Toshio Suzuki (racing driver)

Toshio Suzuki (鈴木 利男, Suzuki Toshio, born 10 March 1955) is a former racing driver from Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

Toshio Suzuki
The Toyota GT-One driven by Suzuki at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Born (1955-03-10) 10 March 1955 (age 69)
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityJapan Japanese
Active years1993
TeamsLarrousse
Entries2
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1993 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry1993 Australian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years19851986, 19881990, 1993, 19951996, 19982000, 2008
TeamsDome, Team LeMans, Tom's, NISMO, TV Asahi Team Dragon, Tōkai University YGK
Best finish2nd (1999)
Class wins1 (1999)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish96th (1996)
First race1996 Meridian Advantage 200 (Nazareth Speedway)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Racing career

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As a youth, Suzuki won the All-Japan Kart Championships in 1975 and 1976. In 1979, he took the title of the first All-Japan Formula Three Championship.

In 1992, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona with Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Masahiro Hasemi. In the same year, he was runner-up in the Japanese F3000 championship.

Formula One

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In 1993, he participated in two Formula One Grands Prix, standing in for Philippe Alliot at the Larrousse team. Though he scored no championship points, Suzuki finished both races.

After Formula One

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Suzuki competed mainly in national championships, including the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship (later Formula Nippon), Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC) and All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC). He also participated into the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1996, he made a single start in the NASCAR Busch Series, driving for Joe Bessey at Nazareth Speedway; an accident during the race left him with a concussion.[1]

In 2006, he became director of the R&D SPORT in Super GT to continue the team that Direxiv abandoned.

GT-R

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Most recently,[when?] he worked for Nissan as a test driver to help in the development of the R35 Nissan GT-R.

Motorsports career results

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24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1985   Dome Team   Eje Elgh
  Geoff Lees
Dome 85C-L-Toyota C1 141 DNF DNF
1986   Dome Co. Ltd.   Eje Elgh
  Beppe Gabbiani
Dome 86C-L-Toyota C1 296 DNF DNF
1988   Italiya Sport
  Team Le Mans
  Michel Trollé
  Danny Ongais
March 88S-Nissan C1 74 DNF DNF
1989   Nissan Motorsports   Masahiro Hasemi
  Kazuyoshi Hoshino
Nissan R89C C1 167 DNF DNF
1990   Nissan Motorsports International   Masahiro Hasemi
  Kazuyoshi Hoshino
Nissan R90CP C1 348 5th 5th
1993   Toyota Team Tom's   Eddie Irvine
  Masanori Sekiya
Toyota TS010 C1 364 4th 4th
1995   NISMO   Kazuyoshi Hoshino
  Masahiko Kageyama
Nissan Skyline GT-R LM GT1 157 DNF DNF
1996   NISMO   Kazuyoshi Hoshino
  Masahiro Hasemi
Nissan Skyline GT-R LM GT1 307 15th 10th
1998   Toyota Motorsport
  Toyota Team Europe
  Ukyo Katayama
  Keiichi Tsuchiya
Toyota GT-One GT1 326 9th 8th
1999   Toyota Motorsport
  Toyota Team Europe
  Ukyo Katayama
  Keiichi Tsuchiya
Toyota GT-One LMGTP 364 2nd 1st
2000   TV Asahi Team Dragon   Masami Kageyama
  Masahiko Kageyama
Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S-Élan LMP900 340 6th 6th
2008   Tōkai University
  YGK Power
  Haruki Kurosawa
  Masami Kageyama
Courage-Oreca LC70-YGK LMP1 185 DNF DNF

