# Morio Nitta

Morio Nitta (新田 守男, Nitta Morio, born 30 January 1967) is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in the Super GT Series for K-tunes Racing. He is a three-time champion of the GT300 class, winning the championship in 1996, 1999, and 2002.
Nitta is the current record holder for most races in any class of the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship/Super GT Series, as well as the record holder for the most career wins, podiums, and points in the GT300 class.
As of 2023, Nitta is a Bronze rated driver under the FIA Driver Categorisation system.

## Early racing career

Nitta began his professional racing career in 1986, participating in the Fuji Freshman Race.
He would later compete in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship and the Japanese Touring Car Championship, where he and Keiichi Suzuki won the JTC-3 class Championship in 1990 driving a Toyota Corolla Levin for Tsuchiya Engineering.

## JGTC/Super GT career

Nitta first competed in Super GT in 1994, the inaugural season of what was then known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) driving a Porsche 964 at Sportsland Sugo.
He got his first full-time drive in the GT300 class with Team Taisan Jr. in 1996. Joined by his former JTCC teammate Keiichi Suzuki, Nitta won three races and won the GT300 championship in his first full season. Nitta and Suzuki would go on to finish second in points the following year with two wins.
Nitta joined A'PEX in 1998, achieving a best finish of second at the Japan Special GT Cup at Fuji Speedway alongside co-driver Peter Dumbreck in the #44 Toyota MR2.
For the 1999 season, A'PEX formed a joint entry with Tsuchiya Engineering, and beginning at the All-Japan Fuji GT Race, Nitta would drive the #25 MR2 alongside Shinichi Takagi. Nitta and Takagi won in their first race together, and with four podiums in the final six races, Nitta would win his second GT300 Championship by a single point over Takeshi Tsuchiya (the son of Tsuchiya Engineering owner Haruo Tsuchiya) and Yuji Ide.
Driving the new third-generation Toyota MR-S sponsored by Super Autobacs, Nitta won the season finale at Suzuka Circuit. A'PEX began a new collaboration with Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) in 2001, where Nitta and Takagi won the opening race at TI Circuit Aida. In 2002, the duo opened the season with another win at TI Circuit, then reeled off five top-five finishes in the final five races to win the championship. Nitta became the first three-time GT300 champion in JGTC/Super GT history.
The racing division of A'PEX, which spun off from its parent company and rebranded as apr, ran the new Nissan-powered ASL Garaiya for ARTA beginning in 2003. With the exception of 2006, when ARTA suspended its GT300 programme for a season, Nitta drove the Garaiya from 2003 to 2010. Alongside Takagi, Nitta won seven races in the Garaiya, and finished runner-up in the GT300 championship standings in 2004 and 2008. During the 2006 season, Nitta drove a Toyota MR-S entered under the apr banner, and won the final round at Fuji after the R&D Sport Vemac 408R of Haruki Kurosawa and Shinsuke Shibahara ran out of fuel on the last lap.
Nitta and Takagi went their separate ways after twelve seasons after the 2010 season. In 2011, Nitta would continue with apr, driving the mid-engine layout Toyota Corolla Axio alongside Toyota Young Driver Program (TDP) prospect Yuji Kunimoto.
The Corolla Axio was replaced in 2012 by apr's new Toyota Prius, the first hybrid GT300 vehicle to compete in Super GT. Nitta joined Koki Saga for the Prius' debut campaign where they were rewarded with a second-place finish at the summer race at Fuji. At the 2013 Fuji 500km, Nitta and Saga gave the Prius its milestone first Super GT win for a hybrid vehicle. Nitta scored two more podiums in 2014 at the wheel of the Prius.
His long association with apr ended after the 2014 season, and Nitta joined the LM corsa team in 2015 in their #51 BMW Z4 GT3 which was prepared by INGING Motorsport. LM corsa and INGING switched to a new Ferrari 488 GT3 for the 2016 season, and in 2017, INGING would enter the car in collaboration with Arnage Racing. Nitta's best result during this stretch was a second-place finish at Sugo in 2017.
Nitta joined the new K-tunes Racing LM corsa team in 2018, which received technical support from INGING. At the wheel of their new #96 Lexus RC F GT3, Nitta scored his first win in five years alongside Yuichi Nakayama in the third round at Suzuka. Nitta and Nakayama also won the penultimate round in Autopolis, giving Nitta his 20th career win.
K-tunes Racing spun off from LM corsa in 2019, and new teammate Sena Sakaguchi joined Nitta in the #96 Lexus. The duo won a rain-shortened opening round at Okayama, the team's home race, then won the third round at Suzuka. With two wins and four podiums, Nitta and Sakaguchi finished second in the championship, and Nitta retook sole ownership of the career wins record, now at 22 career victories.
In 2022, Nitta and Takagi were reunited at K-tunes Racing for the first time since 2010. They combined for six top-ten finishes that season.

