Kazuyoshi Hoshino

Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Shinjitai: 星野 一義, Hoshino Kazuyoshi, born in Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, 1 July 1947) is a Japanese former racing driver and businessman.[1]

Kazuyoshi Hoshino

In 2010, as the team principal of Impul
Born	(1947-07-01) 1 July 1947
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Japanese
Active years	1976 - 1977
Teams	Heros Racing
Entries	2
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1976 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry	1977 Japanese Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1986–1990, 1995–1998
Teams	Nismo, TOM'S
Best finish	3rd (1998)

Motorsport career

Hoshino's nickname was "the fastest man/guy in Japan" (日本一速い男, Nippon ichi hayai otoko). He won the Japanese motocross national championships in the 90cc and 125cc classes for Kawasaki in 1968 before switching to cars as a Nissan factory driver in 1969.[2]

Hoshino participated in two Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 24 October 1976 at the Japanese Grand Prix, making him - along with compatriots Noritake Takahara and Masahiro Hasemi - the first Japanese driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix.[3] Driving a Tyrrell-Ford for Heros Racing, he ran as high as fourth, but retired having used up his tyre supply. He returned in 1977 and once again entered the Japanese Grand Prix driving for Heros Racing. He finished in eleventh place driving a year-old Kojima-Ford.[4] He scored no championship points in his Formula 1 career.[5]

His only major world championship win was in the 1985 World Sportscar Championship round at the Fuji 1000 race, which was boycotted by many competing teams due to torrential rain.[6]

Hoshino won the Japanese Formula 2000 championship in 1975 and 1977, before winning the Japanese Formula Two championship in 1978.[7][8] He then competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 championship, winning that title in 1987, 1990 and 1993.[9]

Hoshino also dominated the Fuji Grand Champion Series in the 1970s and 1980s. He won five titles in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1987, collecting 28 wins and 42 podiums.

Like his compatriot, Masahiro Hasemi, he continued his career racing for Nissan, driving a Skyline GT-R to win the Japanese Touring Car Championship in 1990. Hoshino drove a Nissan R90C with Toshio Suzuki to win the 1990 Suzuka 1000 race.[6] Hoshino and Suzuki also won the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1991 and 1992.[10] Along with Nissan Motorsports teammates Aguri Suzuki and Masahiko Kageyama, Hoshino drove a Nissan R390 GT1 to a third-place finish at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans.[11]

Hoshino retired from racing in 2002 and now continues to run his own Super GT team and his own Nissan specialised aftermarket parts company, Impul. Since 2003, his racing team has won the Formula Nippon championship seven times in eight years. His son, Kazuki Hoshino, currently competes in Super GT driving for GAINER in the GT300 class.

