Hidetoshi Mitsusada (光貞秀俊, Mitsusada Hidetoshi, born 29 December 1970) is a former racing driver and current motorsport announcer from Japan. He currently serves as a commentator for Super GT on J Sports, partnering lead announcer Sascha Boeckle [ja] on its live broadcasts.

Hidetoshi Mitsusada
光貞秀俊
NationalityJapan Japanese
Born (1970-12-29) December 29, 1970 (age 53)
Osaka, Japan
Super GT
Years active1996-2008
TeamsArktech Motorsports
DHG Racing
Hitotsuyama Racing
Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft
Mugen x Dome Project
Nakajima Racing
Toyota Castrol Team Cerumo
Starts70
Wins2
Poles1
Fastest laps1
Best finish3rd in 2001
Previous series
1994-2002
1999-2000
1995
Formula Nippon
Formula 3000
Japanese Touring Car Championship

Career

edit

Mitsusada began competing in Japanese Formula Three in 1991 with Now Motor Sports and secured a podium in his first season with the team. By 1993, he continued to race with the team and won his first race, along with a further four podium finishes. He finished 4th in the championship, and represented the team at the 1993 Macau Grand Prix. In 1994, he graduated to Formula Nippon and drove for DOME. In 1995, he continued racing in Formula Nippon now for Team 5Zigen, and also raced for Toyota Team Cerumo in the Japanese Touring Car Championship. In that series he secured 57 points and 2 podium finishes driving their Toyota Corona. In 1996, Mitsusada made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, racing for Team SARD Toyota Co Ltd in their Toyota Supra. He also raced for the first time in Super GT with the Toyota Castrol Team, having close battles with the Lark McLaren F1.[1] A return to Formula Nippon in the same year followed, again with Team 5Zigen, however over the 10 races he scored no points. For 1997, he switched to Cosmo Team Cerumo and saw greater success with three podium finishes and 4th place in the championship.

 
Hitotsuyama Racing's Ferrari 550, a car Mitsusada raced in 2004 and 2005

For 1998, Mitsusada moved away from Japan to compete in the final three rounds of the Formula 3000 International Championship with Nordic Racing. His best result came in the final round of the season with a 15th place finish. He returned to Japan for 1999, and once again competed in Formula Nippon this time with Nakajima Racing. He finished the season in 3rd place, collecting 2 wins and 31 points along the way. He also raced for the team three times in Super GT, winning 1 race.

In 2000, Mitsusada was appointed official test driver for the Benetton Formula One team. He would support the drivers developing the B200 race car.[2] Alongside this, he was confirmed to race for World Racing Team in the Formula 3000 International Championship. However, he failed to qualify for any of the first three races and was dropped from his race seat and Benetton test role.[3][4] He returned to compete in Super GT, now with DOME and secured 2 podium finishes. He also competed in the 1000km Suzuka race. Across 2001 and 2002, Mitsusada continued to race across both Formula Nippon and Super GT.

In 2003, he switched attention purely to the Super GT series. He finished the season in 20th, driving the Raybrig Honda NSX.[5] In 2004, he switched teams to Hitotsuyama Racing where he would stay until the end of 2005 racing their Ferrari 550 Maranello. Between 2006 and 2008, Mitsusada switched from GT500 to the GT300 class, initially with DHG Racing racing their Ford GT.[6] He secured 1 podium finish in the first season, on his way to 16th in the championship. For his final two seasons, Mitsusada raced the Arktech Motorsports teams Porsche Boxster, finishing 15th and 26th in each season respectively.[7][8][9]

In 2013, Mitsusada launched Team MPR a karting team he manages.[10] Mitsusada currently acts as one of the lead commentators for Super GT's live broadcast on J Sports, a role that he has had since at least 2018.[11][12]

Racing record

edit

Complete Japanese Formula 3 results

edit

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

Year Team engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Pts
1991 Now Motor Sports Mugen SUZ
11
FUJ
C
FUJ
DNS
SUZ
3
TSU
DNS
SEN
7
MIN
11
TSU
DNS
SUG
20
SUZ
19
SUZ
13
16th 4
1992 Now Motor Sports Mugen SUZ
Ret
TSU
12
FUJ
12
SUZ
13
SEN
16
TAI
12
MIN
12
SUG
5
SUZ
Ret
SUZ
Ret
13th 2
1993 Now Motor Sports Toyota SUZ
4
TSU
3
FUJ
9
SUZ
5
SEN
2
TAI
1
MIN
4
SUG
Ret
SUZ
3
SUZ
3
4th 33

