Mr.Tsuchiya Keiichi

I don't know a lot about his racing career(too lazy to research) but i do know that he is very good at driving and has been involved in japanese motorsports for a long time(he's over 50). He was the driver for Team ARTA (JGTC) NSX race car and also participated in Le Mans. Just incase you don't know the JGTC or Japan Grand Touring Championship is the equivallent to NASCAR here in the USA. Tsuchiya has recently retired from professional racing but can be seen tearin up japan's local circuits on Best Motoring International videos.

Tsuchiya with his AE86 part 1 of AE86 Special. If anyone knows where I can get a copy lemme know!!

Keiichi Tsuchiya

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Keiichi Tsuchiya
Nationality	Japan
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1994-2000
Teams	Team Kunimitsu Honda, Team Lark McLaren, Toyota Team Europe, TV Asahi Team Dragon
Best finish	2nd (1999)
Class wins	2 (1995, 1999)

Keiichi Tsuchiya (土屋圭市, Tsuchiya Kei'ichi^?, born January

30, 1956, Nagano, Japan) is a professional racing driver. He is also known as the "Drift King" otherwise as Dorikin (ドリキン) for his nontraditional use of drifting in

non-drifting racing events, and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport. He is also known for touge (mountain pass) driving. The car that he uses to drive has become one of the most popular sports cars these days, Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno (a.k.a. the "Hachi-Roku" in Japan (hachi-roku meaning "eight six"))(His car is also called "The Little Hachi that could"). A video known as Pluspy documents Tsuchiya's touge driving with his AE86.

Biography

Tsuchiya started his racing career through amateur racing in the Fuji Freshman series, in 1977. Unlike many drivers who came a traditional route via wealthy families or previous motorsport background, he honed his skills from street racing becoming an underground legend. He would continue to take part in the Japanese Formula 3, Japanese Touring Car championship, the latter whilst driving a Nissan Skyline GT-R in the Group A championship and later a Honda Civic in the Supertouring car championship. He went on to score a class win and a top 10 place at the 1995 24 hours of Le Mans in a Honda NSX. In 1999 of the same race, this time in a Toyota GT-One, during the last hour while co-driver Ukyo Katayama was building up pace to the leading BMW V12 LMR he was forced into the grass by a backmarker privateer's BMW LMP, blowing the tire out. They survived the ordeal and went on to score the fastest lap but

were forced to settle for second. At 47 years of age, Tsuchiya announced his retirement from professional racing. His last race was round eight at Suzuka for the Japanese GT championship. After his retirement, he remained in racing and is now an Official D1 Grand Prix Judge and was Team Director for both GT500 (for one year) and GT300 Class of ARTA JGTC Team until the team disbanded their GT300 operation at the end of the 2005 season. He owned the aftermarket suspension company Kei Office until he sold the business to Ogura Racing Clutch in 2005. He also hosts the video magazine "Best Motoring", which features

road-tests of new Japanese cars, including a special section called "Hot Version", which focuses on performance modified cars. He is a guest presenter in Video Option, a monthly video magazine, similar to Hot Version, which also regularly covers the D1GP and sister video magazine Drift Tengoku which deals purely with drifting.

He has been an editorial supervisor on the televised anime Wangan Midnight and Initial D. He appeared in episode 23 of Initial D as a special guest. He also appeared in the semi biographical film Shuto Kousoku Trial 2,3,4 and Max and also presents in the Super GT magazine show in Japan.

[edit] Trivia

Keiichi Tsuchiya's homecourse is the Usui touge
Holds the Usui course record with his NSX-R
When "Dori Dori" was a freshman in circuit racing, he got his race license suspended due to the illegal racing that he was still doing. In the movie, Shuto Kousoku Trial Max, he advises someone to leave the illegal racing scene behind if he is to become involved with professional racing. That is as if Keiichi as himself in the movie advises that to a fictional character using his real life experience.
His life in driving has parallelism to the Initial D main character, Takumi, as both of them started out to explore their local Touge while doing regular deliveries for their family business.
He has raced in NASCAR-sanctioned exhibition races at Suzuka Circuit (Suzuka Thunder 100) and at Twin Ring Motegi Superspeedway for the 1998 NASCAR-sanctioned exhibition and 1999 NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series races at the circuit, both named the Coca-Cola 500k.
Trademark color is Jade Green, which appears on his overall, helmet and is the adopted color of the company he used to own, Kei Office. Also was the color of the D1 Grand Prix Kei Office S15 Silvia of driver and employee Yasuyuki Kazama who also wears a suit similar in pattern. On Initial D 3rd Stage the color can also be seen on a sportsbike rider overall and helmet who overtook Takumi as he was en-route to an initiation battle with Ryosuke Takahashi. The color of Tomo's racing suit from Initial D 4th Stage is also jade green, and in similar pattern to his suit.
In 2006 he made a cameo as a fisherman in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
He owns a new suspension company, after Kei-Office had been bought by ORC, dubbed DG5.

