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Kenta Yamashita

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Kenta Yamashita
Yamashita at the podium of the 2024 Super Formula Motegi round
NationalityJapan Japanese
Born (1995-08-03) 3 August 1995 (age 29)
Chiba, Japan
Super GT career
Debut season2015
Current teamTGR Team au TOM'S
Racing licence FIA Platinum
Car number14
Former teamsRacing Project Bandoh, Team LeMans, SARD, TGR Team KeePer TOM'S, ROOKIE Racing
Starts51
Wins6
Podiums15
Poles5
Fastest laps2
Best finish1st in 2019
Super Formula career
Debut season2017
Current teamKondo Racing
Car number3
Starts59
Wins1
Podiums7
Poles2
Fastest laps0
Best finish5th in 2019
Previous series
2019-20
2015-17
2014–16
2013
2012		FIA WEC - LMP2
Super GT - GT300
Japanese Formula 3 Championship
Formula Challenge Japan
Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ
Championship titles
2019
2016
2013
2012		Super GT
Japanese Formula 3 Championship
Formula Challenge Japan
Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ

Kenta Yamashita (山下 健太, Yamashita Kenta, born 3 August 1995) is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing who is currently competing in Super GT for ROOKIE Racing and in Super Formula for Kondō Racing. He won the GT500-class Super GT championship title in 2019, driving alongside Kazuya Oshima, and previously won the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 Championship and the 2013 Formula Challenge Japan titles.

Career

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Karting

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Yamashita competed in karts before graduating to single-seater cars in 2012.[citation needed]

Formula Super FJ and Formula Challenge Japan

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Yamashita began his racing car career in the 2012 Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ, which he won in his first season. In all four starts, he took the pole, fastest lap, and race win.[1] In 2013, he progressed to the Formula Challenge Japan series, which was a racing category intended for drivers between entry level and Formula 3. He scored 7 podiums and in 12 races, including 4 wins, and took the championship title.[2]

All-Japan Formula Three

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In 2014, Yamashita graduated to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship with the Petronas Team TOM'S. He finished runner-up in the championship to the more experienced Nobuharu Matsushita.[3]

In 2015, Yamashita continued to race in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship with TOM'S, he managed to clinch runners up, just lose out to Nick Cassidy the eventual champion. 2016, Yamashita won the title in the final round, pips out Jann Mardenborough to the title.

Super GT

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In 2015, Yamashita made his debut in GT300 class with Porsche Team KTR alongside Alexandre Imperatori. Then he made one off appearance the next season with Tsuchiya Engineering. Then he stayed with the team for full time. That season he won his first race alongside Takamitsu Matsui.

Yamashita made one off appearance with Racing Project Bandoh in Fuji Speedway.[4] Then for 2018 he steps up to GT500 with Bandoh, as he replaces Yuhi Sekiguchi.[5] Yamashita then transferred to Lexus Team Wako's LeMans, replacing Felix Rosenqvist, who left Super GT to compete in the IndyCar Series.[6] He then with Kazuya Oshima won the title at the final race of the season. That would be Team LeMans final title as the team discontinued their campaign in GT500. For 2020, Yamashita initially did not listed to compete in Super GT as he was focused to do WEC. But because of the pandemic happened, he did couple of races in that year. He covered up for Heikki Kovalainen at Team SARD for Round 1 because Kovalalinen unable to enter Japan. Then Yamashita do 2 rounds to replaces Nick Cassidy, as Cassidy began preparations for his debut in the 2021 FIA Formula E World Championship.

Yamashita then returns to the series full time in 2021 with new Rookie Racing with his former champion pair Oshima.[7] During his time with the team he won 2 races, and couple of podiums. For 2024, he moves to 2023 champion team Team au TOM'S to pair with Sho Tsuboi as he replaces Ritomo Miyata.[8]

Super Formula

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Yamashita during the 2024 Motegi round

Yamashita made his Super Formula debut in 2017 with Kondo Racing alongside his 2015 title rival Cassidy.[4] Yamashita stayed with the same team for over seven years, and he managed only to win once.

FIA World Endurance Championship

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Yamashita at the 2019 4 Hours of Silverstone

Yamashita made his international racing debut in the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving in the LMP2 class for Danish team High Class Racing alongside Anders Fjordbach and amateur driver Mark Patterson.[9] Yamashita would impress in qualifying sessions throughout the season, outmatching more experienced opponents on a regular basis, but the team would ultimately achieve little success in races and ended the season as the last-placed LMP2 team. Yamashita reached the Hyperpole session in qualifying for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans before the team was forced to retire with a gearbox problem.

