July 24, 2026
SUZUKA 1000Km Endurance Race Past Winners 1966-2025 PART.1
SUZUKA CIRCUIT launched the "Suzuka Endurance Series," consisting of the Suzuka 500km and Suzuka 1000km races, to respond to the development of the highway network and the resulting advancement in automobile performance. This led to rapid growth among domestic automobile manufacturers, tire suppliers, and peripheral equipment providers. Along with the birth of SUZUKA CIRCUIT, the number of amateur drivers increased, all eagerly participating in endurance races with the goal of becoming top drivers.
From the Start to the Suspension of Long-Distance Endurance Races 1966–1973
The Inaugural Long-Distance Race in Japan June 26, 1966
The Toyota 2000GT dominated 1st and 2nd place. The cars behind 3rd place were two laps behind in a strong performance.
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) *Up to 5th overall and class winners |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | SⅡ-1 | Yukio Fukuzawa / Tomohiko Tsutsumi (Toyota 2000GT) |
| 2nd place | SⅡ-2 | Shikata Hosoya / Mitsuo Tamura (Toyota 2000GT) |
| 3rd place | SⅡ-3 | Kunimitsu Takahashi / Hajime Kitano (Datsun Fairlady) |
| 4th | GT1-1 | Toshiaki Takahashi / Mitsumasa Kanie (Toyota S800) |
| 5th | SⅡ-4 | Seiichi Suzuki / Kenji Miyakohei (Datsun Fairlady) |
| 6th | TⅡ-1 | Yukinobu Ito / Motoei Takizawa (Isuzu Bellett 1600GT) |
| 8th | TⅠ-1 | Teisuke Tanaka / Goro Urushiyama (Honda S600) |
| 11th place | SPⅠ-1 | Takeshi Hashimoto / Keizo Yabuki (Daihatsu Berlina) |
| 13th | GT2-1 | Mutsuaki Sanada / Shuntaro Shiraishi (Datsun Fairlady) |
Winning car record / 8 hours 2 minutes 13.96 seconds 96.004 km × 167 laps 1002.668 km
49 starters, 24 finishers
The winners of the 1st Suzuka 1000Km, Yukio Fukuzawa / Tomohiko Tsutsumi (right)
Fueling was done at the refueling stand just before the pit. This was because, at the time, handling fuel required hazardous materials handling qualifications, and refueling could only be done at designated refueling stations.
The 2nd Race: Porsche Carrera 906 Wins Amid Complete Defeat of Domestic Works Teams October 1, 1967
Porsche went on to set records in Suzuka endurance races for many years thereafter
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | PⅡ-1 | Shintaro Taki / Kenjiro Tanaka (Porsche Carrera 906) |
| 2nd place | SⅡ-1 | Takatoshi Teranishi / Kensuke Takiguchi (Fairlady 1600) |
| 3rd place | SⅠ-1 | Kunio Nagamatsu / Fumimi Taketake (Honda S800) |
| 4th | SⅠ-2 | Hiroshi Tanaka / Yōji Nishisaka (Honda S800) |
| 5th | TⅠ-1 | Tsunehiro Masuda / Hirokazu Nagata (Honda S600) |
| 11th place | TⅡ-1 | Masaaki Watanabe / Hiromichi Kawabata (Isuzu Bellett 1600GT) |
| 14th place | PⅠ-1 | Haruzo Yamada / Itsuro Nakajima (AZTEC-GT) |
Winning car record / 7 hours 39 minutes 21.76 seconds 76.004 km × 167 laps 1002.668 km
50 starters, 31 finishers
The Era of Prototype Cars from the 3rd GT September 23, 1968
At that time, Fukuzawa was 25 years old and Funakoda was 22, marking a victory for young drivers.
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | RⅡ-1 | Yukio Fukuzawa / Hiroshi Funakoda (Toyota 7) |
| 2nd place | RⅡ-2 | Mitsumasa Takano / Jiro Yoneyama (Porsche 906) |
| 3rd place | RⅠ-1 | Keizo Yabuki / Hiroyuki Kukiru (Daihatsu P-5) |
| 4th | GTⅠ-1 | Kunio Nagamatsu / Yoshifumi Kikura (Honda S800) |
| 5th | GTⅡ-1 | Hiromi Nishino / Minoru Arai (Fairlady 2000) |
| 9th | TⅠ-1 | Akira Kuwahara / Ryo Kawakatsu (Toyota Corolla) |
| 11th place | TⅡ-1 | Keijiro Satsumoto / Kanji Kataoyama (Isuzu Bellett 1600GT) |
Winning car record / 6 hours 59 minutes 25.66 seconds 415 km × 167 laps 1002.693 km
49 starters, 28 finishers
The 4th Time the Same Machine Won the 1000 Km Race for the Second Time June 1, 1969
The same machine that won two years ago and placed second the previous year won the race.
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | RⅡ-1 | Jiro Yoneyama / Tomohiko Tsutsumi (Porsche Carrera 906) |
| 2nd place | RⅠ-1 | Keizo Yabuki / Hiroyuki Kukiru (Daihatsu P-5) |
| 3rd place | GTⅡ-1 | Kunimitsu Takahashi / Yoshikazu Sunako (Fairlady 2000) |
| 4th | RⅠ-2 | Takao Yoshida / Yuzo Takechi (Daihatsu P-5) |
| 5th | TⅡ-1 | Genji Kurosawa / Kenji Miyako (Bluebird SSS) |
| 7th | TⅠ-1 | Toshiaki Takahashi / Harukuni Takahashi (Toyota Publica) |
| 8th | GTⅡ-1 | Hiroshi Tanaka / Fumio Fuji (Honda S800) |
Winning car record / 7 hours 11 minutes 23.26 seconds 415 km × 167 laps 1002.693 km
40 starters, 19 finishers
The early leader was the Honda R1300, equipped with an air-cooled 1300cc engine mounted midship.