[edit] Quotes

"I drift not because it is a quicker way around a corner, but the most exciting way."

"You brake and then turn the wheel, step on the clutch, and pull the e-brake. Release the e-brake, go into countersteer mode, then wait. Wait until you know the car is facing the corner exit direction. then you smile and slam on the gas as you exit the corner."

"This is fun! I wish that Toyota could make cars like this again!" (on the Toyota AE86)

"Countersteer ga usoi dayo na.. (Countersteer is late, huh?)" (from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, subbed as "You call that drifting?")

"Men with guts attack those corners!"

"Sou yuu dake desu. (Just like that.)" (Tsuchiya as he demos a drift)

"The Most Important thing is Balance." (Tsuchiya says this word in every drift action)

"Dou da?" (Tsuchiya says "How's that?" sarcastically to Shikiba Tatsuya, in Shuto Kusokou Trials MAX)

"There's tension on the track, now you see how hard it is. You may be fastest on the street, but unless you know the track, you're not good enough to sit behind the wheel." (Tsuchiya speaking to Shikiba, subtitled portion, Shuto Kusokou Trials MAX)

"I'm afraid if I raced you on the street, I'd push you to your death." (Tsuchiya speaks to Takahiro Yamanaka, subtitled portion, Shuto Kusokou Trials 2)

"What is power without control?"

"Haita haita haita!" (Tsuchiya on D1GP event, commentate that the chasing drifter is closer to the leading drifter, in tsuiso battle)

[edit] Career results

1977 Debut in Fuji Freshman series.
1977-1984 Ran selected entries in All Japan Touring Car championship.
1984 Fuji Freshman series race (Toyota AE86)= 6 wins
1985 All Japan Touring Car championship (Toyota AE86) 1st in Class 3
1986 Corolla Sprinter Cup-2 podium places
1987 All Japan Touring Car championship (Honda Civic)-1 win
1988 Toyota Cup-1st overall
- All Japan Touring Car championship (BMW M30)-3rd in Class 2
Macau Guia race (BMW M3)-4th overall
1989 All Japan F3 championship
- All Japan Touring Car championship (Ford Sierra Cosworth)-1 win
1990 All Japan Touring Car championship (Ford Sierra Cosworth)
- Macau Guia race (Ford Sierra Cosworth)
- New Zealand Touring Car series (Toyota)
1991 All Japan F3 championship (Ralt-Mugen)-10th overall
- All Japan Touring Car championship (Nissan Skyline GT-R)-5th overall
1992 All Japan Touring Car championship (Nissan Skyline GT-R)
1993 All Japan Touring Car championship (Taisan Nissan Skyline GT-R)-1 win
- Japan Endurance series (Honda Prelude)-2nd Tsukuba 12 Hours
1994 All Japan GT championship (Porsche 911T)-1 win
- All Japan Touring Car championship (Honda Civic)
- Suzuka 1000kms (Porsche 911T)-1st in class, 2nd overall
- Le Mans 24 Hours (Honda NSX)-18th overall
1995 All Japan GT championship (Porsche911TRSR)
- All Japan Touring Car championship (Honda Civic)
- Suzuka 1000kms (Honda NSX)-5th overall
- Tokachi 12 Hours (Honda NSX)-1st overall
- Le Mans 24 Hours (Honda NSX)-1st in class
1996 All Japan GT championship (Honda NSX)-13th overall
- Entered NASCAR Thunder Special race at Suzuka
- Le mans 24 Hours (Honda NSX)-3rd in class
1997 All Japan GT championship (Porsche 911/Dodge Viper)
- Fuji InterTec race (Toyota Chaser)
- Suzuka 1000kms (Lark McLaren F1 GTR)-9th overall
- Entered NASCAR Thunder Special race at Suzuka
- Le Mans 24 Hours (Lark McLaren F1 GTR)-qualified 10th, retired from race
1998 All Japan Touring Car championship (Toyota Chaser)-7th overall
- All Japan GT championship (Toyota Supra)-8th overall
- Le Mans 24 Hours (Toyota GT-One)-9th overall
- NASCAR at the California Speedway.
1999 Japan Touring Car Championship(Advan Altezza Touring car).
2000-2003 he joined team ARTA racing a NSX once again in the All Japan GT championship.

toyota ae86

Drift King