is a former racing driver from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He is the first Japanese driver to enter a

Formula One World Championship Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Grand Prix, and the first to compete in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

endurance race.

Career

Fushida's driving career began in Japan in 1965 as a factory driver for

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

. In 1966, Fushida joined

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, and was one of five drivers who took part in the

Toyota 2000GT The Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout#Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-door, two-seat sports car/grand tourer designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yam ...

Speed Trial at the Yatabe High Speed Test Track. While racing in Japan, Fushida won the Fuji 1000km endurance race four times (in 1968, 1969, 1971, and 1979), and the Suzuka 1000km two times (in 1968 and 1971). He also won the 1972 Fuji Grand Championship Race title, and took part in the 1968 and 1969 Japan Grand Prix sports car races. After leaving Toyota following the 1969 season, he began racing in America, competing in the

SCCA Continental Championship The SCCA Continental Championship was an annual, professional, open-wheel motor racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), under various names, from 1967 to 1976. The inaugural series was staged in 1967 as the SCCA Grand Prix ...

Canadian-American Challenge Cup The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

, and the

Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...

. After sustaining injuries in a Trans-Am racing accident at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

in 1971, Fushida later returned to Japan. Fushida, along with fellow countryman Tetsu Ikuzawa, made history when they became the first Japanese drivers to compete at Le Mans in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, driving the Mazda rotary-powered

Sigma MC73 Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...

. He unsuccessfully entered two Formula One Grands Prix with

Maki Maki may refer to: People *Mäki, a Finnish surname (includes a list of people with the name) *Maki (name), a Japanese given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) Places *Maki, Ravar, Kerman Province, Iran *Maki, Rigan, Ke ...

, the first in

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

in 1975, where a blown engine prevented him from starting the race. The second was the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...

the same year, where he failed to qualify. Afterwards, Fushida was replaced at Maki by

Tony Trimmer Tony Trimmer (born 24 January 1943) is a British former racing driver from England, who won the Shell British Formula Three Championship and E.R. Hall Trophy in 1970. He was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Tony Trimmer also won the prestigious M ...

, and never again entered a Formula One race. He placed first in Class C and fifth overall, partnering Don Holland, in the 1975 Hardie Ferodo 1000 at

Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hour ...

. That year, he made his second of three Le Mans entries, with his last occurring in 1981 for

Mazdaspeed (often stylized in all-caps as MAZDASPEED) was Mazda's in-house performance division. The company was a grassroots racing team in Japan. Owned by Mazda Motor Corporation, they built production model vehicles, became involved in motorsports develop ...

. Fushida's three entries at Le Mans as a driver each ended in retirements. After retiring from racing in 1981, he worked for Dome Racing in 1986, then joined the

TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT, Super Formula and Super Formu ...

tuning company in Japan in 1989, before moving to the UK in 1992 to oversee the company's entry in British Formula Three as TOM's GB. In 1998, TOM's GB was acquired by

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

, and became Racing Technology Norfolk (RTN). As operations director of RTN, Fushida oversaw the

Bentley Speed 8 The Bentley Speed 8 (developed from the Bentley EXP Speed 8) was an Autosport Award Winning Le Mans Prototype race car that was designed by Peter Elleray. The EXP Speed 8 debuted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001 and won the race in 2003. I ...

's winning effort in the

2003 24 Hours of Le Mans The 71st 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: 71e 24 Heures du Mans, link=no) was a non-championship 24-hour automobile endurance race held for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars from 14 to 15 June 2003 at the Circuit de la Sarthe close to Le ...

. After the Le Mans triumph, Fushida returned to Japan again, primarily for Dome, where Fushida succeeded founder Minoru Hayashi as company president from September 2012 until his retirement in July 2015. He currently works as a consultant for Dome.

Complete Formula One results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

"A history of Japanese F1 drivers (Part 1)"
f1fanatic.co.uk

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fushida, Hiroshi 1946 births Living people Sportspeople from Kyoto Japanese racing drivers Japanese Formula One drivers Maki Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Trans-Am Series drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Sports car racing team owners Grand Champion Series drivers Long Distance Series drivers