“Maclancer,” based on the Honda S800. Keiji Tanaka / Kiyoshi Awazu finished 3rd in the R1 class.
At that time, the Fairlady referred to this SR311. Active from racing to rallying. The team of Kunimitsu Takahashi / Yoshikazu Sunako placed 3rd.
5th New Fairlady Z Debut Win May 24, 1970
The machine was just completed and entered the final after about two hours of testing.
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | GTⅡ-1 | Hiromi Nishino / Koji Fujita (Fairlady Z432) |
| 2nd place | TⅡ-1 | Hiroshi Kubota / Shinji Minowa (Skyline GT-R) |
| 3rd place | TⅡ-1 | Toshiaki Takahashi / Harukuni Takahashi (Corona Mark II GSS) |
| 4th | TⅠ-1 | Fukumi Taketake / Yoshifumi Kikura (Honda 1300 Coupe) |
| 5th | GTⅠ-1 | Chikichi Omura / Katsumasa Omura (Honda S800) |
| 8th | RⅡ-1 | Katsuyoshi Sawamura / Koji Okamoto (Tortoise 306) |
| 16th place | RⅠ-1 | Sadayoshi Nakajima / Kiyoshi Obitsu (Royal Special) |
Winning car record / 7 hours 49 minutes 19.66 seconds 415 km × 167 laps 1002.693 km
44 starters, 23 finishers
The 6th Battle Between Porsches Crowned the 910 May 16, 1971
Former Toyota works driver Funakoda won with a Porsche.
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | RⅡ-1 | Yoshimasa Kawaguchi / Hiroshi Funakoda (Porsche Carrera 910) |
| 2nd place | RⅡ-2 | Yoshimi Katayama / Toshinori Takechi (Mazda Rotary Coupe) |
| 3rd place | RⅡ-3 | Taketake Takahara / Jiro Yoneyama (Porsche Carrera 906) |
| 4th | TⅡ-1 | Koji Shitano / Kenki Masuda (Mazda Rotary Coupe) |
| 5th | TⅡ-2 | Hajime Kitano / Kunimitsu Takahashi (Bluebird 1800SSS) |
| 11th place | GTⅠ-1 | Iichi Ohashi / Seita Hattori (Honda S800) |
| 12th place | GTⅡ-1 | Masato Takahashi / Ikichi Asano (Fairlady 2000) |
| 20th place | RⅠ-1 | Minami Hirao / Motomu Nobume (FRC Angelo) |
Winning car record / 7 hours 49 minutes 19.66 seconds 415 km × 167 laps 1002.693 km
44 starters, 23 finishers
7th Race Shortened Due to Rain, Celica Wins May 14, 1972
The Celica, improved with an aerodynamic body, was equipped with a turbocharger by autumn and put into actual competition.
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | RⅡ-1 | Harukuni Takahashi / Kenichi Takeshita (Toyota Celica 1600GT) |
| 2nd place | TⅡ-1 | Yoshimi Katayama / Takashi Shigeno (Mazda Savanna RX-3) |
| 3rd place | GTⅡ-1 | Mitsuhiro Otsuka / Yoshihiro Taniguchi (Fairlady 240Z) |
| 4th | TⅠ-1 | Nobuhiro Tate / Naohiro Fujita (Toyota Corolla Coupe) |
| 5th | RⅡ-2 | Shigeki Asaoka / Tachio Yonemura (Beret R6 Spider) |
| 16th place | GTⅠ-1 | Yoshio Komori / Noboru Hirai (Honda S800) |
| 22nd place | RⅠ-1 | Mitsuo Yamamoto / Kunio Sakano (Junior College Sunny R) |
Winning car record / 6 hours 38 minutes 02.46 seconds 415 km × 140 laps 840.581 km
50 starters, 31 finishers
The 8th Nissan vs Mazda Victory Battle Won by the 240Z May 20, 1973
The 240Z, aiming to refine its engine, won with electronic fuel injection.
Also, due to the global oil crisis at the end of the year, races were canceled from 1974 onward.
| Rank | Class | Driver (Machine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st place | RⅡ-1 | Kunimitsu Takahashi / Kenji Tsuhira (Fairlady 240ZR) |
| 2nd place | TⅡ-1 | Yoshimi Katayama / Takashi Shigeno (Mazda Savanna RX-3) |
| 3rd place | TⅡ-2 | Kiyoshi Misaki / Nobuhide Tate (Sprinter Trueno) |
| 4th | RⅡ-2 | Kunio Murata / Tomohiko Tsutsumi (Redline Spl) |
| 5th | RⅡ-3 | Hajime Kitano / Yasushi Toshimori (Fairlady 240ZR) |
| 8th | GTⅡ-1 | Fumi Kawataka / Isao Sasano (Fairlady 240Z) |
| 9th | TⅠ-1 | Tetsuo Sakamoto / Toyoji Noguchi (Sunny) |
| 15th place | RⅠ-1 | Katsuhiko Sugiura / Yasuhiro Namikawa (Honda S800R) |
Winning car record / 6 hours 24 minutes 35.96 seconds 415 km × 150 laps 840.581 km
50 starters, 20 finishers