Racing record

Japanese Top Formula Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Points
1974	Kojima Engineering	SUZ	SUZ	SUZ	SUZ 3								5th	10
1975	Victory Circle Club	FUJ	SUZ 2	FUJ 1	SUZ 3	SUZ 1							1st	59
1976	Heros Racing Corporation[12]	FUJ Ret	SUZ	FUJ 1	SUZ 1	SUZ DNS							4th	40
1977	Heros Racing Corporation	SUZ 3	SUZ 1	MIN	SUZ 2	FUJ 1	FUJ 1	SUZ Ret	SUZ 2				1st	90 (102)
1978	Heros Racing Corporation	SUZ 1	FUJ 1	SUZ 3	SUZ Ret	SUZ 1	MIN	SUZ 12					1st	76
1979	Heros Racing Corporation	SUZ 2	MIN	SUZ 2	FUJ 10	SUZ 2	SUZ 6	SUZ 1					2nd	78 (79)
1980	Heros Racing Corporation	SUZ 3	MIN 2	SUZ 4	SUZ Ret	SUZ 2	SUZ 1						2nd	65
1981	Heros Racing Corporation	SUZ 2	SUZ 10	SUZ 1	SUZ 3	SUZ Ret							2nd	48
1982	Heros Racing Corporation	SUZ 3	FUJ Ret	SUZ Ret	SUZ 1	SUZ 5	SUZ 2						2nd	55
1983	Hoshino Racing	SUZ 4	FUJ DSQ	MIN 3	SUZ 2	SUZ 2	FUJ 3	SUZ 2	SUZ 3				2nd	79 (89)
1984	Hoshino Racing	SUZ 2	FUJ 2	MIN 1	SUZ 2	SUZ 2	FUJ 5	SUZ 2	SUZ Ret				3rd	95 (103)
1985	Hoshino Racing	SUZ 10	FUJ 2	MIN 2	SUZ DNS	SUZ 1	FUJ 11	SUZ 14	SUZ DNS				4th	51
1986	Hoshino Racing	SUZ Ret	FUJ 3	MIN Ret	SUZ 2	SUZ 1	FUJ Ret	SUZ 1	SUZ 1				2nd	87
1987	Hoshino Racing	SUZ 1	FUJ 10	MIN 2	SUZ 1	SUZ 1	SUG 1	FUJ 6	SUZ 2	SUZ 2			1st	132
1988	CABIN RACING TEAM WITH IMPUL	SUZ 1	FUJ 2	MIN 3	SUZ 2	SUG 3	FUJ Ret	SUZ 1	SUZ 1				2nd	43
1989	CABIN RACING TEAM WITH IMPUL	SUZ 1	FUJ Ret	MIN Ret	SUZ Ret	SUG Ret	FUJ 1	SUZ 3	SUZ Ret				3rd	22
1990	CABIN RACING TEAM WITH IMPUL	SUZ 1	FUJ 1	MIN 4	SUZ 16	SUG 3	FUJ 1	FUJ 1	SUZ 1	FUJ 5	SUZ 1		1st	58 (63)
1991	CABIN RACING TEAM WITH IMPUL	SUZ Ret	AUT 2	FUJ 1	MIN Ret	SUZ Ret	SUG Ret	FUJ 1	SUZ Ret	FUJ C	SUZ Ret	FUJ Ret	4th	24
1992	CABIN RACING TEAM WITH IMPUL	SUZ 2	FUJ Ret	MIN DNS	SUZ Ret	AUT Ret	SUG 7	FUJ 3	FUJ Ret	SUZ Ret	FUJ 12	SUZ 13	12th	10
1993	NISSEKI IMPUL RACING TEAM	SUZ 2	FUJ 1	MIN Ret	SUZ 2	AUT C	SUG Ret	FUJ C	FUJ Ret	SUZ 5	FUJ 1	SUZ Ret	1st	32
1994	NISSEKI IMPUL RACING TEAM	SUZ Ret	FUJ 7	MIN Ret	SUZ Ret	SUG Ret	FUJ 5	SUZ 15	FUJ Ret	FUJ 4	SUZ 6		8th	6
1995	NISSEKI IMPUL RACING TEAM	SUZ 11	FUJ C	MIN 3	SUZ 6	SUG Ret	FUJ 2	TOK Ret	FUJ 2	SUZ 4			4th	20
1996	CALSONIC IMPUL	SUZ 1	MIN Ret	FUJ 3	TOK 4	SUZ 5	SUG 2	FUJ Ret	MIN Ret	SUZ 2	FUJ Ret		3rd	31

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1976	Heros Racing	Tyrrell 007	Cosworth V8	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA	JPN Ret		NC	0
1977	Heros Racing	Kojima KE009	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN 11	NC	0
Source:[5]

Complete JGTC results

(key)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Pts
1995	Hoshino Racing	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT1	SUZ	FUJ	SEN 2	FUJ 7	SUG 2	MIN 3			14th	19
1996	Impul	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	SUZ 8	FUJ 5	SEN 5	MIN 1	SUG 2	MIN Ret			4th	54
1997	Impul	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	SUZ Ret	FUJ	SEN 15	FUJ 4	MIN 6	SUG 14			13th	16
1998	Impul	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	SUZ 11	FUJ	SEN 5	FUJ 3	MOT 2	MIN 7	SUG 4		3rd	49
1999	Impul	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	SUZ 10	FUJ 3	SUG 5	MIN 6	FUJ 5	TAI 10	MOT 7		7th	40
2000	Impul	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	MOT 17	FUJ 5	SUG 5	FUJ 3	TAI 6	MIN 1	SUZ 3		3rd	66
2001	Impul	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	TAI	FUJ	SUG	FUJ 7	MOT 3	SUZ 11	MIN 5		13th	24
2002	Impul	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	TAI 14	FUJ Ret	SUG 8	SEP 14	FUJ Ret	MOT	MIN	SUZ	24th	3

