Kiyoto Fujinami (藤波清斗, Fujinami Kiyoto, born 13 April 1995) is a Japanese professional racing driver who currently competes in Super GT for Team Mach. He is a two-time champion in the series, having won the GT300 class title with Kondō Racing in 2020 and 2022.
| Kiyoto Fujinami 藤波清斗 | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Born | 13 April 1995 Tokyo, Japan |
| Super GT career | |
| Debut season | 2017 |
| Current team | Team Mach |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver |
| Car number | 5 |
| Engine | Toyota |
| Former teams | |
| Starts | 34 |
| Championships | 2 (2020, 2022) |
| Wins | 5 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2020 and 2022 |
| Previous series | |
| 2020 2019 2018 2012–13 | Super Formula Lights F3 Asian Championship Japanese Formula Three Championship Formula Challenge Japan |
Career
editFollowing success in karting, headlined by the 2010 CIK-FIA Asia Pacific KF2 Championship, Fujinami entered the Formula Challenge Japan in 2012 as a member of the Nissan Driver Development Programme (NDDP). He scored 2 points in his first season on the way to 13th in the championship. Returning for 2013, he scored 5 pole positions and 3 podiums over the 12 races, ending with 29 points and 6th in the championship.[citation needed]
Fujinami transitioned to sports car racing in 2014, racing in the ST-3 class of the Super Taikyu Series with Techno First Racing Team. He scored his first class win at Autopolis aboard the #34 Nissan Fairlady Z34. In 2015, Fujinami moved up to the ST-X (GT3) class with Team Mach, and won at Okayama in the #5 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. The entry was acquired by GTNET Motor Sports in 2016 where Fujinami continued to race in the ST-X class.[citation needed]
He helped lead GTNET Motor Sports to consecutive ST-X championships in 2018 and 2019, with overall victories in the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours in each of these seasons. Fujinami added a third Fuji 24 Hours win in 2021.[citation needed]
For 2018, Fujinami returned to single-seaters with B-Max Racing in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, but over seven races scored no points finishes.[1] He fared better in the 2019 F3 Asian Championship, with 14 points in three races for the team.[2][3]
Super GT (2017-2022, 2024)
editFujinami made his Super GT debut in 2017 with Team Mach, driving the #5 Toyota 86 MC (MC86). That season, he earned three points in seven races, and finished 22nd in the standings with a best finish of eighth at Autopolis. He did not receive a full season contract for 2018, but returned to Team Mach as a third driver at the Fuji GT 500 Mile Race.
Fujinami earned another part-time contract in 2019, this time driving for JLOC in their #87 Lamborghini Huracan GT3. At the Fuji GT 500 Mile Race, Fujinami, Andre Couto, and Tsubasa Takahashi took the GT300 class win, ending a five-year winless drought for JLOC.[4][5]
In 2020, Fujinami signed a full-time contract and won the Super GT GT300 class championship alongside Joao Paulo de Oliveira in their #56 Nissan GT-R. Fujinami and Oliveira won two races at Twin Ring Motegi and Fuji Speedway, securing a further podium and finishing with 71 points.[6] In 2021, Fujinami and Oliveira fell short of a repeat championship, despite winning at Okayama and two further podiums at Sugo and Motegi.[7][8][9] They finished second in the standings to the Subaru R&D Sport team of Takuto Iguchi and Hideki Yamauchi.
Fujinami continued racing with Oliveira and Kondo Racing in 2022.[10] For the second straight season, the pair won the opening round at Okayama and led the championship at the half way point of the season.[11] In the final round at Motegi, Fujinami and Oliveira won their second title in three years, despite Oliveira losing a wheel late in the race. They won the championship after championship rival Riki Okusa's teammate Ryuichiro Tomita conceded fifth place on the last lap.[12]
After missing the 2023 season entirely, Fujinami returned to Super GT in 2024 with Team Mach alongside new co-driver Yusuke Shiotsu.[13]
2022-23 off-season controversy
editAfter two championships in three seasons, Fujinami tested a Nissan Z GT500 at Fuji Speedway in December 2022.[14] Fujinami then joined Kondo Racing for a private manufacturers test in their GT500 car on 24 January at Suzuka Circuit, with the expectation that he would be named as a GT500 driver for the upcoming season.[15] But when Nissan announced its 2023 driver line-ups, Fujinami was omitted from the list of drivers.[16]
It later emerged that Fujinami, who also owns a privateer team called KF Motorsports that competes in the FCR-Vita Series, had physically attacked a member of his team.[17] On 17 February, the same day that Nissan confirmed Teppei Natori as his replacement at the Kondo Racing GT300 team,[18] Fujinami apologised for the incident through his social media accounts. Fujinami signed a reserve driver contract with Nissan for the 2023 season, and was retained at GTNET Motor Sports in the Super Taikyu Series.[19] He left Nissan after the 2023 season, ending a 12-year affiliation with the manufacturer.
