiichi Suzuki earned them 5 wins out of 6 races.

In 1999, they partnered with A'PEX and had 3 drivers throughout the season, one of which, Morio Nitta (who had entered in all the races) won the title, giving Tsuchiya back to back titles in GT300.

They entered in GT500 in 2000, but they couldn't build on their massive success in GT300, only achieving a win, in the season opener of 2005.

The team folded in 2008 due to the economic recession.

Return to Super GT

Haruo's son Takeshi, founded team SAMURAI in 2010, with his father as manager.

In 2015, Tsuchiya Engineering made their official return to GT300, where they won the championship in 2016 with Takeshi Tsuchiya and Takamitsu Matsui at the wheel.

The team continued their strong form of results after 2016, but in 2020 the team switched to the Porsche 911 ^[2]^[3] and began to struggle with results, leading them to ditch the Porsche after 2 disappointing seasons, switching to a self-built Toyota GR Supra.^[4]^[5]

Despite the car change, the struggles didn't stop as the team failed to score points in the first 3 races of the season and pulled out of the 4th round at Fuji following a testing crash at Suzuka.^[6]

In 2023, at the 4th round of the season at Fuji, both Tsuchiya-ran cars caught fire, leading to both cars withdrawing from the following event and the rest of the season.^[7]

As of November 2023, Takeshi was still hoping to return to GT300, having started a fundraiser known as the "Hopico Revival Project" in order to help the small team return to racing.^[8]

The team is set to return to GT300 competition for the 2024 season with 2016 champion Takamitsu Matsui and Togo Suganami, with a rebuilt version of "Hopico".^[9]

Partnership with Max Racing

Before the 2020 Super GT season it was announced that Tsuchiya Engineering would support newcomers Max Racing, by servicing their car.^[10] The partnership lasted until the Fuji GT 450km Race in 2023, where both cars caught fire and Max Racing ceased operations.^[11]

Race Results

Complete JGTC results^[12]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Car	Tyres	Class	No.	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pos	Pts
1997	Toyota MR2	Y	GT300	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Masaoki Nagashima	SUZ 3	FUJ Ret	SEN 1	FUJ 5	MIN	SUG 3			3rd	52
1998	Toyota MR2	Y	GT300	25	Keiichi Suzuki Shingo Tachi	SUZ 1	FUJ C	SEN 1	FUJ 1	MOT 6	MIN 1	SUG 1		1st	106
1999	Toyota MR2	Y	GT300	25	Morio Nitta Yasushi Kikuchi Shinichi Takagi	SUZ 8	FUJ 1	SUG 2	MIN 2	FUJ 5	OKA 8	MOT Ret		1st	73
2000	Toyota Supra	Y	GT500	25	Manabu Orido Mitsuhiro Kinoshita	MOT 13	FUJ 10	SUG 14	FUJ 8	OKA 8	MIN 7	SUZ 13		13th	11
2001	Toyota Supra	Y	GT500	25	Manabu Orido Seiji Ara	OKA 9	FUJ 11	SUG 11	FUJ DNS	MOT 7	SUZ 7	MIN 10		12th	11
2002	Toyota Supra	Y	GT500	25	Shinichi Yamaji Seiji Ara Geoff Lees	OKA 6	FUJ 13	SUG 11	SEP Ret	FUJ 4	MOT 9	MIN 5	SUZ 7	10th	32
2003	Toyota Supra	Y	GT500	25	Jérémie Dufour Seiji Ara Hideki Noda	OKA 10	FUJ Ret	SUG 3	FUJ 13	FUJ 17	MOT 3	AUT 12	SUZ Ret	10th	26
2004	Toyota Supra	Y	GT500	25	Manabu Orido Dominik Schwager	OKA 14	SUG 2	SEP Ret	TOK 13	MOT 12	AUT 3	SUZ 10		10th	31

