Takamitsu Matsui

Takamitsu Matsui is a Japanese racing driver affiliated with Toyota Gazoo Racing who currently competes in Super GT for Hoppy Team Tsuchiya. A longtime competitor in the series, he is best known for winning the 2016 [Super GT Series|2016 championship] in the GT300 class, driving alongside Takeshi Tsuchiya. He is also a four-time class champion in the Super Taikyū endurance racing series, winning the title in 2009, 2017, 2018, and 2022, as well as a two-time class winner at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

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Career

Early career

Matsui began his racing career in kart racing in 2001, and competed primarily in regional championships in Okayama until his move up to single-seaters in 2006. He made his debut in the Okayama FJ1600 series in 2006, taking four wins and the championship, and made cameos in the national FJ1600 series at Motegi and Formula Toyota at Fuji Speedway. After catching the attention of, a retired racing driver and director of Okayama International Circuit, Matsui joined the Toyota Young Driver Program (TDP) the following year and moved to the Formula Challenge Japan series with Toyota support, but was released from the programme after the 2008 season.
In 2009, Matsui switched to endurance racing following his departure from Toyota, competing in the Super Taikyū Series in a Honda Civic Type R for Tatsuya Tanigawa's BOLD Motor Sports and winning the class title despite claiming only one victory. He returned to Formula Challenge Japan for 2010, this time with manufacturer support from Nissan, and finished runner-up to the dominant Yūichi Nakayama. Despite this, he left Nissan at the end of the year and would not drive full-time for the next two years, instead getting a job in the shipping industry. However, after being contacted by Takeshi Tsuchiya, who had previously worked with him during his time as a Toyota junior, Matsui returned to his full-time racing career in 2014, competing for Tsuchiya's teams in the Asian Le Mans Series and the newly introduced Japan Formula 4. With the exception of a one-round cameo in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship in 2016, where he won both races in the somewhat poorly contested National class, Matsui has competed exclusively in sports car racing since 2014.

Super GT

Matsui made his debut in the top-flight Super GT series' GT300 category in 2015, driving a Dome-developed Toyota 86 MC alongside Takeshi Tsuchiya for Tsuchiya's VivaC Team Tsuchiya, which returned to the series for the first time since 2008. Matsui would rejoin Toyota in 2015 alongside his Super GT commitments after being recommended by Naoya Gamou, returning to Super Taikyū for the TOM'S-run Toyota Gazoo Racing team and making his international debut with TGR at the 2015 Nürburgring 24 Hours.
After claiming one race victory at Sugo during his 2015 campaign, Matsui remained with the team for 2016 to contest what would be his most successful season in the category, taking a dominant victory at Chang and charging from the midfield at Motegi to emerge as series champion alongside his teammate Tsuchiya, who retired from full-time driving duties at the end of the year to focus on team management.
Despite his performances, Matsui did not move up to GT500, and instead remained with Tsuchiya's team in the GT300 class for 2017, partnered by Super Formula driver Kenta Yamashita. Alongside Yamashita and fellow Toyota-supported formula racers Sho Tsuboi and Kimiya Sato, Matsui would spend 2017, 2018, and 2019 in inconsistent form, demonstrating exceptional qualifying pace and taking pole positions but more frequently finishing towards the end of the field. Results would dip further after the team's switch to the Porsche 911 GT3 R for the 2020 season, and remained unremarkable until Matsui's departure at the end of the 2022 season.
Matsui joined Team Mach alongside professional sim racer Yusuke Tomibayashi for the 2023 season, driving the familiar Toyota 86 MC. However, the team would ultimately fail to score a single point over the course of the year.