Keiko Ihara : biography
July 4, 1973 –
Keiko Ihara (井原 慶子, Ihara Keiko) (born July 4, 1973) is a Japanese female race car driver. She was a former race queen, a model who appears in a swimsuit or other fashionable apparel at race circuits, before deciding to become a racing driver. She is one of the few Japanese women nationals to race internationally at a high level. Her best finishes in the British Formula Three Championship are two 8th places finishes in 2005, which helped her to a final championship standing position of 16th with 12 points. In the 2006 series, she finished in 17th and last position in the Championship Class, with 4 points.
Racing record
Career summary
Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | F/Laps | Points | Final Placing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK | Tatuus FR2000 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
2001 | French Formula Three | ARTA/Signature | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 13th |
2002 | Asia Formula 2000 | Autosports Racing Team | ? | ? | 2 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Macau Asian Formula 2000 Challenge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 3rd | ||
2003 | Super GT GT300 class | R&D Sports | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Formula BMW Asia | Team Yellow Hat | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 139 | 3rd | |
2004 | Le Mans Endurance Series GT class | T2M Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
2005 | British Formula Three | Carlin Motorsport | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 17th |
Masters of Formula 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 25th | ||
2006 | British Formula Three | Carlin Motorsport | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17th |
2008 | Aston Martin Asia Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0† | N/A† | |
2009 | Formula Le Mans Cup | Exagon Engineering | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49th |
2012 | Dubai 24 Hour SP3 GT4-A class | Gulf Team First | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 50th |
FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 class | Gulf Racing Middle East | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 62nd* |
Season in progress. † – Charity race guest.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos.|Overall Position}} | ClassPos.|Class Position}} |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Gulf Racing Middle East | Jean-Denis Délétraz Marc Rostan | Lola B12/80-Nissan | LMP2 | 17 | DNF | DNF |
2013 | Gulf Racing Middle East | Fabien Giroix Philippe Haezebrouck | Lola B12/80-Nissan | LMP2 | 22 | DNF | DNF |