Complete Super GT Results^[12]^[13]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Car	Tyres	Class	No.	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Pos	Points
2005	Toyota Supra	Y	GT500	25	Manabu Orido Dominik Schwager Hideki Noda	OKA 1	FUJ 14	SEP 15	SUG 9	MOT 15	FUJ NC	AUT Ret	SUZ 14		10th	26
2006	Toyota Supra	Y	GT500	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Manabu Orido Hideki Noda	SUZ 8	OKA 9	FUJ 6	SEP 10	SUG 12	SUZ Ret	MOT 12	AUT 15	FUJ 9	14th	13
2007	Lexus SC430	Y	GT500	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Manabu Orido	SUZ 9	OKA 6	FUJ Ret	SEP 5	SUG 8	SUZ Ret	MOT 8	AUT 10	FUJ 12	14th	38
2008	Lexus SC430	Y	GT500	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Hiroaki Ishiura	SUZ 11	OKA 11	FUJ 8	SEP 4	SUG 4	SUZ 14	MOT 10	AUT 12	FUJ 8	14th	44
2010	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Y	GT300	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Akihiro Tsuzuki Yoshio Tsuzuki	SUZ	OKA	FUJ 17	SEP	SUG 16	SUZ Ret	FUJ C	MOT 18		NC	0
2011	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Y	GT300	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Akihiro Tsuzuki	OKA 3	FUJ Ret	SEP Ret	SUG 4	SUZ 9	FUJ 5	AUT 5	MOT 19		9th	49
2015	Toyota 86 MC GT300	Y	GT300	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Takamitsu Matsui Tatsuya Tanigawa	OKA 6	FUJ Ret	CHA 7	FUJ 5	SUZ 23	SUG 1	AUT Ret	MOT 12		9th	51
2016	Toyota 86 MC GT300	Y	GT300	25	Takeshi Tsuchiya Takamitsu Matsui Kenta Yamashita	OKA 6	FUJ 3	SUG 2	FUJ 13	SUZ 22	CHA 1	MOT 7	MOT 1		1st	97
2017	Toyota 86 MC GT300	Y	GT300	25	Takamitsu Matsui Kenta Yamashita Tsubasa Kondō	OKA 4	FUJ 15	AUT 1	SUG 3	FUJ 29	SUZ 18	CHA 15	MOT 5		6th	65
2018	Toyota 86 MC GT300	Y	GT300	25	Takamitsu Matsui Sho Tsuboi Tsubasa Kondō Takeshi Tsuchiya	OKA 3	FUJ Ret	SUZ 2	CHA 19	FUJ 5	SUG 24	AUT 24	MOT 8		8th	52
2019	Toyota 86 MC GT300	Y	GT300	25	Takamitsu Matsui Kimiya Sato	OKA Ret	FUJ 18	SUZ 5	BUR 4	FUJ 26	AUT 16	SUG 27	MOT 18		18th	29
2020	Porsche 911 GT3 R	Y	GT300	25	Takamitsu Matsui Kimiya Sato	FUJ 19	FUJ 20	SUZ 14	MOT 8	FUJ 11	SUZ 9	MOT 6	FUJ 14		15th	33
2020	Lexus RC F GT3	Y	GT300	244	Atsushi Miyake Rintaro Kubo	FUJ 16	FUJ 13	SUZ 20	MOT 26	FUJ 19	SUZ WD	MOT 15	FUJ 24		26th	19
2021	Porsche 911 GT3 R	Y	GT300	25	Takamitsu Matsui Kimiya Sato	OKA 7	FUJ 13	MOT 6	SUZ 23	SUG 19	AUT 10	MOT 5	FUJ 6		12th	45
2021	Toyota GR Supra GT300	Y	GT300	244	Atsushi Miyake Yuui Tsutsumi	OKA 5	FUJ 11	MOT 4	SUZ 1	SUG 9	AUT 17	MOT 7	FUJ 7		4th	68
2022	Toyota GR Supra GT300	Y	GT300	25	Takamitsu Matsui Seita Nonaka	OKA 22	FUJ 11	SUZ Ret	FUJ	SUZ 15	SUG 10	AUT 16	MOT Ret		34th	1
2022	Toyota GR Supra GT300	Y	GT300	244	Atsushi Miyake Kimiya Sato	OKA	FUJ 19	SUZ 22	FUJ Ret	SUZ Ret	SUG 14	AUT 10	MOT 17		35th	1
2023	Toyota GR Supra GT300	Y	GT300	25	Seita Nonaka Togo Suganami	OKA 17	FUJ 10	SUZ 11	FUJ Ret	SUZ	SUG	AUT	MOT		27th	10
2023	Toyota GR Supra GT300	Y	GT300	244	Atsushi Miyake Kimiya Sato	OKA 3	FUJ 16	SUZ 16	FUJ Ret	SUZ	SUG	AUT	MOT		20th	19
2024	Toyota GR Supra GT300	Y	GT300	25	Takamitsu Matsui Togo Suganami Kimiya Sato	OKA 14	FUJ 23	SUZ 18	FUJ Ret	SUG Ret	AUT 11	MOT Ret	SUZ 15		22nd	12

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.

Related Research Articles

Keiichi Tsuchiya is a Japanese professional race car driver. He is known as the Drift King for his nontraditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport. In professional racing, he is a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and the 2001 All Japan GT Championship runner-up. He is also known for touge driving.

Super GT is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the Zen Nihon GT Senshuken (全日本GT選手権), generally referred to as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of sports car racing in Japan.

Satoshi Motoyama is a Japanese professional racing driver and team manager. He is best known for racing in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) as a factory driver for Nissan, and for racing in the Formula Nippon Championship. He is a three-time champion of the GT500 class of Super GT, and a four-time Formula Nippon/Super Formula champion, making him one of the most successful Japanese racing drivers of all-time.

Manabu "MAX" Orido is a Japanese professional racing driver.

The 2012 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twentieth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the eighth season as the Super GT series. It also marked the thirtieth season of a JAF-sanctioned sports car racing championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 1 and ended on November 18, 2012, after eight championship races and a non-championship race.

The 2015 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-third season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the eleventh season under the name Super GT. It marked the thirty-third season overall of a Japanese professional sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 5 and ended on November 15, after 8 races.

