# Hidetoshi Mitsusada

Hidetoshi Mitsusada (光貞秀俊, Mitsusada Hidetoshi, born 29 December 1970) is a former racing driver and current motorsport announcer from Japan. He currently serves as a commentator for Super GT on J Sports, partnering lead announcer Sascha Boeckle [ja] on its live broadcasts.

## Career

Mitsusada began competing in Japanese Formula Three in 1991 with Now Motor Sports and secured a podium in his first season with the team. By 1993, he continued to race with the team and won his first race, along with a further four podium finishes. He finished 4th in the championship, and represented the team at the 1993 Macau Grand Prix. In 1994, he graduated to Formula Nippon and drove for DOME. In 1995, he continued racing in Formula Nippon now for Team 5Zigen, and also raced for Toyota Team Cerumo in the Japanese Touring Car Championship. In that series he secured 57 points and 2 podium finishes driving their Toyota Corona. In 1996, Mitsusada made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, racing for Team SARD Toyota Co Ltd in their Toyota Supra. He also raced for the first time in Super GT with the Toyota Castrol Team, having close battles with the Lark McLaren F1. A return to Formula Nippon in the same year followed, again with Team 5Zigen, however over the 10 races he scored no points. For 1997, he switched to Cosmo Team Cerumo and saw greater success with three podium finishes and 4th place in the championship.
For 1998, Mitsusada moved away from Japan to compete in the final three rounds of the Formula 3000 International Championship with Nordic Racing. His best result came in the final round of the season with a 15th place finish. He returned to Japan for 1999, and once again competed in Formula Nippon this time with Nakajima Racing. He finished the season in 3rd place, collecting 2 wins and 31 points along the way. He also raced for the team three times in Super GT, winning 1 race.
In 2000, Mitsusada was appointed official test driver for the Benetton Formula One team. He would support the drivers developing the B200 race car. Alongside this, he was confirmed to race for World Racing Team in the Formula 3000 International Championship. However, he failed to qualify for any of the first three races and was dropped from his race seat and Benetton test role. He returned to compete in Super GT, now with DOME and secured 2 podium finishes. He also competed in the 1000km Suzuka race. Across 2001 and 2002, Mitsusada continued to race across both Formula Nippon and Super GT.
In 2003, he switched attention purely to the Super GT series. He finished the season in 20th, driving the Raybrig Honda NSX. In 2004, he switched teams to Hitotsuyama Racing where he would stay until the end of 2005 racing their Ferrari 550 Maranello. Between 2006 and 2008, Mitsusada switched from GT500 to the GT300 class, initially with DHG Racing racing their Ford GT. He secured 1 podium finish in the first season, on his way to 16th in the championship. For his final two seasons, Mitsusada raced the Arktech Motorsports teams Porsche Boxster, finishing 15th and 26th in each season respectively.
In 2013, Mitsusada launched Team MPR a karting team he manages. Mitsusada currently acts as one of the lead commentators for Super GT's live broadcast on J Sports, a role that he has had since at least 2018.

## Racing record
### Complete Japanese Formula 3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Pts |
| 1991 | Now Motor Sports | Mugen | SUZ 11 | FUJ C | FUJ DNS | SUZ 3 | TSU DNS | SEN 7 | MIN 11 | TSU DNS | SUG 20 | SUZ 19 | SUZ 13 | 16th | 4 |
| 1992 | Now Motor Sports | Mugen | SUZ Ret | TSU 12 | FUJ 12 | SUZ 13 | SEN 16 | TAI 12 | MIN 12 | SUG 5 | SUZ Ret | SUZ Ret | | 13th | 2 |
| 1993 | Now Motor Sports | Toyota | SUZ 4 | TSU 3 | FUJ 9 | SUZ 5 | SEN 2 | TAI 1 | MIN 4 | SUG Ret | SUZ 3 | SUZ 3 | | 4th | 33 |

