Kōhei Hirate
Kōhei Hirate ( Japanese 平手 晃 平 Hirate Kōhei ; born March 24, 1986 in Komaki ) is a Japanese automobile racing driver . From 2008 to 2011 he competed in both Formula Nippon and the Super GT .
Career
Hirate began his motorsport career in karting in 1999 , where he was active until 2001. Among other things, he became the Japanese ICA junior kart champion in 1999 . In 2002 he moved into the single-seater racing and was with four wins immediately Second Japanese Formula Toyota .
In 2003 Hirate moved to Europe and competed in several Formula Renault championships. He was most successful for the Prema Powerteam in the Italian series. While his team-mate Franck Perera won the championship title, Hirate finished eighth in the drivers' championship with one victory. He was also 21st in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and he took part in some races of the German and Dutch Formula Renault. In 2004 Hirate won six races of the Italian Formula Renault and was runner-up with 266 to 362 points in a duel with Pastor Maldonado . He also took part in races in the Formula 3 Euro Series and the German and Asian Formula Renault.
In 2005 , Hirate switched completely to the Formula 3 Euro Series and joined the Rosberg team as a team-mate of Giedo van der Garde . With a third place as the best result, he finished the season on the twelfth championship place. He lost the team-internal duel against van der Garde with 18 to 34 points. In 2006 , Hirate moved to Manor Motorsport within the Formula 3 Euro Series , where he formed the driver trio with Esteban Guerrieri and Kazuki Nakajima . Hirate won a race and finished the season with a total of five podium finishes in third place behind the champions Paul di Resta and Sebastian Vettel . Hirate also completed Formula 1 test drives for Toyota this year .
In 2007 Hirate switched to the GP2 series at Trident Racing , where he was initially a team-mate of Maldonado. Hirate only scored points in the races at the Nürburgring and achieved his best result with a second place. He finished the season in 19th place overall and was behind Maldonado, who was injured in the second half of the season. In addition, Hirate was a Formula 1 test driver at Toyota this season .
_FP2.jpg)
In 2008 Hirate returned to Japan and competed for the Impul team in Formula Nippon . He won a race and finished the season in which he did not compete for a race weekend in fourth place in the championship. In addition, Hirate made his debut in GT racing and was 15th in the GT300 classification of the Super GT . In 2009 he only finished one Formula Nippon race not in the points. In the drivers' standings he finished fifth with two third places as the best results. In addition, he competed again in the Super GT, this time in the GT500 class. With a podium placement he was 14th. In 2010 Hirate contested his third Formula Nippon season for the Impul team. While Hirate finished fifth again with a win in Fuji , his teammate João Paulo de Oliveira won the championship title. In the Super GT, he improved to twelfth place this season.
In 2011 Hirate was again at the start for the Impul team in Formula Nippon. With a second place as the best result, he finished the season in eighth place overall. In addition, Hirate was again active in the Super GT and was sixth overall.
Career stations
|
|
Individual evidence
- ↑ “Toyota pushes Japanese talent” (grandprix.com on November 10, 2006)
Web links
- Official website of Kōhei Hirate (Japanese)
- Career statistics from Kōhei Hirate (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hirate, Kōhei |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 平手 晃 平 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese automobile racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 24, 1986 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Komaki , Japan |