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles FLaps Podiums Points Position
2012 Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ 4 4 4 4 4 64 1st
2013 Formula Challenge Japan FTRS FCJ 12 4 2 3 7 65 1st
2014 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Petronas Team TOM's 15 2 1 1 12 90 2nd
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 0 9th
2015 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Petronas Team TOM's 17 5 5 5 13 113 2nd
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 15th
Super GT - GT300 Porsche Team KTR 8 0 0 0 0 6 20th
2016 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Team TOM's 17 7 7 4 10 113 1st
Super GT - GT300 VivaC Team Tsuchiya 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Macau Grand Prix ThreeBond with T-Sport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th
2017 Super GT - GT300 VivaC Team Tsuchiya 7 1 3 1 2 48 5th
Super GT - GT500 Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh 1 0 0 0 0 1 20th
Super Formula Kondō Racing 7 0 1 0 0 6.5 11th
Super Taikyu - ST-3 Le Beausset Motorsports 4 2 2 1 4 95‡ 2nd‡
Macau Grand Prix B-Max Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2018 Super GT - GT500 Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh 8 0 0 0 2 32 11th
Super Formula Kondō Racing 6 0 0 0 1 11.5 9th
Super Taikyu - ST-3 Le Beausset Motorsports 6 1 1 0 5 129‡ 2nd‡
2019 Super GT - GT500 Lexus Team LeMans Wako's 8 2 1 0 4 85 1st
Super Formula Kondō Racing 7 1 0 0 2 21 5th
Super Taikyu - ST-3 Le Beausset Motorsports 4 2 1 1 2 92‡ 4th‡
2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 High Class Racing 7 0 0 0 0 47 13th
2020 Super Formula Kondō Racing 6 0 0 0 1 34 7th
Super GT - GT500 TGR Team SARD 1 0 0 0 0 27 14th
TGR Team KeePer Tom's 2 0 1 1 1
24 Hours of Le Mans High Class Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2021 Super GT - GT500 TGR ENEOS ROOKIE 8 1 1 1 3 52 5th
Super Formula Kondō Racing 7 0 0 0 0 8 14th
Super Taikyu - ST-Q ROOKIE Racing
2022 Super GT - GT500 TGR ENEOS ROOKIE 8 1 1 0 2 49 5th
Super Formula Kondō Racing 10 0 0 0 0 19 15th
Super Taikyu - ST-4 TOM'S Spirit 6 5 5 3 6 177.5‡ 1st‡
2023 Super GT - GT500 TGR ENEOS ROOKIE 8 0 0 0 1 45 7th
Super Formula Kondō Racing 9 0 0 0 1 32 8th
Super Taikyu - ST-Q ORC ROOKIE Racing
2024 Super Formula Kondō Racing 7 0 1 0 2 43.5 6th*
Super GT - GT500 TGR Team au TOM'S 7 2 1 0 2 74 1st*
Super Taikyu - ST-Q GR Team Spirit

* Season still in progress.

‡ Team standings.

Complete Japanese Formula 3 Championship results

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(key) (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 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 DC Pts
2014 Petronas Team TOM'S Toyota SUZ
1
1 		SUZ
2
3 		MOT
1
2 		MOT
2
2 		MOT
3
2 		OKA
1
5 		OKA
2
1 		FUJ
1
2 		FUJ
2
2 		MOT
1
3 		MOT
2
6 		SUG
1
6 		SUG
2
2 		FUJ
1
3 		FUJ
2
2 		2nd 90
2015 Petronas Team TOM'S Toyota SUZ
1
Ret 		SUZ
2
3 		MOT
1
2 		MOT
2
1 		MOT
3
1 		OKA
1
8 		OKA
2
1 		FUJ
1
1 		FUJ
2
3 		OKA
1
2 		OKA
2
2 		FUJ
1
5 		FUJ
2
1 		MOT
1
3 		MOT
2
2 		SUG
1
4 		SUG
2
3 		2nd 113
2016 Zent Team TOM'S Toyota SUZ
1
1 		SUZ
2
1 		FUJ
1
5 		FUJ
2
2 		OKA
1
1 		OKA
2
6 		SUZ
1
Ret 		SUZ
2
2 		FUJ
1
6 		FUJ
2
4 		MOT
1
5 		MOT
2
2 		OKA
1
1 		OKA
2
5 		SUG
1
1 		SUG
2
1 		SUG
3
1 		1st 113

