is a Japanese
rally driver
Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
. Since his debut in 1967, his greatest successes have been as a
works driver
In motorsports, a factory-backed racing team or driver is one sponsored by a vehicle manufacturer in official competitions. As motorsport competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is desired and often necessary for su ...
for
Mitsubishi Motors
is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.[Galant VR-4 The Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 (Viscous Realtime 4WD) was the range-topping version of Mitsubishi Motors' Galant model, available in the sixth (1987–93), seventh (1993–96) and eighth (1996–2002) generations of the vehicle. Originally introduced to ...](_blank)
he won the
Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) is an international rally championship organized by the FIA encompassing rounds in Asia and Oceania. Group N cars dominated the championship for many years but in recent years cars built to R5 and S ...
in 1988 and scored consecutive victories in the
Rallye Côte d'Ivoire Bandama in 1991 and 1992, when it was a round of the
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
, making him the first Japanese competitor to win a WRC event. He is also of note for his success in the
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal ...
, where he became the first Japanese winner of the world's most famous endurance rally in 1997 driving a
.
Shinozuka resigned from Mitsubishi in 2002, but continued to compete. He drove a
Nissan pickup in the 2003 Dakar, but after hitting a
sand dune he rolled his vehicle several times, enduring severe facial injuries and being placed in a coma. His co-driver
Thierry Delli-Zotti suffered fractures to both his legs, although unlike Shinuzoka his injuries were not life-threatening.
Shinuzoka announced before the 2006 event that it would be his final appearance as a competitor, saying ''"
decision has been taken: it’s my last Dakar. But I still hope to enjoy myself one last time behind the steering wheel. To win? No, that’s not my goal. After that, I don’t yet know what I’ll do but I do know that we need new talents in Japan. Just look at our drivers, they're all sixty or over, like Asaga san or Sugawara san… So I might help out in finding new promising competitors for the future."''
"Kenjiro Shinozuka: "It’s my last Dakar!"
Dakar.com official website However, despite this, he returned for the 2007 Dakar, again driving a Nissan, and finished in 59th place out of the 109 cars that finished the race.
WRC victories
:
Dakar Rally results
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shinozuka, Kenjiro
1948 births
Living people
Mitsubishi Motors people
Sportspeople from Tokyo
Japanese rally drivers
Off-road racing drivers
Dakar Rally drivers
Dakar Rally winning drivers
World Rally Championship drivers