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Kotaro Sakurai
Kotaro Sakurai
Nationality	Japanese
Born	29 June 1994 (age 30); Tokyo, Japan
Previous series
2012; 2011; 2011; 2010	GP3 Series; British F3 Rookie Class; Toyota Racing Series; Formula BMW Pacific
Championship titles
2011	British F3 Rookie Class

Kotaro Sakurai (桜井孝太郎, Sakurai Kōtarō, born 29 June 1994 in Tokyo) is a Japanese racing driver. Sakurai raced under Filipino license in Formula BMW Pacific and in the GP3 Series.

Career

Karting

Sakurai began his racing career in karting at the age of nine and raced in Japan and Australia.^[1]

Formula BMW Pacific

In 2010, Sakurai graduated to single–seaters into the Formula BMW Pacific series in Asia, joining Eurasia Motorsport and racing under a Filipino racing licence. He scored a podium in the second race of the opening round at Sepang and achieved seven more point-scoring finishes on his way to eighth in the championship.^[2]^[3]

Toyota Racing Series

Sakurai participated in the Toyota Racing Series in early 2011 with M2 Competition, finishing fourteenth in the championship, the lowest-placed of the International Trophy drivers to contest the series.^[4]

Formula Three

In 2011, Sakurai decided to race in Europe, taking part in the rebranded Rookie Class of the British Formula 3 Championship with Hitech Racing.^[5] Bart Hylkema was his only class rival in the first half of the championship, before he graduated to the International Class, allowing Sakurai to take the championship title.^[6] During the season he also appeared in the Brands Hatch round of the European F3 Open Championship.^[7]

GP3 Series

Sakurai raced in the GP3 Series in 2012 with Status Grand Prix.^[8]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	FLaps	Podiums	Points	Position
2010	Formula BMW Pacific	Eurasia Motorsport	15	0	2	0	3	68	8th
2011	British Formula 3 International Series - Rookie	Hitech Racing	28	15	10	18	23	378	1st
	Toyota Racing Series	M2 Competition	12	0	0	0	0	325	14th
	European F3 Open Championship	Team West-Tec	2	0	0	0	0	0	22nd
2012	GP3 Series	Status Grand Prix	6	0	0	0	0	0	24th
2012	Auto GP World Series	Euronova Racing	2	0	0	0	0	6	19th
2013-14	MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship	MRF Racing	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2019	F4 Japanese Championship	Zap Speed	12	0	0	0	0	12	14th

Complete GP3 Series 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	DC	Points
2012	Status Grand Prix	CAT FEA 18	CAT SPR 12	MON FEA 13	MON SPR 20	VAL FEA	VAL SPR	SIL FEA 15	SIL SPR 13	HOC FEA	HOC SPR	HUN FEA	HUN SPR	SPA FEA	SPA SPR	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR	24th	0

References

^ "Profile". kotaro-racing.net. Kotaro Sakurai. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
^ "2010 Championship Standing (FBMW)". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
^ "Formula BMW Pacific 2010". Driver Database. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
^ "Toyota Racing Series New Zealand 2011". Driver Database. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
^ "A diamond season in prospect for British Formula 3". Racecar. Racecar New Media Services Ltd. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011. Finally – for the moment, as teams are still putting deals together with other hopefuls – are 21-year-old Dutch driver Bart Hylkema, who will be T-Sport's third driver and 16-year-old Japanese Hitech driver Kotaro Sakurai, who joins him in the Rookie class.
^ Carter, Nick (24 September 2011). "Sakurai clinches Rookie class title". British Formula 3 Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
^ "Brands Hatch: Free Practice 1 Results" (PDF). European F3 Open Championship. GT Sport. 22 July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
^ "Kotaro Sakurai joins Status GP for 2012 GP3 Series season". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.