Complete Super GT results

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(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 Points
2015 Porsche Team KTR Porsche 911 GT3 GT300 OKA
14 		FUJ
12 		CHA
8 		FUJ
Ret 		SUZ
18 		SUG
17 		AUT
8 		MOT
14 		20th 6
2016 VivaC Team Tsuchiya Toyota 86 MC OKA FUJ SUG FUJ SUZ
22 		CHA MOT MOT NC 0
2017 OKA
4 		AUT
1 		SUG
3 		FUJ
29 		SUZ
18 		CHA
15 		MOT
5 		5th 48
Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh Lexus LC 500 GT500 FUJ
10 		20th 1
2018 OKA
9 		FUJ
12 		SUZ
13 		CHA
3 		FUJ
10 		SUG
Ret 		AUT
3 		MOT
5 		11th 32
2019 Lexus Team LeMans Wako's OKA
13 		FUJ
8 		SUZ
3 		CHA
1 		FUJ
1 		AUT
6 		SUG
6 		MOT
2 		1st 85
2020 TGR Team SARD Toyota GR Supra GT500 FUJ
5 		FUJ SUZ MOT FUJ SUZ 14th 27
TGR Team KeePer Tom's MOT
6 		FUJ
2
2021 TGR ENEOS ROOKIE Racing OKA
1 		FUJ
2 		MOT
13 		SUZ
12 		SUG
12† 		AUT
11 		MOT
6 		FUJ
3 		5th 52
2022 OKA
1 		FUJ
7‡ 		SUZ
8 		FUJ
7 		SUZ
14 		SUG
11 		AUT
4 		MOT
3 		5th 49
2023 OKA
4 		FUJ
4 		SUZ
6 		FUJ
11 		SUZ
3 		SUG
6 		AUT
8 		MOT
6 		7th 45
2024 TGR Team au TOM'S OKA
1 		FUJ
4 		SUZ
5 		FUJ
7 		SUG
4 		AUT
7 		MOT
1 		SUZ
 1st* 74*

† Driver 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.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Super Formula results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
2017 Kondō Racing SUZ
14 		OKA
7 		OKA
6 		FUJ
Ret 		MOT
6 		AUT
13 		SUG
11 		SUZ
C 		SUZ
C 		11th 6.5
2018 SUZ
9 		AUT
C 		SUG
8 		FUJ
18 		MOT
6 		OKA
6‡ 		SUZ
3 		9th 11.5
2019 SUZ
3 		AUT
7 		SUG
6 		FUJ
17 		MOT
13 		OKA
1 		SUZ
9 		5th 21
2020 MOT
2 		OKA SUG
6 		AUT
5 		SUZ
9 		SUZ
6 		FUJ
10 		7th 34
2021 FUJ
12 		SUZ
12 		AUT
11 		SUG
14 		MOT
15 		MOT
8 		SUZ
6 		14th 8
2022 FUJ
11 		FUJ
4 		SUZ
16 		AUT
12 		SUG
Ret 		FUJ
7 		MOT
6 		MOT
Ret 		SUZ
14 		SUZ
13 		15th 19
2023 FUJ
Ret 		FUJ
3 		SUZ
5 		AUT
4 		SUG
8 		FUJ
17 		MOT
9 		SUZ
11 		SUZ
9 		8th 32
2024 SUZ
2 		AUT
7 		SUG
6‡ 		FUJ
13 		MOT
2 		FUJ
10 		FUJ
8 		SUZ
 SUZ
 6th* 43.5*

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2019–20 High Class Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL
7 		FUJ
4 		SHA
6 		BHR
7 		COA
7 		SPA
7 		LMS
Ret 		BHR 13th 47

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2020 Denmark High Class Racing Denmark Anders Fjordbach
United States Mark Patterson 		Oreca 07 LMP2 88 DNF DNF

References

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  1. ^ "Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ 2012 standings | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Formula Challenge Japan 2013 standings | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Japanese Formula 3 Championship 2014 standings | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Toyota GAZOO Racing Outlines 2017 Motorsports Activities". Toyota Motor Corporation. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces Super GT Programmes For 2018". dailysportscar.com. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces 2019 Super GT Programmes". dailysportscar.com. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Toyota reveals 2021 Super GT drivers, GT500 grid complete". dailysportscar.com. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  8. ^ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2024 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  9. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (17 July 2019). "Super GT Points Leader Yamashita's Debut Confirmed". sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Formula Challenge Japan
Champion
2013 		Succeeded by
None
(Series ended)
Preceded by Japanese Formula 3 Championship
Champion
2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Super GT
GT500 Champion
2019
With: Kazuya Oshima 		Succeeded by
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