Japanese Top Formula Championship results

edit
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Pts
1994 Dome SUZ
Ret
FUJ
Ret
MIN
10
SUZ
9
SUG
8
FUJ
12
SUZ
10
FUJ FUJ SUZ NC 0
1995 Team 5Zigen SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ
Ret
SUG FUJ
7
TOK
Ret
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
9
NC 0
1996 Team 5Zigen SUZ
Ret
MIN
Ret
FUJ
9
TOK
Ret
SUZ
10
SUG
14
FUJ
10
MIN
12
SUZ
Ret
FUJ
Ret
NC 0
1997 Cosmo Team Cerumo SUZ
3
MIN
7
FUJ
4
SUZ
4
SUG
Ret
FUJ
3
MIN
3
MOT
9
FUJ
5
SUZ 4th 20
1999 Piaa Nakajima Racing SUZ
3
MOT
1
MIN
8
FUJ
10
SUZ
5
SUG
11
FUJ
4
MIN
1
MOT
5
SUZ
9
3rd 31
2001 DoCoMo Dandelion Racing SUZ MOT MIN FUJ SUZ
13
SUG FUJ MIN MOT SUZ NC 0
2002 Team 5Zigen SUZ FUJ MIN
5
SUZ
2
MOT SUG FUJ MIN MOT SUZ 9th 8

Complete Formula 3000 results

edit
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Points Championship
1998 Nordic GER SAN SPA GBR MON FRA AUS GER HUN BEL
23
ITA
Ret
GER
15
0 NC
2000 World Racing Team SAN
DNQ
GBR
DNQ
SPA
DNQ
GER MON FRA AUS GER HUN BEL 0 NC

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results

edit

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

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Pts
1995 Toyota Team Cerumo Toyota Corona FUJ
1

Ret
FUJ
2

12
7th 57
Toyota Corona EXiV SUG
1

6
SUG
2

2
TOK
1

7
TOK
2

2
SUZ
1

4
SUZ
2

5
MIN
1

6
MIN
2

Ret
TAI
1

Ret
TAI
2

Ret
SEN
1

16
SEN
2

DSQ
FUJ
1

5
FUJ
2

20

Complete JGTC/Super GT results

edit

(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 DC Pts
1996 Toyota Castrol Team Cerumo Toyota Supra GT500 SUZ
16
FUJ
4
SEN FUJ SUG MIN 14th 10
1999 Mobil1 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX GT500 SUZ FUJ SUG MIN FUJ
8
TAI
1
MOT
5
13th 31
2000 Mugen x Dome Project Honda NSX GT500 MOT FUJ SUG FUJ TAI
2
MIN
4
SUZ
2
7th 40
2001 Mugen x Dome Project Honda NSX GT500 TAI
1
FUJ
8
SUG
4
FUJ
5
MOT
12
SUZ
2
MIN
12
3rd 56
2002 Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft Honda NSX GT500 TAI
9
FUJ
5
SUG
2
SEP
5
FUJ
8
MOT
2
MIN
Ret
SUZ
4
4th 63
2003 Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft Honda NSX GT500 TAI
7
FUJ
7
SUG
16
FUJ
17
FUJ
13
MOT
5
AUT
9
SUZ
5
12th 27
2004 Hitotsuyama Racing Ferrari 550 GT500 TAI
15
SUG
DNQ
SEP
13
TOK
16
MOT
14
AUT
15
SUZ
14
NC 0
2005 Hitotsuyama Racing Ferrari 550 GT500 TAI
Ret
FUJ
Ret
SEP
Ret
SUG
12
SEP
Ret
FUJ
15
AUT
13
SUZ
15
NC 0
2006 Dhg Racing Ford GT GT300 SUZ
DNQ
TAI
DNQ
SUZ
10
SEP
5
SUG
Ret
SUZ
Ret
MOT
5
AUT
3
FUJ
15
16th 25
2007 Arktech Motorsports Porsche Boxster GT300 SUZ
6
TAI
5
FUJ
Ret
SEP
Ret
SUG
13
SUZ
Ret
MOT
5
AUT
7
FUJ
10
15th 22
2008 Arktech Motorsports Porsche Boxster GT300 SUZ
9
TAI
17
FUJ
11
SEP
Ret
SUG
DNQ
SUZ
Ret
MOT
5
AUT
13
FUJ
20
26th 11
edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "The Story Of Team Lark's 1996 Campaign". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Benetton Maintains Japanese Line". crash.net. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Formula 3000 round-up". Autosport. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Benetton Looking For New Test Driver". Atlasf1. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Honda's History In GT500, In Pictures". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  6. ^ "La historia de la semana: La mezcla imperfecta de un Ford GT y el motor Zetec-R de Fórmula 1" (in Spanish). diariomotor.com. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Hidetoshi Matsusada". DriverDB. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Mitsusada". Motorsport Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Hidetoshi Mitsusada". Historic Racing. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  10. ^ "光貞秀俊が監督のMPR、公式サイトをオープン" (in Japanese). as-web.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  11. ^ "SUPER GT 2023 第8戦 モビリティリゾートもてぎ". jsports.co.jp (in Japanese). J Sports. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Motegi GT Grand Final Preview: The Battle For the Championship". dailysportscar.com. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2023.