Ryō Hirakawa

Ryō Hirakawa
Hirakawa at the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 Kure, Hiroshima, Japan
FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar career
Debut season	2022
Current team	Toyota Gazoo Racing
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Car number	8
Starts	21
Championships	2 (2022, 2023)
Wins	6
Poles	5
Best finish	1st in 2022, 2023
Super Formula career
Debut season	2013
Former teams	Team LeMans, Team Impul
Starts	71
Championships	0
Wins	4
Podiums	4
Poles	4
Fastest laps	5
Best finish	2nd in 2020
Super GT - GT500 career
Debut season	2013
Former teams	Team LeMans, Team Impul
Starts	58
Championships	1 (2017)
Wins	7
Podiums	21
Poles	7
Fastest laps	5
Best finish	1st in 2017
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2016–2017, 2022–2023
Teams	TDS Racing, G-Drive Racing, Toyota Gazoo Racing
Best finish	1st (2022)
Previous series
2013–23 2012 2010–12 2010	Super Formula All-Japan Formula Three Formula Challenge Japan Formula BMW Pacific
Championship titles
2022, 2023 2017 2012 2012	FIA World Endurance Championship Super GT Japanese Formula 3 Porsche Carrera Cup Japan

Ryō Hirakawa (平川亮, Hirakawa Ryō, born 7 March 1994) is a Japanese racing driver who is currently competing for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was Super GT GT500 champion in 2017, and finished runner-up in Super Formula in 2020. He has competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class since 2022, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in his debut season and the championship title in 2022 and 2023 alongside co-drivers Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. Hirakawa is also signed to McLaren's Driver Development Programme as a reserve driver for the 2024 Formula One season.

Early career

Born in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hirakawa began his racing career in karting at the age of thirteen and raced in various local championships. In just his second year of karting, he won the 2008 All-Japan Junior Kart Championship, before progressing to the KF2 category in 2009, where he finished third in the All-Japan Kart Championship and 32nd in the Asia-Pacific Championship.

After graduating from the Formula Toyota Racing School, Hirakawa graduated to single-seaters in 2010, competing primarily in the Formula Challenge Japan series. In his first season, he finished sixth in the series standings, finishing on the podium two times in eleven races. He won his first race in the Super FJ category, and won the JAF Regional Championship Super FJ Okayama Series title at 16 years, 8 months of age. Hirakawa also contested the final three rounds in the 2010 Formula BMW Pacific season, as a guest driver. He recorded a best finish of fourth place at Okayama.

He remained in Formula Challenge Japan for 2011, winning his first race in the sixth round at Fuji Speedway. He finished the year second in the championship standings behind future Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver Takamoto Katsuta. That same year, Hirakawa won the JAF Formula 4 West Series Championship, becoming the youngest champion at 17 years, 8 months of age.

In 2012, Hirakawa competed for a third season in Formula Challenge Japan, and simultaneously stepped up to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship with Team RSS, as well as the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan with a Porsche junior scholarship.

He won his debut race in Japanese F3, and seven of the first nine races of the season, en route to clinching the championship at the twelfth round in Sportsland Sugo. After the Japanese F3 season concluded, Hirakawa made his debut in the Macau Grand Prix with RSS, qualifying 24th and retiring from the race due to a collision. In Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, Hirakawa won seven consecutive races, and clinched the series championship with two races remaining. He became the youngest ever champion in Japanese F3 and Carrera Cup Japan, at 18 years of age. And in his third FCJ season, Hirakawa won five races, and finished second in the championship to Nobuharu Matsushita, after both drivers finished with the same number of points and race wins.

Super Formula and Super GT career

Super Formula

2013–2015

Hirakawa joined the Toyota Young Driver Program (TDP) and made his Super Formula Championship debut in 2013 with the Toyota-powered Team LeMans. At 19 years of age, Hirakawa was the youngest driver in the championship. He finished his debut season 11th in the championship standings, with a best finish of fourth at the double-header finale at Suzuka Circuit. That same year, Hirakawa tested an IndyCar for Dale Coyne Racing at Sonoma Raceway.

