Kazuyoshi Hoshino ( born 1 July 1947, Shinjitai: 星野 一義 Hoshino Kazuyoshi, born in Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese former racing driver and businessman.
Hoshino’s nickname was “the fastest man/guy in Japan” (日本一速い男 Nippon ichi hayai otoko). He won the Japanese motocross national championships in the 90cc and 125cc classes for Kawasaki in 1968 before switching to cars as a Nissan factory driver in 1969.
Hoshino participated in two Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 24 October 1976 at the Japanese Grand Prix. Driving a Tyrrell-Ford for Heros Racing, he ran as high as fourth, but retired having used up his tyre supply. He returned in 1977 and once again entered the Japanese Grand Prix driving for Heros Racing. He finished in eleventh place driving a year-old Kojima-Ford. He scored no championship points in his Formula 1 career.
His only major world championship win was in the 1985 World Sportscar Championship round at the Fuji 1000 race, which was boycotted by many competing teams due to torrential rain.
Hoshino won the Japanese Formula 2000 championship in 1975 and 1977, before winning the Japanese Formula Two championship in 1978. He then competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 championship, winning that title in 1987, 1990 and 1993.
Hoshino also dominated the Fuji Grand Champion Series in the 1970s and 1980s. He won five titles in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1987, collecting 28 wins and 42 podiums.
Like his compatriot, Masahiro Hasemi, he continued his career racing for Nissan, driving a Skyline GT-R to win the Japanese Touring Car Championship in 1990. Hoshino drove a Nissan R90C with Toshio Suzuki to win the 1990 Suzuka 1000 race. Hoshino and Suzuki also won the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1991 and 1992. Along with Nissan Motorsports teammates Aguri Suzuki and Masahiko Kageyama, Hoshino drove a Nissan R390 GT1 to a third-place finish at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Hoshino retired from racing in 2002 and now continues to run his own Super GT team and his own Nissan specialised aftermarket parts company, Impul. Since 2003, his racing team has won the Formula Nippon championship seven times in eight years. His son, Kazuki Hoshino, currently competes in Super GT driving for GAINER in the GT300 class. Info from Wiki
Peter Hopper
Kazuyoshi Hoshino raced in just 2 GPs, at Fuji in 1976/77, but in his native Japan, he raced very competitively for the best part of 30 years, driving everything from F2, F3000, GT cars, touring cars and sports prototypes.
He won 6 Japanese single seater championships, in F2 and F3000, winning nearly 40 races in the process, the last victory coming when he was 49! He also took titles in each of the other categories, mainly with a series of Nissans.
His only major international victory was in the soaking wet WEC Fuji 1000 kms, in 1985, when all the European teams withdrew due to the conditions. He did race in Europe, at Le Mans, for a number of years, and also in the US and Australia, but his greatest achievements all came at home in Japan