## Outside Super GT

Before achieving success in JGTC/Super GT, Nitta entered the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps seven times from 1989 to 1998. His best result was 12th overall in 1989, driving a Toyota Corolla GT alongside Kaori Okamoto and Hideshi Matsuda.
Nitta made his GT World Challenge Asia debut in the 2022 season finale at Okayama, driving a new K-tunes Racing Lexus RC F GT3. Nitta and Kazunori Suenaga would return to contest the full GT World Challenge Asia Japan Cup in 2023.

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

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
| 1988 | UCLA | Reynard 873 | Toyota 3S-G 2.0 I4 | SUZ | TSU | FUJ | SUZ Ret | SUG Ret | TSU 18 | SEN 13 | SUZ DNS | NIS 18 | SUZ 10 | NC | 0 |
| 1989 | Innoma House Gold | Ralt RT32 | Toyota 3S-G 2.0 I4 | SUZ | FUJ | SUZ | TSU | SUG | TSU | SUZ | MIN | SUZ DNQ | SUZ | NC | 0 |
| 1992 | Kanagawa Clinic Racing Team | Ralt RT36 Ralt RT35 Reynard 923 | Toyota 3S-G 2.0 I4 | SUZ DNQ | TSU | FUJ 19 | SUZ DNQ | SEN 20 | TAI 27 | MIN DNQ | SUG | SUZ | | NC | 0 |

### Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship 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 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | DC | Points |
| 1987 | TOM'S Aramis 900 | Toyota Corolla Levin | Div. 1 | MIN | SEN | TSU | SUG | FUJ Ret | SUZ | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1988 | Unknown | Toyota Corolla FX | JTC-3 | SUZ 11 | MIN 8 | SEN Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1988 | Unknown | Toyota Corolla Levin | JTC-3 | | | | TSU DNS | SUG Ret | FUJ Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1989 | FET TOM'S | Toyota Corolla Levin | JTC-3 | MIN Ret | SEN 7 | TSU Ret | SUG 7 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1990 | Team ADVAN | Toyota Corolla Levin | JTC-3 | MIN 4 | SUG 1 | SUZ 4 | TSU 1 | SEN 3 | FUJ 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | 104 |
| 1991 | Team ADVAN | Toyota Corolla Levin | JTC-3 | SUG 1 | SUZ Ret | TSU 1 | SEN 7 | AUT 5 | FUJ Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3rd | 56 |
| 1992 | Team ADVAN | Toyota Corolla Levin | JTC-3 | TIA | AUT 1 | SUG Ret | SUZ Ret | MIN 2 | TSU 9 | SEN 4 | FUJ 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 11th | 55 |
| 1993 | Team ADVAN | Toyota Corolla Levin | JTC-3 | MIN 3 | AUT 4 | SUG 4 | SUZ 2 | TIA 8 | TSU 4 | TOK Ret | SEN 2 | FUJ 2 | | | | | | | | | | 6th | 90 |
| 1994 | Tsuchiya Engineering | Toyota Corolla Ceres | JTCC | AUT1 | AUT2 | SUG1 Ret | SUG2 Ret | TOK1 | TOK2 | SUZ1 Ret | SUZ2 23 | MIN1 | MIN2 | TAI1 DNS | TAI2 Ret | TSU1 | TSU2 | SEN1 13 | SEN2 12 | FUJ1 | FUJ2 | NC | 0 |
| 1996 | Toyota Team FET | Toyota Corolla AE110 | JTCC | FUJ1 | FUJ2 | SUG1 | SUG2 | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | MIN1 | MIN2 | SEN1 13 | SEN2 12 | TOK1 15 | TOK2 13 | FUJ1 DNS | FUJ2 13 | | | | | NC | 0 |