In 2014, he scored his first Super Formula podium finish in the 13 July race at Fuji Speedway, finishing second after running off track while leading on the final lap. Kazuki Nakajima claimed the race victory. Hirakawa improved to eighth in the championship. Hirakawa remained at Team LeMans for 2015, joined by ex-Formula One driver Kamui Kobayashi. Hirakawa finished eighth in the championship for the second consecutive season, recording five top eight finishes.

2018–present

Hirakawa driving for Team Impul at Autopolis in 2018, where he took his first Super Formula pole position.

After two seasons away from the series, Hirakawa rejoined the Super Formula grid in 2018, driving for Team Impul alongside Yuhi Sekiguchi. He won his first pole position at the second round in Autopolis, but the race was cancelled due to heavy rain and fog. He went on to record consecutive podium finishes at Motegi and Okayama, and finished a career-best fifth in the drivers' championship. In the fifth round of the 2019 season, Hirakawa scored his first career victory at Motegi. Despite the breakthrough victory, he failed to score points in five out of the first six races, and dropped to tenth in the championship standings.

The start of the 2020 season was delayed until September due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Hirakawa won the first race of the season from pole at Motegi. He finished fourth and second in the following races at Okayama and Sugo, respectively, to build an early points lead. But after two consecutive non-scoring results, Hirakawa conceded the points lead, and would finish runner-up in the championship to Naoki Yamamoto by just two points.

Hirakawa failed to win a race in 2021, but scored two second place finishes at Suzuka and finished fourth in the championship, helping Team Impul win the teams' title. He began the 2022 season by winning the opening round at Fuji, and the fourth round at Autopolis. He went on to finish third in the drivers' championship.

Super GT

2014–2016

Hirakawa made his Super GT debut in 2014 with Lexus team TOM's, substituting for Kazuki Nakajima in the team's No. 36 car for two races as Nakajima fulfilled commitments for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship. He recorded top ten finishes in his two races at Fuji and Autopolis.

He made his full-time debut in 2015 for TOM's, driving the No. 37 KeePer-sponsored car alongside Andrea Caldarelli. He won his first race in just his third career start at Okayama, then won again in the season finale at Motegi. Hirakawa and Caldarelli finished fifth in the championship. Hirakawa would be joined by James Rossiter for the 2016 season. They recorded podium finishes in the first two rounds of the season, but finished ninth in the drivers' championship.

2017–2019

Hirakawa became the youngest Japanese-born GT500 champion aboard the Lexus LC 500 of TOM's in 2017.

For 2017, Toyota changed models to the new Lexus LC 500, and Hirakawa was joined at the No. 37 TOM's car by Nick Cassidy. The duo of Hirakawa and Cassidy won the opening round at Okayama, leading an all-Lexus sweep of the top six positions. They won again from pole position in the penultimate round at Chang International Circuit in Thailand, before clinching the GT500 championship with a second-place finish at the finale at Motegi. Hirakawa and Cassidy finished the year with four podiums, and a perfect record of eight points-paying finishes. At 23 years of age, both Hirakawa and Cassidy became the youngest GT500 champions in series history, with Hirakawa holding the record for the youngest Japanese born GT500 champion.

Hirakawa and Cassidy would seek to defend their championships in 2018, but faced strong competition from an improved Honda fleet led by Team Kunimitsu and their drivers, Naoki Yamamoto and newcomer Jenson Button. The reigning champions won the penultimate round in Autopolis, but fell short of the championship by three points, as Team Kunimitsu, Yamamoto, and Button won their first titles.

In 2019, Hirakawa and Cassidy once again finished second in the drivers' championship, just two points behind manufacturer stablemates Kazuya Oshima and Kenta Yamashita at Team LeMans. But the No. 37 TOM's crew were able to win the teams' championship by one point over Team LeMans, after another strong season for Hirakawa and Cassidy that saw them win the final round at Motegi, and record another four podium finishes. That same year, Hirakawa appeared at the 2019 DTM season finale at the Hockenheimring, finishing 13th in the weekend's first race. He finished eighth during the second Super GT x DTM Dream Race at Fuji Speedway on 24 November.

2020–21

Hirakawa missed out on the 2020 title after running out of fuel on the final corner of the final lap of the final race of the season.

