Takuya Izawa

Takuya Izawa is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the Japanese Super Formula Championship and Japanese Super GT Series.

He spent almost entire career in Japanese championships, making the Super GT debut in 2007 and Formula Nippon debut in 2008. His best result so far was the second place in the 2009 Super GT season and third place in the 2012 Formula Nippon season.

Outside Japan, Izawa recorded a guest appearance in the Japanese round of the 2013 World Touring Car Championship and spent the 2014 season in the GP2 Series, driving for ART Grand Prix and scoring one podium.

Takuya Izawa

Early racing attempts in Formula Renault

Born in June 1984 in Tokyo, Takuya Izawa started his racing career in karting competitions in 1996. In 2002, he attended Suzuka Circuit Racing School and after a graduation, he participated in the Japanese Formula 4 Championship.

In the same year, Izawa joined German team Ma-Con in one round of the German Formula Renault, then racing full-time in 2003 both in the German Formula Renault and Eurocup. He recorded couple more starts in the Formula Renault in 2004 but his main competition was Japanese Formula Dream.

Two seasons in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship

In 2006, Izawa joined Honda Toda Racing in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, scoring two victories during the season to finish sixth in the points. The champion was Adrian Sutil. Izawa spent one more season in Formula 3, driving for Honda Team Real and finishing again sixth in the points. This time, he scored no wins, just two podiums.

In 2007, Izawa also made a debut in GT racing, joining Real Racing as the third driver at Suzuka 1000, alongside Katsutomo Kaneishi and Toshihiro Kaneishi in the #17 Honda NSX. They finished in the fifth place.

Takuya Izawa in 2008

Double programme with ARTA since 2008

In 2008, Izawa joined ARTA (Autobacs Racing Team Aguri) to compete in two premier Japanese championships – Formula Nippon and Super GT Series. He was more successful in GT racing, scoring three podiums in the #1 Honda NSX which he was sharing with defending champion Ralph Firman. They finished 8th in the points.

In his Formula Nippon debut season, Izawa was driving the #56 Lola-Honda, ending the championship tenth in the points.

Takuya Izawa and Ralph Firman in 2009

Super GT vice-champion in 2009

In 2009, Izawa and Ralph Firman were teammates again, sharing the #8 ARTA Honda NSX.  They won two times, at Fuji and Motegi, and added three more podiums to their account, finishing the season second in the points, behind Juichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer.

In the Formula Nippon, Izawa joined Docomo Team Dandelion Racing in 2009, driving the #41 Swift-Honda. The second place in the season-opening race at Fuji was his best result and he was 8th in the points at the end of the season.

Four more seasons with Docomo Team Dandelion Racing

Izawa stayed with Docomo Team Dandelion Racing for four more seasons in the Formula Nippon, until 2013. He scored no wins or podiums in 2010 and 2011, and then shined in 2012, scoring two victories in the #40 Honda.

He was a race winner at Sugo and Suzuka, but also in the non-championship Fuji Sprint Cup. He finished third in the points, behind Kazuki Nakajima and Koudai Tsukakoshi. That remained his best Formula Nippon/Super Formula result in a career.

Izawa's last season with Docomo Team Dandelion Racing was 2013. He won season-opening race at Suzuka and finished seventh in the points.

Takuya Izawa (left) and Takashi Kogure in 2013

Four Super GT seasons with Team Kunimitsu

Parallel to his commitments in the Formula Nippon, Izawa spent four seasons with Team Kunimitsu in the Super GT Series between 2010 and 2013. He scored only one victory in that period, in the season-opening race of 2013 season at Okayama.

In that race and also during the season, he was driving the #100 Honda HSV-010 GT, sharing a car with Takashi Kogure. In the previous three seasons, Izawa's co-driver in the #100 Honda was Naoki Yamamoto.

Takuya Izawa in Honda WTCC car

WTCC attempt with Honda at Suzuka

In September 2013, Izawa has been invited to drive for Honda factory team in the Japanese round of the World Touring Car Championship at Suzuka Circuit, alongside regular drivers Tiago Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini.

He was 12th in the first race and 22nd in the second race. It remained his only attempt in touring car racing.

Takuya Izawa in 2014

Driving for ART Grand Prix in the 2014 GP2 Series

After seven years of a double programme in Japanese championships, Izawa decided to try something else in 2014. He joined ART Grand Prix team to compete for full-season in the GP2 Series. At the wheel of the #9 car, Izawa reached a podium in the first race at Hungaroring. He finished the season 18th in the points.

In 2014, Izawa also raced in selected events in Japan, joining Dome Racing in one Super GT race and racing with Drago Corse in three Super Formula races.

Takuya Izawa

Full-time return to Japan in 2015

Izawa returned to Japan on a full-time basis in 2015. He rejoined Team Kunimitsu to drive the #100 Honda NSX-GT together with Naoki Yamamoto. They won one race, at Sportsland Sugo, to finish third in the points. In the 2015 Super Formula, Izawa was driving for Real Racing, rarely scoring points and finishing just 13th in the championship. He stayed one more year with Real Racing, scoring one Super Formula podium in 2016 and finishing 16th in the points.

In the following years, Izawa raced with Team Kunimitsu in 2016 and 2017, then moving to ARTA's #8 Honda for the 2018 Super GT season. He and Tomoki Nojiri won two races and finished third in the championship points.

In the Super Formula, Izawa rejoined Docomo Team Dandelion Racing in 2017 and then moved to Nakajima Racing in 2018.

In 2018, Takuya Izawa (right) was sharing the #8 Honda with Tomoki Nojiri

Photos: Takuya Izawa,