was a Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver. Sunako was a works rider for

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

during the late 1950s and early 1960s. After racing in Japanese events, Sunako made his

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

debut in the

1961 Belgian Grand Prix The 1961 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 June 1961 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 3 of 8 in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The organizers ...

, where he finished sixth in the 250cc category. He made two starts in the 1963 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, scoring his only podium at the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished the year seventh in the championship standings. After the 1963 season, Sunako made the switch to four-wheel racing and signed with the

Prince Motor Company The Prince Motor Company (Japanese language, Japanese: ) was an automobile manufacturer, automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes fo ...

as a works driver. He made his debut in the 1964

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix () is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-de ...

Suzuka Circuit The , the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. It is most well known by i ...

. He drove his Prince Skyline S54 to a second-place finish in the GT-II sports car race, behind the

Porsche 904 The Porsche 904 is an automobile which was produced by Porsche in Germany in 1964 and 1965. This coupe, manufactured from 1963 to 1965, was street-legal under road traffic laws, allowing it to be driven not only on race tracks but also on public ...

of Sokichi Shikiba. This race is cited as the "Beginning of the Skyline Legend" in motor racing. In 1966, Sunako won the Japanese Grand Prix sports car race at

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Shizuoka, Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the ...

in his Prince R380. After

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

's acquisition of Prince was completed later in the year, Sunako continued as a works driver for Nissan. He finished the year as the champion of the All-Japan Racing Driver Championship in the touring car division. He was the co-driver to Motoharu Kurosawa when he won the 1969 Japanese Grand Prix in a

Nissan R382 The Nissan R382 was a racing car built in 1969 by Nissan Motors for competition in the Japanese Grand Prix. Built to the Group 7 (racing), Group 7 motorsports formula, the car featured Nissan's first V12 engine. It was a replacement for the Nissan ...

. Sunako did not drive during the 120 lap race, but is officially credited as a winning driver alongside Kurosawa. Sunako retired from racing in 1971, and continued to serve as an ambassador for Nissan until he died on 3 January 2020. His son, Tomohiko Sunako, is also a racing driver.

Racing Record

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunako, Yoshikazu 1932 births 2020 deaths 250cc World Championship riders Japanese motorcycle racers Japanese racing drivers Sportspeople from Kaohsiung Nismo drivers