### Japanese Top Formula Championship results

| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Pts |
| 1994 | Dome | SUZ Ret | FUJ Ret | MIN 10 | SUZ 9 | SUG 8 | FUJ 12 | SUZ 10 | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | NC | 0 |
| 1995 | Team 5Zigen | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ Ret | SUG | FUJ 7 | TOK Ret | FUJ Ret | SUZ 9 | | NC | 0 |
| 1996 | Team 5Zigen | SUZ Ret | MIN Ret | FUJ 9 | TOK Ret | SUZ 10 | SUG 14 | FUJ 10 | MIN 12 | SUZ Ret | FUJ Ret | NC | 0 |
| 1997 | Cosmo Team Cerumo | SUZ 3 | MIN 7 | FUJ 4 | SUZ 4 | SUG Ret | FUJ 3 | MIN 3 | MOT 9 | FUJ 5 | SUZ | 4th | 20 |
| 1999 | Piaa Nakajima Racing | SUZ 3 | MOT 1 | MIN 8 | FUJ 10 | SUZ 5 | SUG 11 | FUJ 4 | MIN 1 | MOT 5 | SUZ 9 | 3rd | 31 |
| 2001 | DoCoMo Dandelion Racing | SUZ | MOT | MIN | FUJ | SUZ 13 | SUG | FUJ | MIN | MOT | SUZ | NC | 0 |
| 2002 | Team 5Zigen | SUZ | FUJ | MIN 5 | SUZ 2 | MOT | SUG | FUJ | MIN | MOT | SUZ | 9th | 8 |

### Complete Formula 3000 results

| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Points | Championship |
| 1998 | Nordic | GER | SAN | SPA | GBR | MON | FRA | AUS | GER | HUN | BEL 23 | ITA Ret | GER 15 | 0 | NC |
| 2000 | World Racing Team | SAN DNQ | GBR DNQ | SPA DNQ | GER | MON | FRA | AUS | GER | HUN | BEL | | | 0 | NC |

### Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Pts |
| 1995 | Toyota Team Cerumo | Toyota Corona | FUJ 1 Ret | FUJ 2 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 7th | 57 |
| 1995 | Toyota Team Cerumo | Toyota Corona EXiV | | | SUG 1 6 | SUG 2 2 | TOK 1 7 | TOK 2 2 | SUZ 1 4 | SUZ 2 5 | MIN 1 6 | MIN 2 Ret | TAI 1 Ret | TAI 2 Ret | SEN 1 16 | SEN 2 DSQ | FUJ 1 5 | FUJ 2 20 | 7th | 57 |

### Complete JGTC/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 | Pts |
| 1996 | Toyota Castrol Team Cerumo | Toyota Supra | GT500 | SUZ 16 | FUJ 4 | SEN | FUJ | SUG | MIN | | | | 14th | 10 |
| 1999 | Mobil1 Nakajima Racing | Honda NSX | GT500 | SUZ | FUJ | SUG | MIN | FUJ 8 | TAI 1 | MOT 5 | | | 13th | 31 |
| 2000 | Mugen x Dome Project | Honda NSX | GT500 | MOT | FUJ | SUG | FUJ | TAI 2 | MIN 4 | SUZ 2 | | | 7th | 40 |
| 2001 | Mugen x Dome Project | Honda NSX | GT500 | TAI 1 | FUJ 8 | SUG 4 | FUJ 5 | MOT 12 | SUZ 2 | MIN 12 | | | 3rd | 56 |
| 2002 | Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft | Honda NSX | GT500 | TAI 9 | FUJ 5 | SUG 2 | SEP 5 | FUJ 8 | MOT 2 | MIN Ret | SUZ 4 | | 4th | 63 |
| 2003 | Raybrig Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft | Honda NSX | GT500 | TAI 7 | FUJ 7 | SUG 16 | FUJ 17 | FUJ 13 | MOT 5 | AUT 9 | SUZ 5 | | 12th | 27 |
| 2004 | Hitotsuyama Racing | Ferrari 550 | GT500 | TAI 15 | SUG DNQ | SEP 13 | TOK 16 | MOT 14 | AUT 15 | SUZ 14 | | | NC | 0 |
| 2005 | Hitotsuyama Racing | Ferrari 550 | GT500 | TAI Ret | FUJ Ret | SEP Ret | SUG 12 | SEP Ret | FUJ 15 | AUT 13 | SUZ 15 | | NC | 0 |
| 2006 | Dhg Racing | Ford GT | GT300 | SUZ DNQ | TAI DNQ | SUZ 10 | SEP 5 | SUG Ret | SUZ Ret | MOT 5 | AUT 3 | FUJ 15 | 16th | 25 |
| 2007 | Arktech Motorsports | Porsche Boxster | GT300 | SUZ 6 | TAI 5 | FUJ Ret | SEP Ret | SUG 13 | SUZ Ret | MOT 5 | AUT 7 | FUJ 10 | 15th | 22 |
| 2008 | Arktech Motorsports | Porsche Boxster | GT300 | SUZ 9 | TAI 17 | FUJ 11 | SEP Ret | SUG DNQ | SUZ Ret | MOT 5 | AUT 13 | FUJ 20 | 26th | 11 |