World Time Attack Sydney: Who is the japanese lengend, Keiichi Tsuchiya?

The 2023 edition of the Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge Sydney is just days away, and a legendary special guest from Japan is making waves: Keiichi Tsuchiya.

Tsuchiya will be the guest of honour at SMP for the world’s biggest Time Attack event, and he’ll also be giving some on-track displays for an expected huge crowd for the September 1-2 event.

“We are both honoured and excited to have Tsuchiya-san at this year’s event,” said WTAC promoter, Ian Baker. 

“This is a once-in-a-life time opportunity to meet this legendary Japanese motorsport icon and see him in action.”

You simply can’t separate the notion of the World Time Attack event from its Japanese roots, and the name “Tsuchiya” is the most famous of all of those connections – a living legend in Japan.

Keiichi Tsuchiya is one cool customer

Tsuchiya is known as the ”founder of drift,” the pioneer of a subculture that began in the 80’s when the now 67 year old was also given the name, “The Drift King”.

The Nagano born racer (who has also been a frontrunner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans) earned that nickname from when he was racing his D2 Toyota AE86 in the national All Japan Touring Car Championship.

A Prolific winner, the skilful driver would entertain the crowd on his final lap. When in the lead and with the race still going, he would drift his AE86 around the entire circuit thus earning him the nickname.

As to why he’s referred to as the “founder of drift”? He shares that honour with compatriot Daijiro Inada, a ground breaker in Japan for meeting the public’s enthusiasm of promoting modified cars in Japan in the 1990’s.

Tsuchiya driving the now famus Taisan GTR in the Japan Touring Car Championship

Inada was the founder of the hugely popular Option Magazine and the annual Tokyo Auto Salon car show, and together with Tsuchiya they started the D1 Grand Prix, the first professional Drifting event in Japan.

Up until then, drifting was a massively popular amateur affair in a youth subculture that was more obsessed with modified vehicles than circuit racing, which officially became a professional pastime in the year 200 with Tsuchiya and Inada at the forefront of its creation.

Tsuchiya first rose to fame in 1977 however when he would hone his skills in the hills of Japan and film them from an onboard camera in his beloved AE86. These are known as the Pluspy video’s, considered to be the inspiration that led to the creation of Drifting (see video below).

After making a name for himself as a formidable wheel man on the racing circuit in Japan competing in everything from Civics, BMW’s and Sierras, Honda came knocking following his outstanding performances in the Taisan GTR, racing in the Group A JTCC series.

In a relationship with Honda that endures to this day, Tsuchiya found himself in an NXS at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the team finishing in 18th outright in 1994, before claiming a class-win in 1995.

He went on to win the Tokachi 12 Hour, before taking fifth in the Suzuka 1000, establishing his long lasting relationship with the manufacturer, whilst also continuing to race in Supra’s, Porsches, and Dodge Vipers in the JGTC, as well as returning to Le Mans with Toyota.

Tsuchiya’s best Le Mans finish came in 1999 in the Toyota GT-One (outright second). Images: LAT

Before retiring from professional racing in 2003, Tsuchiya had competed at seven Le Mans with a highest finish of outright second in 1999, which netted him his second class victory driving a Toyota GT-One alongside F1 driver Ukyo Katayama, and Toshio Suzuki, in an all Japanese team.

To this day, he remains heavily involved as a team manager in the Honda Racing Super GT – the successor series to the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship.

At the 2023 WTAC in Sydney, he will be displaying his legendary skills in a Hyundai’s high performance IONIQ 5 N, the first all-electric model from the N brand in a series of demonstration laps throughout the two-day event.

“I am keen to do anything, as long as it makes the fans happy!” Tsuchiya said about driving the Honda.

Check out the schedule for this weekend’s WTAC.

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