Kohei Hirate

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Kohei Hirate
Nationality	Japanese
Date of Birth	March 24, 1986 (1986-03-24) (age 22)
2008 Formula Nippon and Super GT (GT300)
Debut season	2008
Current team	Team Impul (Formula Nippon), Cars Racing (Super GT)
Car No.	1 (Formula Nippon) 95 (Super GT)
Previous series
2003-2004 2004-2006 2007	Italian Formula Renault Formula Three Euroseries GP2 Series

Kohei Hirate (born 24 March 1986) is a Japanese race car driver.

[edit] Career

Hirate began karting in 1999 when he was 13. After winning the All Japan Junior Kart Championship, coming third and fifth in the All Japan Kart Championship and coming third in the FIA Oceania Championship, he moved on to Formula Toyota, where he raced for the Tom's Spirit team and came second with four wins to his name.

In 2003, He moved to Formula Renault, at the Prema Power team. In his two year spell here he won 7 races and came second in the 2004 season. In 2004 he also raced for Prema Power's Formula Three Euroseries team twice, and in 2005 made the decision to race here. After coming twelfth for Team Rosberg, he was made a Toyota F1 test driver in 2006 and came third in the Formula Three Euroseries. In 2007 he continued as a Toyota test driver and also drove for GP2 team Trident Racing.