The start of the 2020 Super GT season was delayed until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hirakawa and Cassidy won the opening round at Fuji Speedway from pole position, giving the new Toyota GR Supra GT500 a win in its debut race. After retiring from the sixth round at Suzuka due to a pit entry collision, Cassidy left the series in order to focus on his new role as a driver for Envision Virgin Racing in Formula E. Hirakawa and his new co-driver Kenta Yamashita won pole for the final round at Fuji Speedway. They led the majority of the race, with Hirakawa in position to win the championship, but increasingly faced pressure from Naoki Yamamoto in the latter stages of the race. Hirakawa ran out of fuel on the final corner of the final lap, allowing Yamamoto to overtake him to win the race and the championship alongside new Team Kunimitsu co-driver Tadasuke Makino. Hirakawa coasted to a second-place finish, and again missed out on a second championship by just two points.

Hirakawa was meant to drive the 2021 season alongside Sacha Fenestraz, but Fenestraz's ongoing visa issues meant that Sena Sakaguchi would drive in his place for the first five rounds. Hirakawa and Sakaguchi finished on the podium in the first two rounds at Okayama and Fuji. Fenestraz returned for the sixth round at Autopolis, and the duo finished second in the final round at Fuji Speedway. Hirakawa finished the year seventh in the drivers' championship.

Prototype career

European Le Mans Series (2016–2017)

Hirakawa at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans

On 4 February 2016, Toyota Gazoo Racing announced that Hirakawa would be competing in the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series. On 4 March, Hirakawa was confirmed as the third driver at Thiriet by TDS Racing alongside Pierre Thiriet and Mathias Beche. He won his first race in the ELMS at the 2016 4 Hours of Imola on 15 May, then won the following 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring on 17 July. He also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in 2016, and was in contention for an LMP2 class podium finish before Thiriet suffered an accident early in the morning on Sunday.

For 2017, Hirakawa joined the number 22 G-Drive Racing entry operated by DragonSpeed, partnering Memo Rojas and Léo Roussel. The trio won the second round, the 4 Hours of Monza, on 14 May, and the G-Drive/DragonSpeed team won the LMP2 Teams' championship that season.

FIA World Endurance Championship (2022–present)

Hirakawa driving the No. 8 GR010 Hybrid at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans where the car finished second

On 7 December 2021, Hirakawa was announced as a driver of the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship, partnering veteran drivers Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. He replaced Kazuki Nakajima, who took on a managerial role at Toyota Gazoo Racing after retiring from driving. In his debut for the factory Hypercar team, Hirakawa scored his first career podium at the 1000 Miles of Sebring. The #8 car won the pole for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and would go on to win the race. In his first time challenging for the overall victory, Hirakawa became only the sixth Japanese driver to win a leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, succeeding fellow Le Mans winners Masanori Sekiya, Seiji Ara, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nakajima, and Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato.

After finishing second at Monza, winning the 6 Hours of Fuji, and finishing second again in Bahrain, Hirakawa won the Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship. He succeeded Nakajima, Kobayashi, and Toshihiro Arai as the fourth Japanese driver to win an FIA-sanctioned world championship. Hirakawa will return to partner Buemi and Hartley in 2023.

Formula One

In September 2023, McLaren announced that Hirakawa has joined the McLaren Driver Development Programme and will be the team's reserve driver for the 2024 season. On 12 October 2023, Hirakawa tested Formula One machinery for the first time, driving the team's 2021-spec MCL35M at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya alongside Pato O'Ward.

