Akira Watanabe
NationalityJapanese
Born (1954-12-15) 15 December 1954
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Previous series
1975
1985
1988
1992, 1995
19982007
Fuji Freshman Race
All Japan Endurance Championship
Japanese Formula Two Championship
Japanese Touring Car Championship
Super GT

Akira Watanabe (渡辺 明, Watanabe Akira, born 15 December 1954)[1] is a retired Japanese racing driver.

Racing career

Watanabe first began competing in 1975 in the Fuji Freshman Race. He is a noted touring car racing specialist, winning multiple championships in Super Taikyu and the Civic Inter Cup.[1] He competed in a round of the 1988 Japanese Formula 3 Championship at Sendai Hi-Land Raceway but failed to qualify; he would be replaced by Hisashi Wada for the next round.

Watanabe first competed in Super GT in 1985 but did not race full-time until 1998; in that year, he drove a Toyota Cavalier for KRAFT. He last competed in Super GT in 2007. After retiring from active motorsports, Watanabe drove the medical car in Super GT and is still involved with the medical team in some way.[2]

Racing record

Complete JSPC results

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

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 DC Points
1985 Tokico Mazda RX-7 254 B SUZ FUJ
DNS
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
Ret
FUJ FUJ NC 0

Complete Japanese Formula 3 results

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

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1988 Choro-Q Racing Team Meiju Reynard 873 Volkswagen GX 2.0 I4 SUZ TSU FUJ SUZ SUG TSU SEN
DNQ
SUZ NIS SUZ NC 0

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results

(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 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points
1992 Team Over Take BMW M3 Sport Evolution (E30) JTCー2 TAI AUT SUG
7
SUZ MIN TSU
Ret
SEN
6
FUJ 26th 10
1995 Trans Global BMW 318i (E36) JTCC FUJ1 FUJ2 SUG1 SUG2 TOK1 TOK2 SUZ1 SUZ2 MIN1 MIN2 TAI1 TAI2 SEN1
20
SEN2
21
FUJ1 FUJ2 NC 0

Complete Super GT results

(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 Points
1998 KRAFT Toyota Cavalier GT300 SUZ FUJ SEN
10
FUJ
11
MOT
12
MIN
7
SUG
9
24th 7
2000 Team Daikokuya Porsche 911 RSR GT300 MOT FUJ SUG FUJ
Ret
TAI MIN SUZ
10
30th 1
2001 Porsche 911 GT3-R GT300 TAI
Ret
FUJ
7
SUG FUJ
Ret
MOT
16
SUZ MIN 20th 4
Cars Tokai Dream28 Honda NSX TAI FUJ SUG FUJ MOT SUZ
13
MIN
2002 GT300 TAI
9
FUJ
14
SUG
4
SEP
8
FUJ
10
MOT
Ret
MIN
Ret
SUZ
9
16th 22
2003 GT300 TAI
5
FUJ
Ret
SUG
5
FUJ
21
FUJ
9
MOT
19
AUT
13
SUZ
8
14th 22
2004 GT300 TAI
18
SUG
Ret
SEP
17
TOK
17
MOT
14
AUT
20
SUZ
22
NC 0
2005 Verno Tokai Dream28 Vemac RD320R GT300 OKA
14
FUJ
13
SEP
14
SUG
9
MOT
6
FUJ
Ret
AUT
14
SUZ
6
14th 12
2006 Team Mach GT300 SUZ OKA FUJ SEP SUG SUZ
18
MOT AUT FUJ NC 0
2007 Ebbro Team Nova Vemac RD350R GT300 SUZ OKA FUJ SEP SUG SUZ
6
MOT AUT FUJ 23rd 5

References

  1. 1 2 "2005 Driver Information". Super GT (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  2. "スーパーGT選手権FROの凄さと奥深さ". Toyota Gazoo Racing (in Japanese). 20 November 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
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