Kotaro Shimbara
| Kotaro Shimbara | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Born | 12 April 2004 |
| Previous series | |
| 2021-25 | F4 Japanese Championship |
Kotaro Shimbara (新原 光太郎, Shinbara Kōtarō; born 12 April 2004) is a Japanese racing driver who currently races in the F4 Japanese Championship.[1]
Career
Formula 4
Shimbara made his racing debut in 2021 race in F4 Japan with TOM'S backed RSS team from the third round onwards. He finished fourteenth in the standings.[2]
Shimbara made his full season debut in Japanese F4 with Zap Speed in 2022. He finished twentieth[3][4][5][6]in the standings with one podium. In 2024, he returned to the series, racing with Kageyama Racing. He claimed pole in the first race, and a win after Ryota Horachi was disqualified in the last race at Suzuka. For 2025, he will stay in the series, moving to HFDP with B-Max Racing Team after winning the Honda Racing School scholarship with Rintaro Sato.[7][8]
Personal life
Shimbara interested to become a racing driver by riding a rental cart at the race cart at the race cart run by a friend of his father when he was five years old. In Nada Junior High and High School, he joined the rugby club for the purpose of building up his physical strength. He also entered the University of Tokyo in 2023, where he studies Economics.[9][10]
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | F4 Japanese Championship | RSS | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14th |
| 2022 | F4 Japanese Championship | Zap Speed | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20th |
| 2024 | F4 Japanese Championship | HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 153 | 3rd |
| 2025 | F4 Japanese Championship | HFDP with B-Max Racing Team | 14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 127 | 4th |
| 2026 | Super Formula Lights | B-Max Racing Team | |||||||
| Super GT - GT300 | Team UpGarage |
Complete F4 Japanese Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | RSS | FUJ1 1 |
FUJ1 2 |
SUZ 1 |
SUZ 2 |
MOT1 1 13 |
MOT1 2 Ret |
MOT1 3 11 |
SUG 1 DNS |
SUG 2 11 |
SUG 3 24 |
MOT2 1 10 |
MOT2 2 14 |
FUJ2 1 DSQ |
FUJ2 2 9 |
14th | 3 |
| 2022 | Zap Speed | FUJ1 1 13 |
FUJ1 2 11 |
SUZ 1 14 |
SUZ 2 12 |
FUJ2 1 15 |
FUJ2 2 10 |
SUZ2 1 12 |
SUZ2 2 8 |
SUG 1 15 |
SUG 2 17 |
AUT 1 13 |
AUT 2 13 |
MOT 1 12 |
MOT 2 33† |
20th | 5 |
| 2024 | HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing | FUJ1 1 Ret |
FUJ1 2 4 |
SUZ 1 3 |
SUZ 2 4 |
FUJ2 1 7 |
FUJ2 2 4 |
SUG 1 9 |
SUG 2 8 |
AUT 1 3 |
MOT 1 7 |
MOT 2 2 |
MOT 3 2 |
SUZ2 1 4 |
SUZ2 2 1 |
3rd | 153 |
| 2025 | HFDP with B-Max Racing Team | FUJ1 1 21 |
FUJ1 2 6 |
FUJ1 3 13 |
FUJ2 1 2 |
FUJ2 2 2 |
SUZ 1 2 |
SUZ 2 1 |
SUG 1 13 |
SUG 1 5 |
SUG 2 16 |
AUT 1 8 |
AUT 2 8 |
MOT 1 1 |
MOT 2 7 |
4th | 127 |
Complete Super Formula Lights results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | B-Max Racing Team | FUJ 1 |
FUJ 2 |
FUJ 3 |
AUT 1 |
AUT 2 |
AUT 3 |
SUZ 1 |
SUZ 2 |
SUZ 3 |
OKA 1 |
OKA 2 |
OKA 3 |
SUG 1 |
SUG 2 |
SUG 3 |
MOT 1 |
MOT 2 |
MOT 3 |
Complete Super GT results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Team UpGarage | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | GT300 | OKA | FUJ |
SEP |
FUJ |
SUZ |
SUG |
AUT |
MOT |
References
- ^ "エントリーリスト：2024-第1戦・第2戦-富士" (PDF). fiaf4.wordpress.com. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "RESULTS:2021 第3戦・第4戦 鈴鹿サーキット". Japanese FIA-F4 Championship Official Site (in Japanese). 9 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "2022 第1戦・第2戦 富士スピードウェイ". Japanese FIA F4 Championship Official Site (in Japanese). 20 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ "2022 第3戦・第4戦 鈴鹿サーキット". Japanese FIA F4 Championship Official Site (in Japanese). 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "2022 第5戦・第6戦 富士スピードウェイ". Japanese FIA F4 Championship Official Site (in Japanese). 31 July 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "2022 第7戦・第8戦 鈴鹿サーキット". Japanese FIA F4 Championship Official Site (in Japanese). 20 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Honda 2025 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "French F4 champion Taito Kato to race in FRegional with ART GP". Formula Scout. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "東大生レーシングドライバー「新原光太郎選手」の秘密に迫る]". J SPORTS. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
- ^ ""東大生ホンダ育成ドライバー"……異色すぎる肩書きを可能にしたものとは。新原光太郎の目標は「角田裕毅さんを超えるドライバーになる」] -". motorsport.com. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
External links
- Kotaro Shimbara career summary at DriverDB.com