### Complete 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 | Points |
| 1994 | Osuka Racing | Porsche 964 RSR | GT2 | FUJ | SEN | FUJ | SUG 5 | MIN | | | | | 18th | 8 |
| 1996 | Team Taisan Jr. | Porsche 964 RSR | GT300 | SUZ 1 | FUJ 2 | SEN Ret | FUJ 2 | SUG 1 | MIN 1 | | | | 1st | 90 |
| 1997 | Team Taisan Jr. | Porsche 993 RSR | GT300 | SUZ 4 | FUJ 1 | SEN 3 | FUJ 1 | MIN 3 | SUG 2 | | | | 2nd | 89 |
| 1998 | A'PEX | Toyota MR2 | GT300 | SUZ 7 | FUJ C | SEN 6 | FUJ 2 | MOT 4 | MIN 4 | SUG Ret | | | 3rd | 45 |
| 1999 | Momo Corse Racing Team with Tsuchiya | Toyota MR2 | GT300 | SUZ 8 | FUJ 1 | SUG 2 | MIN 2 | FUJ 5 | TAI Ret | MOT 3 | | | 1st | 73 |
| 2000 | Super Autobacs Racing with A'PEX | Toyota MR-S | GT300 | MOT 6 | FUJ 10 | SUG 6 | FUJ 6 | TAI Ret | MIN 14 | SUZ 1 | | | 7th | 39 |
| 2001 | ARTA with A'PEX | Toyota MR-S | GT300 | TAI 1 | FUJ 3 | SUG Ret | FUJ 5 | MOT Ret | SUZ Ret | MIN Ret | | | 7th | 40 |
| 2002 | ARTA with A'PEX | Toyota MR-S | GT300 | TAI 1 | FUJ Ret | SUG 17 | SEP 2 | FUJ 4 | MOT 5 | MIN 5 | SUZ 4 | | 1st | 75 |
| 2003 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL ARTA Garaiya | GT300 | TAI 19 | FUJ 3 | SUG 4 | FUJ 10 | FUJ 6 | MOT 2 | AUT 5 | SUZ NC | | 7th | 55 |
| 2004 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL ARTA Garaiya | GT300 | TAI 2 | SUG 5 | SEP 21 | TOK 1 | MOT 1 | AUT 2 | SUZ 2 | | | 2nd | 92 |
| 2005 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL ARTA Garaiya | GT300 | OKA 10 | FUJ 2 | SEP 1 | SUG 18 | MOT 3 | FUJ Ret | AUT 2 | SUZ 8 | | 3rd | 74 |
| 2006 | apr | Toyota MR-S | GT300 | SUZ Ret | OKA 9 | FUJ 2 | SEP Ret | SUG 5 | SUZ 3 | MOT 10 | AUT Ret | FUJ 1 | 5th | 60 |
| 2007 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL ARTA Garaiya | GT300 | SUZ 18 | OKA 17 | FUJ 1 | SEP Ret | SUG Ret | SUZ 2 | MOT 3 | AUT 5 | FUJ 7 | 4th | 66 |
| 2008 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL ARTA Garaiya | GT300 | SUZ 5 | OKA 1 | FUJ 7 | SEP 12 | SUG 1 | SUZ Ret | MOT 9 | AUT 2 | FUJ 9 | 2nd | 77 |
