Kotaro Shimbara

Kotaro Shimbara
NationalityJapan Japanese
Born (2004-04-12) 12 April 2004 (age 20)
Japan
F4 Japanese Championship career
Debut season2022
Current teamHFDP with B-Max Racing Team
Former teamsKageyama Racing, Zap Speed
Wins1
Podiums5
Poles1

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]

He 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 serie, 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]

Racing record

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

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 15 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
C 		AUT
2
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
 FUJ1
2
 SUZ
1
 SUZ
2
 FUJ2
1
 FUJ2
2
 SUG
1
 SUG
2
 AUT
1
 AUT
2
 MOT
1
 MOT
2
 SUZ2
1
 SUZ2
2

References

  1. ^ "エントリーリスト：2024-第1戦・第2戦-富士" (PDF). fiaf4.wordpress.com. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "Honda 2025 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  8. ^ "French F4 champion Taito Kato to race in FRegional with ART GP". fFormula Scout. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.