Hirakawa made his debut in a Formula One race weekend at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, driving the McLaren MCL38 in the first practice session in place of Oscar Piastri. Hirakawa will also participate in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi for Haas due to his links with Toyota. Hirawaka will pair with Esteban Ocon in order to fulfill FIA requirements for Young Driver participation (those with two or fewer F1 starts) as Oliver Bearman is ineligible after competing in three Grand Prix events in 2024.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	FLaps	Podiums	Points	Position
2010	Formula Challenge Japan	Clarion FCJ	11	0	0	1	2	17	6th
	Formula BMW Pacific	Asia Racing Team	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2011	Formula Challenge Japan	FTRS Clarion FCJ	13	1	1	0	10	73	2nd
2012	Japanese Formula 3 Championship	RSS	15	7	7	5	13	118	1st
	Formula Challenge Japan	FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet	12	5	4	4	10	91	2nd
	Macau Grand Prix	KCMG by RSS	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
	Porsche Carrera Cup Japan	GARMIN Porsche	12	7	6	?	9	?	1st
2013	Super Formula	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	7	0	0	2	0	9	11th
2014	Super Formula	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	9	0	0	0	1	16.5	8th
	Super GT	Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S	2	0	0	0	0	8	11th
	Super Taikyu - ST-1	KeePer Tomei Sports	5	3	2	3	4	111‡	1st‡
2015	Super Formula	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	8	0	0	0	0	13	8th
	Super GT	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	8	2	2	0	2	56	5th
2016	European Le Mans Series - LMP2	Thiriet by TDS Racing	5	2	1	0	3	70	5th
	Super GT	Lexus Team KeePer TOM's	8	0	1	0	2	27	9th
2017	European Le Mans Series - LMP2	G-Drive Racing	4	2	0	0	3	73	4th
	Super GT	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	8	2	1	0	4	84	1st
2018	Super GT	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	8	1	0	0	4	75	2nd
	Super Formula	Itochu Enex Team Impul	6	0	1	0	2	17	5th
2019	Super GT	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	8	1	0	0	4	83	2nd
	Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
	Super Formula	Itochu Enex Team Impul	7	1	1	0	1	12	10th
	Super Taikyu - ST-3	Le Beausset Motorsports	2	0	0	0	1	92‡	4th‡
2020	Super GT	TGR Team KeePer TOM'S	8	1	2	2	2	67	2nd
	Super Formula	Itochu Enex Team Impul	7	1	2	0	2	60	2nd
2021	Super GT	TGR Team KeePer TOM'S	8	0	1	1	3	46	7th
	Super Formula	Carenex Team Impul	6	0	0	0	2	46	4th
	Super Taikyu - ST-Z	Hiroshima Toyopet Racing	4	0	0	0	1	35‡	10th‡
2022	FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar	Toyota Gazoo Racing	6	2	2	0	5	149	1st
	24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar		1	1	1	0	1	N/A	1st
	Super Formula	Carenex Team Impul	10	2	0	1	4	87	3rd
2023	FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar	Toyota Gazoo Racing	7	2	2	0	6	172	1st
	24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar		1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
	Super Formula	Itochu Enex Team Impul	9	0	0	2	3	58	5th
2024	FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar	Toyota Gazoo Racing	8	2	1	0	2	109	4th
	Formula One	McLaren F1 Team	Test/Reserve driver

† – As Hirakawa was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

‡ Teams' standings.

Complete Super Formula results

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

Year	Team	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
2013	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	Toyota	SUZ 8	AUT 7	FUJ 11	MOT 7	SUG Ret	SUZ 6	SUZ 4				11th	9
2014	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	Toyota	SUZ 4	FUJ1 Ret	FUJ2 8	FUJ 2	MOT 10	AUT 13	SUG 8	SUZ 16	SUZ 5		8th	16.5
2015	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	Toyota	SUZ 12	OKA 9	FUJ 6	MOT 7	AUT 4	SUG 8	SUZ 10	SUZ 5			8th	13
2018	Itochu Enex Team Impul	Toyota	SUZ Ret	AUT C	SUG 9	FUJ 4	MOT 2	OKA 3	SUZ Ret				5th	17
2019	Itochu Enex Team Impul	Toyota	SUZ Ret	AUT 14	SUG 11	FUJ 12	MOT 1	OKA 12	SUZ 8				10th	12
2020	Itochu Enex Team Impul	Toyota	MOT 1	OKA 4	SUG 2	AUT 12	SUZ Ret	SUZ 7	FUJ 6				2nd	60
2021	Carenex Team Impul	Toyota	FUJ 4	SUZ 2	AUT Ret	SUG	MOT 4	MOT Ret	SUZ 2				4th	46
2022	Carenex Team Impul	Toyota	FUJ 1	FUJ 2	SUZ 7	AUT 1	SUG 7	FUJ Ret	MOT Ret	MOT 2	SUZ 9	SUZ 5	3rd	87
2023	Itochu Enex Team Impul	Toyota	FUJ 3	FUJ 21†	SUZ 3	AUT 5	SUG 11	FUJ 4	MOT 2	SUZ 7‡	SUZ 6		5th	58

^† Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance. ^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete Super GT results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2014	Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S	Lexus RC F	GT500	OKA	FUJ 9	AUT 5	SUG	FUJ	SUZ	BUR	MOT	20th	8
2015	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	Lexus RC F	GT500	OKA 1	FUJ 6	BUR 6	FUJ 12	SUZ 8	SUG 9	AUT 12	MOT 1	5th	56
2016	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	Lexus RC F	GT500	OKA 2	FUJ 3	SUG 8	FUJ 12	SUZ Ret	CHA 9	MOT Ret	MOT 5	9th	38
2017	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	Lexus LC 500	GT500	OKA 1	FUJ 3	AUT 6	SUG 10	FUJ 6	SUZ 6	CHA 1	MOT 2	1st	84
2018	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	Lexus LC 500	GT500	OKA 3	FUJ 7	SUZ 3	CHA 8	FUJ 2	SUG 14	AUT 1	MOT 4	2nd	75
2019	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	Lexus LC 500	GT500	OKA 12	FUJ 7	SUZ 2	CHA 2	FUJ 4	AUT 3	SUG 4	MOT 1	2nd	83
2020	TGR Team KeePer TOM'S	Toyota GR Supra	GT500	FUJ 1	FUJ 4	SUZ 7	MOT 6	FUJ 4	SUZ Ret	MOT 6	FUJ 2	2nd	67
2021	TGR Team KeePer TOM'S	Toyota GR Supra	GT500	OKA 3	FUJ 3	SUZ 7	MOT 10	SUG 11	AUT 9	MOT 10	FUJ 2	7th	46

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	Rank	Points
2016	Thiriet by TDS Racing	LMP2	Oreca 05	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	SIL Ret	IMO 1	RBR 1	LEC	SPA 3	EST 8	5th	70
2017	G-Drive Racing	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	SIL 2	MNZ 1	RBR	LEC	SPA 2	ALG 4	4th	73

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2016	Thiriet by TDS Racing	Mathias Beche Pierre Thiriet	Oreca 05-Nissan	LMP2	241	DNF	DNF
2017	G-Drive Racing	Memo Rojas José Gutiérrez	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	327	39th	17th
2022	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Brendon Hartley	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	380	1st	1st
2023	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Brendon Hartley	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	342	2nd	2nd
2024	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Brendon Hartley	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	311	5th	5th

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Points
2019	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	Lexus LC500 GT500	HOC 1	HOC 2	ZOL 1	ZOL 2	MIS 1	MIS 2	NOR 1	NOR 2	ASS 1	ASS 2	BRH 1	BRH 2	LAU 1	LAU 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	HOC 1 13	HOC 2	NC†	0†

^† As Hirakawa was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year	Entrant	Class	Car	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Rank	Points
2016	Thiriet by TDS Racing	LMP2	Oreca 05	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	SIL	SPA	LMS Ret	NÜR	MEX	COA	FUJ	SHA	BHR	NC	0
2017	G-Drive Racing	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	SIL	SPA	LMS 17	NÜR	MEX	COA	FUJ	SHA	BHR	34th	4
2022	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Hypercar	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Toyota 3.5 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid)	SEB 2	SPA Ret	LMS 1	MNZ 2	FUJ 1	BHR 2				1st	149
2023	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Hypercar	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Toyota 3.5 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid)	SEB 2	ALG 1	SPA 2	LMS 2	MNZ 6	FUJ 2	BHR 1			1st	172
2024	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Hypercar	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Toyota 3.5 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid)	QAT 8	IMO 5	SPA 6	LMS 5	SÃO 1	COA 15	FUJ 10	BHR 1		4th	109

Complete Formula One participations

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	WDC	Points
2024	McLaren F1 Team	McLaren MCL38	Mercedes-AMG F1 M15 E Performance 1.6 V6 t	BHR	SAU	AUS	JPN	CHN	MIA	EMI	MON	CAN	ESP	AUT	GBR	HUN	BEL	NED	ITA	AZE	SIN	USA	MXC	SAP	LVG	QAT	ABU TD	–	–

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Ryō Hirakawa career summary at DriverDB.com