| 2009 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL ARTA Garaiya | GT300 | OKA 2 | SUZ 5 | FUJ 1 | SEP 10 | SUG 9 | SUZ 2 | FUJ 7 | AUT 4 | MOT 14 | 5th | 71 |
| 2010 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | ASL ARTA Garaiya | GT300 | SUZ Ret | OKA 6 | FUJ 2 | SEP 2 | SUG 6 | SUZ 2 | FUJ C | MOT 12 | | 2nd | 55 |
| 2011 | apr | Toyota Corolla Axio apr GT | GT300 | OKA 6 | FUJ 7 | SEP 6 | SUG 2 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 14 | AUT 8 | MOT 9 | | 7th | 38 |
| 2012 | apr | Toyota Prius apr GT | GT300 | OKA Ret | FUJ 6 | SEP Ret | SUG 8 | SUZ Ret | FUJ 2 | AUT 8 | MOT Ret | | 10th | 26 |
| 2013 | apr | Toyota Prius apr GT | GT300 | OKA Ret | FUJ 1 | SEP Ret | SUG 22 | SUZ 15 | FUJ 2 | FSW | AUT 15 | MOT 20 | 8th | 35 |
| 2014 | apr | Toyota Prius apr GT | GT300 | OKA Ret | FUJ 6 | AUT Ret | SUG Ret | FUJ 6 | SUZ 2 | CHA 17 | MOT 2 | | 8th | 43 |
| 2015 | LM Corsa | BMW Z4 GT3 | GT300 | OKA 9 | FUJ 9 | CHA | FUJ 4 | SUZ Ret | SUG 9 | AUT 17 | MOT 15 | | 17th | 14 |
| 2016 | LM Corsa | Ferrari 488 GT3 | GT300 | OKA 5 | FUJ 6 | SUG 9 | FUJ 11 | SUZ 11 | CHA 12 | MOT 11 | MOT Ret | | 16th | 13 |
| 2017 | INGING & Arnage Racing | Ferrari 488 GT3 | GT300 | OKA Ret | FUJ | AUT 27 | SUG 2 | FUJ 14 | SUZ 16 | CHA 17 | MOT 21 | | 17th | 15 |
| 2018 | K-tunes Racing LM Corsa | Lexus RC F GT3 | GT300 | OKA 14 | FUJ 14 | SUZ 1 | CHA 10 | FUJ 10 | SUG 14 | AUT 1 | MOT 10 | | 6th | 45 |
| 2019 | K-tunes Racing | Lexus RC F GT3 | GT300 | OKA 1 | FUJ 16 | SUZ 1 | CHA 14 | FUJ 15 | AUT 5 | SUG 3 | MOT 3 | | 2nd | 58 |
| 2020 | K-tunes Racing | Lexus RC F GT3 | GT300 | FUJ 11 | FUJ 23 | SUZ 28 | MOT 4 | FUJ 26 | SUZ 5 | MOT 17 | FUJ 22 | | 16th | 15 |
| 2021 | K-tunes Racing | Lexus RC F GT3 | GT300 | OKA 6 | FUJ 14 | SUZ 17 | MOT 13 | SUG 8 | AUT 2 | MOT 14 | FUJ 19 | | 12th | 23 |
| 2022 | K-tunes Racing | Lexus RC F GT3 | GT300 | OKA 27 | FUJ 6 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 5 | SUZ 25 | SUG 9 | AUT 8 | MOT 6 | | 16th | 22.5 |
| 2023 | K-tunes Racing | Lexus RC F GT3 | GT300 | OKA 14 | FUJ 9 | SUZ 22 | FUJ 23 | SUZ 8 | SUG 8 | AUT Ret | MOT 5 | | 18th | 15 |
* Season still in progress.