Naoki Yamamoto (racing driver)

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Naoki Yamamoto ( Japanese 山 本 尚 貴 , Yamamoto Naoki ; born July 11, 1988 in Utsunomiya , Tochigi Prefecture ) is a Japanese automobile racing driver . He has been competing in the Super Formula (formerly Formula Nippon) since 2010 . There he won the drivers' championship in 2013 and 2018.

Career

Naoki Yamamoto at the Suzuka 1000 km race in 2014.

After Yamamoto started his motorsport career in karting , he switched to formula racing in 2007 . He started in the Japanese Formula Challenge and was runner-up in this series. In 2008 he switched to the Japanese Formula 3 championship . He won a race and finished the season in fifth place overall. 2009 Yamamoto stayed in the Japanese Formula 3, but he entered the national class. He won this rating eight times and won the national class.

In 2010 Yamamoto switched to Formula Nippon for Nakajima Racing . He was regularly in the points and finished the season in seventh place in the drivers' standings. He was defeated by Takashi Kogure with 20.5 to 38 points. He also started for Team Kunimitsu in the Super GT and finished eighth in the drivers' championship together with Takuya Izawa . In 2011 Yamamoto switched to the Mugen team within Formula Nippon . At the end of the season he finished eleventh overall. Fifth place was his best result. In addition, he and Izawa finished ninth in the Super GT for Kunimitsu. In 2012 , Yamamoto again achieved eleventh place in Formula Nippon for the Mugen team. In the Super GT he was fifth for Kunimitsu together with Izawa.

In 2013 Formula Nippon was renamed Super Formula and Yamamoto stayed with Team Mugen. He crossed the finish line in every race and won his first race in Suzuka . He decided the championship at the end of the season for himself. He was tied with André Lotterer . In the Super GT, Yamamoto switched to Weider Modulo Dome Racing in 2013 and became a team-mate of Frédéric Makowiecki . The two won a race and finished fourth in the drivers' championship. In 2014 , Yamamoto completed his fifth Super Formula season for Mugen. In the overall ranking he was in ninth place. In the Super GT, Yamamoto had changing teammates at Weider Modulo Dome Racing. He won a race with Makowiecki. He finished fourth in the drivers' championship. In the 2015 Super Formula season , Yamamoto competed for Mugen again. He won a race and finished fifth in the championship. In the Super GT, Yamamoto returned to Team Kunimitsu in 2015 and once again formed a duo with Izawa. The two decided a race for themselves and finished the season in third place.

In 2016 , Yamamoto completed another year in the Super Formula for Mugen. With one win he reached seventh place in the drivers' championship. In the Super GT, Yamamoto and Izawa came 14th overall for Team Kunimitsu.

In the 2018 Super GT season, Yamamoto and his teammate Jenson Button won both the driver and team championship in the Raybrig NSX-GT used by the Kunimitsu team.

As part of the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix , Yamamoto took part in a free practice session in Formula 1 for the Scuderia Toro Rosso for the first time .

statistics

Career stations

  • 2007: Japanese Formula Challenge (2nd place)
  • 2008: Japanese Formula 3 (5th place)
  • 2009: Japanese Formula 3, national class (champions)
  • 2010 : Formula Nippon (7th place)
  • 2010: Super GT (8th place)
  • 2011 : Formula Nippon (11th place)
  • 2011: Super GT (9th place)
  • 2012 : Formula Nippon (11th place)
  • 2012: Super GT (5th place)
  • 2013 : Super Formula (champion)
  • 2013: Super GT (4th place)
  • 2014 : Super Formula (9th place)
  • 2014: Super GT (4th place)
  • 2015 : Super Formula (5th place)
  • 2015: Super GT (3rd place)
  • 2016 : Super Formula (7th place)
  • 2016: Super GT (14th place)
  • 2017: Super GT (7th place)
  • 2018: Super GT (champion)
  • 2019: Super GT

Individual results in the Nippon / Super Formula formula

year team engine 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 Points rank
2010 Nakajima Racing Honda JapanJapan SU1 JapanJapan MO1 JapanJapan FU1 JapanJapan MO2 JapanJapan SUG JapanJapan AUT JapanJapan SU2 JapanJapan FU2   20.5 7th
7th 5 7th 4th DNF 5 6th 5 8th 2  
2011 Team Mugen Honda JapanJapan SU1 JapanJapan AUT JapanJapan FU1 JapanJapan MO1 JapanJapan SU2 JapanJapan SUG JapanJapan MO2 JapanJapan FU2     5 11.
DNF 5 9 14th C. 11 12 DNF 8th    
2012 Team Mugen Honda JapanJapan SU1 JapanJapan MO1 JapanJapan AUT JapanJapan FU1 JapanJapan MO2 JapanJapan SUG JapanJapan SU2 JapanJapan FU2     4th 11.
7th 7th 9 12 DNF 14th 15th DNF 8th    
2013 Team Mugen Honda JapanJapan SU1 JapanJapan AUT JapanJapan FU1 JapanJapan MOT Korea SouthSouth Korea INJ JapanJapan SUG JapanJapan SU2 JapanJapan FU2     37 1.
4th 3 3 8th C. 3 1 3 5    
2014 Team Mugen Honda JapanJapan SU1 JapanJapan FUJ JapanJapan MOT JapanJapan AUT JapanJapan SUG JapanJapan SU2     14.5 9.
11 DNF 5 5 15th 7th 7th 7th 6th    
2015 Team Mugen Honda JapanJapan SU1 JapanJapan OKA JapanJapan FUJ JapanJapan MOT JapanJapan AUT JapanJapan SUG JapanJapan SU2       26th 5.
15 * 4th 12 8th 7th 2 14 * 1      
2016 Team Mugen Honda JapanJapan SU1 JapanJapan OK1 JapanJapan FUJ JapanJapan MOT JapanJapan OK2 JapanJapan SUG JapanJapan SU2     15.5 7th
1 5 DNF 8th 10 6th 14th 19th DNF    
Remarks
  1. ↑ a b c d No points were awarded for the Fuji Sprint Cup.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Yamamoto, Naoki
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 山 本 尚 貴 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese automobile racer
DATE OF BIRTH July 11, 1988
PLACE OF BIRTH Utsunomiya , Tochigi Prefecture