was a Japanese rally driver. After his debut in 1967, his greatest successes were as a works driver for Mitsubishi Motors.
Behind the wheel of a Galant VR-4 he won the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and scored consecutive victories in the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire Bandama in 1991 and 1992, when it was a round of the World Rally Championship, making him the first Asian and Japanese competitor to win a WRC event.History of Galant VR-4 , Mitsubishi Motors website He was also of note for his success in the Dakar Rally, where he became the first Japanese winner of the world's most famous endurance rally in 1997 driving a Mitsubishi Pajero.1997 Dakar-Agades-Dakar , Mitsubishi Motors website
Shinozuka resigned from Mitsubishi in 2002,"Mitsubishi Motors' Kenjiro Shinozuka resigns" , Ralliart.com press release, June 13, 2002 but continued to compete. He drove a Nissan pickup in the 2003 Dakar, but after hitting a sand dune he rolled his vehicle several times, enduring severe facial injuries and being placed in a coma. His co-driver Thierry Delli-Zotti suffered fractures to both his legs, although unlike Shinuzoka his injuries were not life-threatening."Rally driver escapes with his life", Taipei Times, January 11, 2003
Shinuzoka announced before the 2006 event that it would be his final appearance as a competitor, saying "[m]y decision has been taken: it’s my last Dakar. But I still hope to enjoy myself one last time behind the steering wheel. To win? No, that’s not my goal. After that, I don’t yet know what I’ll do but I do know that we need new talents in Japan. Just look at our drivers, they're all sixty or over, like Asaga san or Sugawara san… So I might help out in finding new promising competitors for the future.""Kenjiro Shinozuka: "It’s my last Dakar!", Dakar.com official website However, despite this, he returned for the 2007 Dakar, again driving a Nissan, and finished in 59th place out of the 109 cars that finished the race.
Kenjiro Shinozuka died of pancreatic cancer at a hospital in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, on March 18, 2024. He was 75.Kenjiro Shinozuka, Race Car Driver, Dies of Pancreatic Cancer at 75
WRC victories {|class="wikitable" ! # ! Event ! Season ! Co-driver ! Car |- | 1 | 23ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire Bandama | 1991 | John Meadows | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 |- | 2 | 24ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire Bandama | 1992 | John Meadows | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
Dakar Rally results Year Class Vehicle Result Stages1986Car Mitsubishi46th019873rd119882nd019896th119905th21991DNF119923rd119935th01994DNF019953rd0199617th119971st319982nd419994th32000DNF1200130th020023rd12003 NissanDNF12004DNF12005DNF02006DNF0200759th0
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