The 2016 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fourth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the twelfth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fourth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 10 and ended on November 13, after 8 races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racing Project Bandoh</span> Japanese racing team

Racing Project Bandoh Ltd. is a Japanese racing team competing in the Super GT series.

The 2017 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fifth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the thirteenth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fifth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 9 and ended on November 12, after 8 races.

The 2018 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-sixth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fourteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-sixth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 8 and ended on November 11, after 8 races.

The 2019 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-seventh season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fifteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-seventh overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 14 and ended on November 24, after 8 championship races & 2 non-championship races.

Team Taisan is a Japanese auto racing team founded in 1983 by Yasutsune "Ricky" Chiba and owned by the Taisan Industrial Company. Most active in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), Taisan has been involved in all but one season from 1994 to 2018, taking a sabbatical in 2015. During that time they have won eight team championships and four drivers championships, representing manufacturers Ferrari, Porsche, Dodge, Toyota, Nissan, and Audi. Team Taisan has also participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning their class on their debut in 2000. For nearly their entire career, Taisan has been sponsored by tire manufacturer Yokohama Rubber Company, often carrying the name of Yokohama's Advan brand.

Sho Tsuboi is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing and TOM'S Racing, who currently competes in the Super GT Series GT500 class and Super Formula Championship. Graduated from Surugadai University.

The 2020 Autobacs Super GT Series was motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-eighth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the sixteenth season the series to compete under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-eighth overall season of a JAF national sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.

The 2021 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-ninth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the seventeenth season under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-ninth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship, dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.

The 2022 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars, sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirtieth season of the JAF Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the eighteenth season under the Super GT name. It was also the fortieth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.

The 2023 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars, sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ran by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirty-first season of the JAF Super GT Championship, which included the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the nineteenth season under the Super GT name. It was also the forty-first overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.

Morio Nitta is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in the Super GT Series for K-tunes Racing. He is a three-time champion of the GT300 class, winning the championship in 1996, 1999, and 2002.

The 2024 Autobacs Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirty-second season of the JAF Super GT Championship, which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the twentieth season under the Super GT name. It is also the forty-second overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.

Takamitsu Matsui is a Japanese racing driver affiliated with Toyota Gazoo Racing who currently competes in Super GT for Hoppy Team Tsuchiya. A longtime competitor in the series, he is best known for winning the 2016 championship in the GT300 class, driving alongside Takeshi Tsuchiya. He is also a four-time class champion in the Super Taikyū endurance racing series, winning the title in 2009, 2017, 2018, and 2022, as well as a two-time class winner at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

References

↑ "Haruo Tsuchiya: 1945-2021". 13 April 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
↑ "Tsuchiya Super GT squad switches to Porsche". 5 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
↑ "Porsche Switch For Tsuchiya Engineering". 6 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
↑ "Tsuchiya considering ditching Porsche after just two seasons". 23 September 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
↑ "Tsuchiya to switch to Toyota Supra GT300 for 2022". 25 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
↑ "Tsuchiya, Drago Corse teams to miss Fuji SUPER GT round". 1 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
↑ "Hoppy Team Tsuchiya, Max Racing Out Of Suzuka 450km". 14 August 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
↑ "Tsuchiya Engineering, Racing To Race Again". 3 November 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
↑ "Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces 2024 GT300 & Super Taikyu Programmes". 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
↑ "Tsuchiya to support new Lexus Super GT team". 8 February 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
↑ "Max Racing Withdraws From SUPER GT, Ceases Operations". 23 August 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
1 2 "World Sports Racing Prototypes - All Japan Grand Touring Championship". www.wsrp.cz. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
↑ Magazine, Speedsport. "Super GT & All Japan GT: Overview of seasons". www.speedsport-magazine.com. Retrieved 2023-05-24.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Haruo Tsuchiya: 1945-2021". 13 April 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2023.

[2] "Tsuchiya Super GT squad switches to Porsche". 5 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[3] "Porsche Switch For Tsuchiya Engineering". 6 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[4] "Tsuchiya considering ditching Porsche after just two seasons". 23 September 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[5] "Tsuchiya to switch to Toyota Supra GT300 for 2022". 25 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[6] "Tsuchiya, Drago Corse teams to miss Fuji SUPER GT round". 1 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[7] "Hoppy Team Tsuchiya, Max Racing Out Of Suzuka 450km". 14 August 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.

[8] "Tsuchiya Engineering, Racing To Race Again". 3 November 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.

[9] "Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces 2024 GT300 & Super Taikyu Programmes". 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

[10] "Tsuchiya to support new Lexus Super GT team". 8 February 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[11] "Max Racing Withdraws From SUPER GT, Ceases Operations". 23 August 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[:0-12] 1 2 "World Sports Racing Prototypes - All Japan Grand Touring Championship". www.wsrp.cz. Retrieved 2022-08-24.

[13] Magazine, Speedsport. "Super GT & All Japan GT: Overview of seasons". www.speedsport-magazine.com. Retrieved 2023-05-24.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]