Shinichi Yamaji
Shinichi Yamaji (山路 慎一, Yamaji Shin'ichi, May 5, 1964 – May 26, 2014[1]) is a former Japanese race car driver. He formerly raced in the Japanese Grand Touring Championship, currently known as Super GT.
| Shinichi Yamaji | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Born | May 5, 1964 Chiba |
| Died | May 26, 2014 (aged 50) |
| Japanese Grand Touring Championship | |
| Years active | 1986–2011 |
| Teams | YOURS Sports |
| Previous series | |
| 1994 | All Japan GT Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 1986 | Fuji Freshman Race Series |
Yamaji's race debut was in 1986. He competed for YOURS Sports in the RX-7 at the JSS race at Fuji. He went on to take the championship in the RX-7 class of the Fuji Freshman Race series and from 1994 moved up to the All Japan GT Championship. He is widely remembered for an incident that occurred at the start of the 1998 race at Fuji in which, following a serious accident that resulted in an outbreak of fire, he rushed over to the stricken car and frantically worked to extinguish the engulfing flames. Thanks to his heroic efforts the driver, Tetsuya Ota, was able to escape with his life. In recent years he served as the Clerk of the Course at various events such as Fuji Speedway races and the D1 Grand Prix. In 2011, he retired from Super GT300. On May 25, 2014 he checked into the hospital due to worsening conditions and he died the following day.