was a Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver. Sunako was a works rider for

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

during the late 1950s and early 1960s. After racing in Japanese events, Sunako made his

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

debut in the

1961 Belgian Grand Prix The 1961 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 June 1961 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 3 of 8 in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manu ...

, where he finished sixth in the 250cc category. He made two starts in the 1963 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, scoring his only podium at the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished the year seventh in the championship standings. After the 1963 season, Sunako made the switch to four-wheel racing and signed with the

Prince Motor Company The Prince Motor Company (Japanese: ) was an automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes for the Japanese Army in World War II, e.g. ...

as a works driver. He made his debut in the 1964

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the ...

Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Int ...

. He drove his Prince Skyline S54 to a second-place finish in the GT-II sports car race, behind the

Porsche 904 The Porsche 904 is an automobile which was produced by Porsche in Germany in 1964 and 1965. It was officially called Porsche Carrera GTS due to the same naming rights problem that required renaming the Porsche 901 to Porsche 911. History After ...

of Sokichi Shikiba. This race is cited as the "Beginning of the Skyline Legend" in motor racing. In 1966, Sunako won the Japanese Grand Prix sports car race at

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...

in his

Prince R380 The Prince R380 is a racing car built in 1965 by Prince Motor Company to compete in the Japanese Grand Prix. Following the merger of Prince Motor Company and Nissan Motors in 1966, the R380 was modified into the Nissan R380-II (also known as R380 ...

. After

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

's acquisition of Prince was completed later in the year, Sunako continued as a works driver for Nissan. He finished the year as the champion of the All-Japan Racing Driver Championship in the touring car division. He was the co-driver to

Motoharu Kurosawa , nicknamed "Gan-san", is a retired professional Japanese racing driver. He is the patriarch of a racing family; his three sons, Takuya, Haruki, and Tsubasa, are all racing drivers. Racing career After a brief career in domestic motorcycle r ...

when he won the 1969 Japanese Grand Prix in a

Nissan R382 The Nissan R382 was a racing car built in 1969 by Nissan Motors for competition in the Japanese Grand Prix. Built to the Group 7 motorsports formula, the car featured Nissan's first V12 engine. It was a replacement for the Nissan R381 from the prev ...

. Sunako did not drive during the 120 lap race, but is officially credited as a winning driver alongside Kurosawa. Sunako retired from racing in 1971, and continued to serve as an ambassador for Nissan until he died on 3 January 2020. His son,

Tomohiko Sunako , professionally known as , is a Japanese racing driver, motoring journalist, and driving instructor. He is the son of former Nissan works racing driver and Yamaha factory motorcycle racer, Yoshikazu Sunako. Sunako competed in the Super Taikyu ...

, is also a racing driver.

Racing Record

Motorcycle Grand Prix 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 ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunako, Yoshikazu 1932 births 2020 deaths 250cc World Championship riders Japanese motorcycle racers Japanese racing drivers Sportspeople from Kaohsiung Nismo drivers