Japanese Formula Two/Formula 3000/Formula Nippon results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1980 Heroes Racing Corporation SUZ MIN SUZ SUZ SUZ
Ret
SUZ NC 0
1982 Heroes Racing Corporation SUZ FUJ SUZ SUZ SUZ
9
SUZ
12
21st 2
1983 Kondou Racing SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ
Ret
SUZ
6
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
9
SUZ
10
14th 9
1984 Team Le Mans SUZ
5
FUJ
8
MIN
3
SUZ
7
SUZ
9
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
10
SUZ
Ret
8th 30
1987 Heroes Racing Corporation SUZ
3
FUJ
Ret
MIN
1
SUZ
5
SUZ
6
SUG
8
FUJ
2
SUZ
Ret
SUZ
5
5th 72
1989 Cabin Racing Heroes SUZ
7
FUJ
Ret
MIN
12
SUZ
13
SUG
8
FUJ
20
SUZ
17
SUZ
6
19th 1
1990 Super Evolution Racing SUZ
20
FUJ MIN
14
SUZ
11
SUG
8
FUJ
11
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
22
FUJ
11
SUZ
12
NC 0
1991 Universal Racing SUZ
11
AUT
DNS
FUJ
8
MIN
5
SUZ
5
SUG
9
FUJ
DNQ
SUZ
11
FUJ
C
SUZ
12
FUJ
11
15th 4
1992 Universal Racing SUZ
Ret
FUJ
Ret
MIN
Ret
SUZ
7
AUT
Ret
SUG
2
FUJ
2
FUJ
1
SUZ
17
FUJ
1
SUZ
Ret
2nd 30
1993 Universal Racing SUZ
6
FUJ
4
MIN
Ret
SUZ
Ret
AUT
C
SUG
4
FUJ
C
FUJ
1
SUZ
3
FUJ
5
SUZ
Ret
5th 22
1994 Mirai Corporation SUZ
7
FUJ
6
MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ FUJ FUJ SUZ 16th 1
1995 Hoshino Racing SUZ
5
FUJ
C
MIN
2
SUZ
1
SUG
Ret
FUJ
3
TOK
6
FUJ
3
SUZ
1
1st 34
1996 Team Impul SUZ
18
MIN
Ret
FUJ
12
TOK
11
SUZ
9
SUG
10
FUJ
7
MIN
4
SUZ
3
FUJ
Ret
12th 7
1997 Mirai SUZ
8
MIN
5
FUJ
7
SUZ
Ret
SUG
4
FUJ
16
MIN
9
MOT
8
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
9
13th 5

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results

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

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Pts
1990 Impul Nissan Skyline GT-R JTC-1 NIS
1
SUG
1
SUZ
2
TSU
1
SEN
1
FUJ
1
1st 230
1991 Impul Nissan Skyline GT-R JTC-1 SUG
1
SUZ
Ret
TSU
3
SEN
1
AUT
2
FUJ
1
3rd 174
1993 Nismo Nissan Skyline GT-R JTC-1 MIN
14
AUT
5
SUG
3
SUZ
5
AID
2
TSU
1
TOK
2
SEN
18
FUJ
3
3rd 106
1995 Nismo Nissan Sunny FUJ
1
FUJ
2
SUG
1

23
SUG
2

Ret
TOK
1

11
TOK
2

6
SUZ
1

7
SUZ
2

21
MIN
1

Ret
MIN
2

Ret
AID
1

21
AID
2

14
SEN
1

8
SEN
2

7
FUJ
1

NC
FUJ
2

Ret
17th 16

Complete JGTC results

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

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DC Pts
1994 Team Zexel Nissan Skyline GT-R GT1 FUJ
Ret
SEN
6
FUJ
6
SUG
2
MIN
Ret
10th 27
1995 Nismo Nissan Skyline GT-R GT1 SUZ
2
FUJ
4
SEN
6
FUJ
2
SUG
5
MIN
7
3th 58
1996 Nismo Nissan Skyline GT-R GT500 SUZ
6
FUJ
Ret
SEN
17
FUJ
5
SUG
3
MIN
10
11th 27
1997 TOYOTA Castrol TEAM Toyota Supra GT500 SUZ
3
FUJ
6
SEN
3
FUJ
3
MIN
3
SUG
4
3th 64
1998 Toyota Castrol Team TOM'S Toyota Supra GT500 SUZ
7
FUJ*
C
SEN
6
FUJ
11
MOT
Ret
MIN
10
SUG
2
9th 26
1999 Toyota Castrol Team TOM'S Toyota Supra GT500 SUZ
3
FUJ
4
SUG
11
MIN
2
FUJ
15
TAI
15
MOT
10
9th 38
2000 Toyota Castrol Team TOM'S Toyota Supra GT500 MOT
9
FUJ
Ret
SUG
8
FUJ
14
TAI
12
MIN
9
SUZ
12
21st 7

*The race at Fuji Speedway was cancelled due to a large crash on the first lap and heavy fog afterwards.

Complete Formula One results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Points
1993 Larrousse F1 Larrousse LH93 Lamborghini V12 RSA BRA EUR SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN
12
AUS
14
NC 0

NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 NBGNC Pts Ref
1996 Joe Bessey Motorsports 9 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH
33
CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM 96th 64 [2]

References

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  1. ^ Erzar, John (20 March 1996). "Veteran Trickle earns fourth-place finish". Times Leader. Wikes-Barre, PA. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Toshio Suzuki – 1996 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Inaugural
All-Japan Formula Three Champion
1979
Succeeded by
Preceded by Japanese Formula 3000 Champion
1995
Succeeded by