Takuya Izawa

After graduating Suzuka Circuit Racing School Formula (SRS-F) the top of his class in 2002, Takuya Izawa was seventh in the Formula Renault Germany series in 2003, and competed in Formula Dream in 2004 and 2005.

From 2006, he moved to Japanese Formula 3 racing, and in 2008, to SUPER GT. Although he won two races in his second season in 2009, it was not quite enough to give him the championship, finishing a disappointed runner-up. In 2010 he moved to Team Kunimitsu joining  rookie Naoki Yamamoto. They were eighth overall with two third-place podiums.

Izawa kicked off 2011 well with a second place finish in the Okayama round, and went on to win the post-season JAF Grand Prix Fuji Sprint Cup.

In his third year with Yamamoto, Izawa’s team finished second in the first two 2012 rounds, and continued to consistently finish within the points to end the year fifth overall. In the post-season JAF Grand Prix Fuji Sprint Cup, he was third. Izawa continued to race for Team Kunimitsu in 2013. With his new teammate, former champion Takashi Kogure, they won the opening round, and were ranked tenth overall.

In 2014, Izawa moved a step closer to Formula 1, by entering the GP2 series. In 2015, he made a comeback to SUPER GT, and his partner ship with Naoki Yamamoto continued until 2017. In 2018, after a nine-year gap, he moved back to ARTA, and with teammate Tomoki Nojiri, was on the podium three times including two wins. They were in contention for the title until the last round, but finished the season third.

In 2019, Izawa continued with ARTA and Nojiri, racing to tenth overall in the GT500 class. In 2020 he moved to Modulo Nakajima Racing, and with the younger Hiroki Ohtsu as his partner, finished the season 12th with numerous podiums and poles.

Izawa continues to race with Ohtsu for Modulo Nakajima Racing in 2021, finished 18th. In 2022, finished 15th overall. In 2023, he teamed up with new partner Kakunoshin Ohta and scored his first podium finish in three years in the fourth round, and will continue with the same team in 2024.