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1986	Nissan Motorsport	Keiji Matsumoto Aguri Suzuki	Nissan R86V	C1	64	DNF	DNF
1987	Nissan Motorsport	Kenji Takahashi Keiji Matsumoto	Nissan R87E	C1	181	DNF	DNF
1988	Nissan Motorsport	Takao Wada Aguri Suzuki	Nissan R88C	C1	296	DNF	DNF
1989	Nissan Motorsport	Masahiro Hasemi Toshio Suzuki	Nissan R89C	C1	167	DNF	DNF
1990	Nissan Motorsport	Masahiro Hasemi Toshio Suzuki	Nissan R90C	C1	348	5th	5th
1995	Nissan Motorsport	Masahiko Kageyama Toshio Suzuki	Nissan Skyline GT-R LM	GT1	157	DNF	DNF
1996	Nissan Motorsport	Masahiro Hasemi Toshio Suzuki	Nissan Skyline GT-R LM	GT1	307	15th	10th
1997	Nissan Motorsport TWR	Érik Comas Masahiko Kageyama	Nissan Skyline GT-R LM	GT1	294	12th	5th
1998	Nissan Motorsport TWR	Aguri Suzuki Masahiko Kageyama	Nissan R390 GT1	GT1	347	3rd	3rd

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1981	Nissan Motor Co.	Masahiro Hasemi	Nissan Bluebird Turbo	4 Cylinder	66	DNF	DNF
1982	Nissan Motor Co.	Masahiro Hasemi	Nissan Bluebird Turbo	B	153	8th	1st

References

1. "Kazuyoshi Hoshino profile". Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
2. "Moto Racing Japan-Champions". motoracing-japan.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2001. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
3. "Kazuyoshi Hoshino 1976 Formula 1 results". formula1.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
4. "Kazuyoshi Hoshino 1977 Formula 1 results". formula1.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
5. "Kazuyoshi Hoshino Formula 1 career profile". f1pulse.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
6. "Kazuyoshi Hoshino career profile". race-driver-archive.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
7. "Japanese Formula 2000 Championship overview". race-driver-archive.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
8. "Japanese Formula 2 Championship overview". race-driver-archive.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
9. "Japanese Formula 3000 championship overview". race-driver-archive.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
10. "Japanese Sportscar Championship overview". race-driver-archive.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
11. "1998 24 Hours of Le Mans results". experiencelemans.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
12. "Heros Racing Corporation". Motor Sport magazine database. 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2016.

External links

• Kazuyoshi Hoshino profile at the Japan Automobile Federation
• Calsonic Sponsor's site (in Japanese)
• Impul Own aftermarket company and team site (in Japanese)
• Calsonic racing team (in Japanese)
• Nismo.com: Hoshino History 1969-2002 (in Japanese) - charting the motorsport career of Hoshino
• Kazuyoshi Hoshino career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Taichi Yoshimura	All Japan 125cc Motocross Champion 1968	Succeeded by Kinjiro Yajima
Preceded by Noritake Takahara	Japanese Formula 2000 Champion 1975	Succeeded by Noritake Takahara
Preceded by Noritake Takahara	Japanese Formula 2000 / Japanese Formula Two Champion 1977-1978	Succeeded by Keiiji Matsumoto
Preceded by Satoru Nakajima (Japanese Formula Two)	Japanese Formula 3000 Champion 1987	Succeeded by Aguri Suzuki
Preceded by Hitoshi Ogawa	Japanese Formula 3000 Champion 1990	Succeeded by Ukyo Katayama
Preceded by Masahiro Hasemi	Japanese Touring Car Championship Champion 1990	Succeeded by Masahiro Hasemi
Preceded by Mauro Martini	Japanese Formula 3000 Champion 1993	Succeeded by Marco Apicella