Yanagida Masataka

Masataka Yanagida, born on June 4, 1979, in Tokyo, Japan, is a highly accomplished racing driver with a career spanning various motorsport disciplines. The son of former racer Haruhito Yanagida, Masataka began his racing journey in karting in 1993. He gained international experience early on, competing in Formula Renault Campus and Formula Renault in France during the late 1990s. Returning to Japan, he raced in Formula Dream, securing multiple victories.

Yanagida's career truly took off in the 2000s with his entry into Japanese Formula 3 and the Japanese GT Championship (now Super GT). He quickly made his mark in GT racing, initially in the GT300 class. In 2003, driving a Nissan Fairlady Z for Hasemi Motorsport, he clinched his first championship title in the GT300 class. Progressing to the GT500 class in 2005 with NISMO (Nissan's works team), he achieved a fifth-place finish in the standings. In 2010, he made a one-off appearance in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at Okayama.

Yanagida cemented his legacy in Super GT by winning both the GT300 and GT500 class championships. He secured another GT300 title in 2010 and then triumphed in the GT500 class in 2011 and 2012 with the MOLA team, driving a Nissan GT-R. This historic achievement made him the first driver to win both GT300 and GT500 class titles in the Super GT series. In recent years, Yanagida has continued to compete in Super GT and other racing series, while also engaging in media and promotional activities to promote motorsports.