is a Japanese racing driver. Sakurai raced under Filipino license in Formula BMW Pacific and in the

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and th ...

Career

Karting

Sakurai began his racing career in

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

at the age of nine and raced in Japan and Australia.

Formula BMW Pacific

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 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 Pekan Sepang is a small border town and also a mukim in Sepang District, Selangor, Malaysia. The Sepang International Circuit in the western part of the town, where the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix was and Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix is held. Ma ...

and achieved seven more point-scoring finishes on his way to eighth in the championship.

Toyota Racing Series

Sakurai participated in the

Toyota Racing Series The Formula Regional Oceania Championship is New Zealand's premier formula racing category. The series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. ...

in early 2011 with M2 Competition, finishing fourteenth in the championship, the lowest-placed of the International Trophy drivers to contest the series.

Formula Three

In 2011, Sakurai decided to race in Europe, taking part in the rebranded Rookie Class of the

British Formula 3 Championship The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single sea ...

with

Hitech Racing Hitech Grand Prix (formerly known as Hitech Racing) is a British motor racing team. It was founded in 2002 by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle. The team started racing in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2003. The team also competed in the So ...

. 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. During the season he also appeared in the

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hos ...

round of the

European F3 Open Championship The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europ ...

GP3 Series

Sakurai raced in the

in 2012 with

Status Grand Prix Status Grand Prix is a former motorsport team registered in Canada. Team history Based in Silverstone the team was formed in 2005 to run the A1 Team Ireland franchise in the new A1 Grand Prix series. The team's founders were former Jordan Grand ...

Racing record

Career summary

Complete GP3 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurai, Kotaro 1994 births Living people People from Tokyo Japanese racing drivers Formula BMW Pacific drivers Toyota Racing Series drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Euroformula Open Championship drivers GP3 Series drivers Auto GP drivers Formula 4 drivers MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship drivers MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship seasons Hitech Grand Prix drivers M2 Competition drivers Team West-Tec drivers Status Grand Prix drivers Euronova Racing drivers Eurasia Motorsport drivers