Ukyo Sasahara

Ukyo Sasahara
Nationality Japanese
Born (1996-04-24) 24 April 1996
Numata, Gunma, Japan
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 career
Debut season 2013
Current team ART Junior Team
Car no. 9
Former teams Euronova Racing
Starts 21
Wins 1
Poles 1
Fastest laps 0
Best finish 7th in 2015
Previous series
2014–2015
2014
2013		 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC
Italian F4 Championship
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps

Ukyo Sasahara (born 24 April 1996) is a Japanese racing driver.

Career

Karting

Sasahara began karting aged seven in 2003. He won numerous domestic titles, including becoming JAF All Japan Championship Junior Champion in 2009.[1] In the same year, he beat Matt Parry to win the Rotax Max Challenge Junior Grand Final,[2] a title he went on to win for a second time in 2011.[3] He went on to enjoy further success in the category, winning the Rotax Max Euro Challenge Junior title in 2011,[1] and the Central Eastern European Rotax Max Challenge Senior title in 2012, his final year in karting.[1]

Formula Renault 2.0

Sasahara graduated to single-seaters in 2013, racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps championship for Vincenzo Sospiri's Euronova Racing team.[4] He finished in the points on seven occasions, taking a best race result of sixth at Misano to finish 13th in the championship.[5] During the season, he also took part in the Spa-Francorchamps and Barcelona rounds of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season with Euronova Racing as a guest driver.

For 2014, Sasahara continued with Euronova Racing, switching to the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship.[6] He took a single podium position, finishing second to Louis Delétraz in the opening race of the season at Monza, and finished in the points in all the remaining races except one to finish sixth in the championship.[7]

In 2015, Sasahara joined the ART Junior Team to contest both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championships.[8] After failing to score points in the opening round of the Eurocup at Motorland Aragón, Sasahara took his first race victory in the following round at Spa-Francorchamps, becoming only the second Japanese driver to win a Eurocup race after Kamui Kobayashi in the 2005 season.[9]

In the NEC championship, Sasahara won the opening race of the season at Monza ahead of Manor MP Motorsport's Ignazio D'Agosto.[10]

Italian F4

In June 2014, Sasahara took part in the opening round of the Italian F4 Championship at Adria International Raceway for Euronova Racing, replacing Italian driver Andrea Fontana who missed the event due to illness.[11] After finishing fifth in the opening race, he won the reversed-grid second race ahead of the Prema Powerteam entry of eventual series champion Lance Stroll.[12]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2013 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Euronova Racing 14 0 0 0 0 32 13th
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2014 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Euronova Racing 15 0 0 1 1 191 6th
Italian F4 Championship Euronova Racing by
Fortec Italia Motorsport		 3 1 0 0 1 25 17th
2015 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC ART Junior Team 16 2 1 1 8 296 3rd
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 17 1 1 0 4 116 7th

† As Sasahara was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Profile". gogoukyo.com (Ukyo Sasahara). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals – Junior 2009 standings". driverdb.com (Driver Database). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals – Junior 2011 standings". driverdb.com (Driver Database). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Sasahara completes Euronova Formula Renault line up" (PDF). euronova-racing.com (Euronova Racing). 19 February 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Formula Renault 2.0 Alps 2013 standings". driverdb.com (Driver Database). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (2 April 2014). "Euronova sign Sasahara and Dalewski for Formula Renault NEC season". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014 standings". driverdb.com (Driver Database). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (21 March 2015). "Sasahara signs with ART Junior Team". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Maiden win for Sasahara at Spa". World Series by Renault (Renault Sport). 30 May 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Sasahara wins thrilling opening race of the season". necup.com (Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup). 11 April 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Allen, Peter (6 June 2014). "Sasahara steps in for Fontana at Italian F4 opener". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Banerjee, Aditya (8 June 2014). "Sasahara claims close victory in race 2 at Adria". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 17 June 2015.

External links

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