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Formula Challenge Japan | NDDP | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13th |
| 2013 | Formula Challenge Japan | NDDP FCJ | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13th |
| 2017 | Super Taikyū - ST-X | GTNET Motor Sports | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 68.5‡ | 5th‡ |
| Super GT - GT300 | Mach Syaken MC86 GTNET | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22nd | |
| 2018 | Japanese Formula 3 Championship | B-Max Racing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Super GT - GT300 | Mach Syaken MC86 Y's distraction | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2019 | F3 Asian Championship | B-Max Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 16th |
| Super GT - GT300 | JLOC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 13th | |
| 2020 | Super Formula Lights | B-Max Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13th |
| Super GT - GT300 | Kondō Racing | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 71 | 1st | |
| 2021 | Super GT - GT300 | Kondō Racing | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 2nd |
| Super Taikyu - ST-X | GTNET Motor Sports | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 82‡ | 4th‡ | |
| 2022 | Super GT - GT300 | Kondō Racing | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 1st |
| GT World Challenge Asia - GT3 | Yogibo Racing | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 4th | |
| Super Taikyū - ST-X | GTNET Motor Sports | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 97.5‡ | 4th‡ | |
| 2023 | Super Taikyū - ST-X | GTNET Motor Sports | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 95‡ | 5th‡ |
| Super GT - GT300 | Kondō Racing | Reserve driver | |||||||
| 2024 | Super GT - GT300 | Team Mach | |||||||
| Super Taikyū - ST-X | Team Daishin | ||||||||
| Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | BINGO Racing | ||||||||
| GT World Challenge Asia | Porsche Centre Okazaki | 2 | 0 | 0 | ? | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| Japan Cup Series - GT3 | Seven x Seven With KFM | 2 | 1 | 1 | ? | 1 | 0 | NC† | |
‡ Teams' standings.
Complete Super GT results
edit(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 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Team Mach | Toyota 86 MC | GT300 | OKA 17 |
FSW 19 |
AUT 8 |
SUG 12 |
FSW 28 |
SUZ 22 |
CHA | TRM 15 |
22nd | 3 |
| 2018 | GT300 | OKA | FSW | SUZ | CHA | FSW 19 |
SUG | AUT | TRM | NC | 0 | ||
| 2019 | JLOC | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | GT300 | OKA | FSW 11 |
SUZ | CHA | FSW 1 |
AUT | SUG | TRM | 13th | 25 |
| 2020 | Kondō Racing | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 | GT300 | FSW 4 |
FSW 5 |
SUZ 9 |
TRM 20 |
FSW 1 |
SUZ 16 |
TRM 1 |
FSW 2 |
1st | 74 |
| 2021 | GT300 | OKA 1 |
FUJ 7 |
SUZ 26 |
MOT 8 |
SUG 3 |
AUT 11 |
MOT 3 |
FUJ 5 |
2nd | 55 | ||
| 2022 | GT300 | OKA 1 |
FUJ 7 |
SUZ 3 |
FUJ 6 |
SUZ |
SUG |
AUT |
MOT |
1st | 38 | ||
| 2024 | Team Mach | Toyota 86 MC | GT300 | OKA |
FUJ |
SUZ |
FUJ |
SUZ |
SUG |
AUT |
MOT |
References
edit- ^ "Kiyoto Fujinami". DriverDB. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Iconic Suzuka presents biggest challenge yet as F3 Asian Championship makes Japan debut". Automobilsport. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "2019 F3 Asian Championship Standings". DriverDB. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Lamborghini Records First Super GT300 Victory at Fuji 500 Miles". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "COME-FROM-BEHIND CONSECUTIVE SUPER GT WINS FOR WAKO'S 4CR LC500 AT FUJI". sportscarracingnews.com. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "YOKOHAMA-equipped car won the GT300 class series championships". Yokohama. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Can Kondo Racing make a piece of SUPER GT history?". Motorsport. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Subaru wins its first-ever Super GT title with all-new Subaru BRZ GT300 in Japan". Subaru Japan. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "GT300 Standings 2021". Super GT. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Fujinami and Oliveira Retained By Kondo Racing For 2022 GT300 Effort". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Super GT Okayama: Rookie Toyota holds off Kunimitsu Honda". Autosport. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Calsonic Team Impul & Kondo Racing Secure Championship Double For Nissan | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "Team Mach, Fujinami, Shiotsu Form New Combination". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "SUPER GT: Nissan trials youngsters in GT500 audition test". us.motorsport.com. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "SUPER GT: Kenta Yamashita taken to hospital after test crash". www.motorsport.com. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "Nissan Announces 2023 SUPER GT Teams & Drivers | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "Kiyoto Fujinami Apologises After Incident with Vita Race Team Member | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "Nissan Announces Full Range of SUPER GT Programmes For 2023 | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "SUPER GT: Kiyoto Fujinami handed 2023 Nissan reserve role". www.motorsport.com. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.