A long-time Toyota-fielding team in Super GT, the team won three drivers' and teams' titles in the GT300 class, as well as two Japanese Touring Car Championship teams' titles in Division-3.
History
Origins and first stint in Super GT (1971–2008)
Haruo Tsuchiya (1945-2021), a former motocross rider, worked at TOMEI Automotive from 1968 to 1971 to create his own shop and team.[1] The team initially competed in local touring car races, before entering JTC, where it won the Division-3 title twice, in 1989 and 1990.[2] Tsuchiya entered JGTC in 1997 with a Toyota MR2 and won its first title in 1998, after winning five out of six races with Shingo Tachi and Keiichi Suzuki behind the wheel.[3] The following year, the team partnered with A'PEX and scored a lone win at Fuji and two more podiums to secure the drivers' title with Morio Nitta, as well as taking their second consecutive teams' title.[4]
Entering GT500 in 2000, the team fielded a Toyota Supra until 2006, before fielding a Lexus SC430 for the following two years.[5] In their nine-year stint in the category, the team scored five podiums, including their only win at Okayama in 2005.[6] At the end of the 2008 season, the team suspended its motorsport activities in 2009 due to the economic recession and the reduction of manufacturer support.[7][2]
Team Samurai and Return to Super GT (2010–present)
Takeshi Tsuchiya and Takamitsu Matsui's title winning car at Suzuka in 2016.Hoppy Porsche at 2020 Fujimaki Group Suzuka 300kmHoppy schatz GR Supra GT at 2022 Takanoko no Hotel Suzuka GT 300km
Haruo's son Takeshi, founded 25 Racing/Team Samurai in 2010, with his father as manager.[2][8] Across the next four years, the team competed in Super GT until 2011, before then competing in Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, Super Taikyu and JAF Formula 4.[9] In 2015, Tsuchiya Engineering made their return to GT300 competition, with Takeshi Tsuchiya and Takamitsu Matsui driving a Toyota 86 MC GT300.[10] In the team's first full season since 2011, the Tsuchiya-Matsui pairing won at Sportsland SUGO and qualified on pole at Buriram to end the season ninth in points.[11] Retaining both Tsuchiya and Matsui for 2016, the pair scored wins at Buriram and Motegi to secure their third drivers' and teams' titles.[12] Ten days after the season-finale, Haruo was diagnosed with oral cancer, and as a result Takeshi retired from full-time racing to take over the running of the team.[2]
For the team's title defence, Matsui remained for a third consecutive season as Kenta Yamashita replaced Tsuchiya as the team's second driver.[13] In their only season together, the Matsui-Yamashita pair won at Autopolis and finished third at Sportsland SUGO to secure sixth in the teams' standings.[14] Matsui remained with the team as the sole full-time driver for the 2017 season, finishing third at Okayama and second at Suzuka alongside Sho Tsuboi as the team ended the year eighth in points.[15][16] In 2019, Matsui remained with the team as he was joined by Kimiya Sato, as they scored a best result of fourth at Buriram and qualified on pole three times to end the year 18th in points.[17]
Ahead of 2020, the team switched to a Porsche 911,[18][19] fielding it until 2021, scoring a best result of fifth at Motegi in the latter year, before the team switched to a self-built Toyota GR Supra.[20][21] In their first year with the Supra, the team scored a single points finish at Sportsland SUGO, by finishing tenth, to end the year 34th in the teams' standings in a season in which they missed the second Fuji round following a testing crash at Suzuka.[22]
In 2023, at the fourth 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.[23] Tsuchiya then started a fundraiser known as the "Hopico Revival Project" in order to help the team return to racing.[24] The team returned to GT300 competition in the following year with Takamitsu Matsui and Togo Suganami, with a rebuilt version of "Hopico".[25]
Partnership with Max Racing (2020–2023)
Before the 2020 Super GT season it was announced that Tsuchiya Engineering would support series newcomers Max Racing, by servicing their car.[26] The partnership lasted until the 2023 Fuji GT 450km Race, where both cars caught fire and Max Racing ceased operations with immediate effect.[27] In their three-year partnership, Max Racing scored a lone win at Suzuka in 2021 and scored a best points finish of fourth the same year.[28]
Race results
Complete JGTC results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
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