Keiko Ihara
| Keiko Ihara | |
|---|---|
 Keiko Ihara at the 2014 6 Hours of Fuji | |
| Nationality |
 Japanese |
| Born |
July 4, 1973 Tokyo (Japan) |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2012 |
| Current team | Gulf Racing Middle East |
| Car no. | 29 |
| Starts | 2 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Previous series | |
| 2009 2008 2005-06 2005 2004 2003 2003 2002 2001 2000 |
Formula Le Mans Cup Aston Martin Asia Cup British Formula Three Masters of Formula 3 Le Mans Endurance Series Super GT Formula BMW Asia Asia Formula 2000 French Formula Three Formula Renault 2.0 UK |
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.
Ihara joined the Gulf Racing Middle East to compete at the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 class with Jean-Denis Délétraz and Fabien Giroix as codrivers. In 2013 she raced two rounds for Gulf Racing Middle East and four with OAK Racing, both in the LMP2 class. The driver won the Fuji round of the 2014 Asian Le Mans Series for Oak Racing, together with Ho-Pin Tung and David Cheng.
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 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 70th | |
| 2013 | FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 class | Gulf Racing Middle East OAK Racing |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 22nd |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | Gulf Racing Middle East | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF |
* Season in progress. † – Charity race guest.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2014 | Larbre Compétition |
Pierre Ragues Ricky Taylor |
Morgan LMP2-Judd | LMP2 | 341 | 14th | 9th |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | Tyres | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Gulf Racing Middle East | LMP2 | Lola B12/80 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | D | SEB EX |
SPA 9 |
LMS Ret |
SIL 11 |
SÃO 9 |
BHR Ret |
FUJ 6 |
SHA Ret |
70th | 2 |
| 2013 | Gulf Racing Middle East | LMP2 | Lola B12/80 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | D | SIL | SPA 9 |
LMS Ret |
22nd | 12 | |||||
| OAK Racing | Morgan LMP2 | SÃO 5 |
COA | FUJ 9 |
SHA 6 |
BHR 5 |
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Keiko Ihara career summary at DriverDB.com