Kakunoshin Ohta (太田格之進, Ōta Kakunoshin, born 22 June 1999) is a Japanese racing driver for Honda Motor Company who currently competes in Super GT for Astemo Real Racing and in Super Formula for docomo Team Dandelion Racing.
| Kakunoshin Ohta | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ohta at Suzuka Circuit in November 2024 | |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Born | 22 June 1999 Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan |
| Super GT career | |
| Debut season | 2022 |
| Current team | Real Racing |
| Car number | 17 |
| Former teams | |
| Starts | 16 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 3 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 14th in 2023 |
| Super Formula career | |
| Debut season | 2023 |
| Current team | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing |
| Car number | 6 |
| Starts | 18 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podiums | 4 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 4th in 2024 |
| Previous series | |
| 2022 2022 2021-22 2019 2018-21 | Super GT - GT300 Super Formula Lights Super Taikyū French F4 Championship F4 Japanese Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2022 | Super Taikyū - ST-Z |
Career
editEarly career
editOhta made his single-seater racing debut in 2018, racing at a single round of the F4 Japanese Championship with MYST. The following season, he made his full-time debut in the 2019 championship with backing from the Honda Formula Dream Project,[1] claiming 2 wins but finishing 6th in the standings. That year, Ohta also made a guest appearance in the French F4 championship alongside Honda stablemate Ren Satō, where he finished in the top ten in the three races he competed in and secured one podium. He would also make an appearance in Japan Formula 4 at the end of the year, winning the "All-Japan Deciding Race" over the likes of Satō, Atsushi Miyake, and Riki Ōkusa.[citation needed]
In 2020, Ohta returned to the F4 Japanese Championship, albeit having lost his manufacturer backing.[1] He regained support from Honda and rejoined the Honda Formula Dream project for 2021 to contest his third season in the championship, eventually finishing fifth in the standings.[1]
Ohta stepped up to Super Formula Lights for the 2022 season, driving for Toda Racing.[2] Belying his past record, he impressed immediately, claiming four wins and twelve podiums to finish second in the championship, behind only the returning Kazuto Kotaka.
Super GT
editOhta began his Super GT career in GT300 with Team UpGarage, paired with veteran driver Takashi Kobayashi.[2] Ohta claimed his maiden podium on debut at the first round in Okayama, and would go on to finish on the podium once more to end the season eighth in the standings. For the 2023 season, Ohta was promoted to the GT500 class, driving for Modulo Nakajima Racing alongside series veteran Takuya Izawa.[3] After promising season, Ohta moves to Real Racing as he replaces Nobuharu Matsushita, and race along with Koudai Tsukakoshi.[4]
Super Formula
edit
Following his performance in Super Formula Lights, Ohta was promoted to a top-level drive in the Super Formula Championship for 2023, racing for docomo Dandelion Racing alongside Tadasuke Makino and in place of Hiroki Ōtsu.[3] Ohta struggled during the first half of the season but proved to be a revalation following the summer break, qualifying in the top ten for the first time at the fifth round at Sportsland SUGO and proceeding to qualify in the top four in each of the season's four remaining rounds. He claimed his first podium in the championship in a shortened penultimate round at Suzuka, and followed it up by fending off the challenge of heavily favored championship contender Liam Lawson and eventual series champion Ritomo Miyata to claim his first race victory in the season finale.[5] He continues to compete with Dandelion Racing for 2024.[4]
IMSA
editOhta given a chance to test the Acura ARX-06 in the upcoming IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona International Speedway on 15-16 November.[6]
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | F4 Japanese Championship | MYST | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47th |
| 2019 | F4 Japanese Championship | Honda Formula Dream Project | 14 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 125 | 6th |
| French F4 Championship | FFSA Academy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC† | |
| 2020 | F4 Japanese Championship | Vegaplus | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 68 | 7th |
| 2021 | F4 Japanese Championship | Honda Formula Dream Project | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 150 | 5th |
| Formula Regional Japanese Championship | Rn-sports | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 14th | |
| Super Taikyu - ST-Z | Team 5Zigen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 80.5‡ | 3rd‡ | |
| 2022 | Super Formula Lights | Toda Racing | 18 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 108 | 2nd |
| Super GT - GT300 | Team UpGarage | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 8th | |
| Super Taikyu - ST-Z | Team 5Zigen | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 131.5‡ | 1st‡ | |
| 2023 | Super Formula | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35.5 | 7th |
| Super GT | Modulo Nakajima Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 14th | |
| 2024 | Super GT | Astemo Real Racing | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 12th |
| Super Formula | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 75 | 4th | |
| Super Taikyu - ST-X | Craft-Bamboo Racing | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 2nd |
† As he was a guest driver, Ohta was ineligible to score points.
‡ Team standings.
Complete F4 Japanese Championship results
edit| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | MYST | OKA 1 |
OKA 2 |
FUJ1 1 |
FUJ1 2 |
SUZ 1 |
SUZ 2 |
FUJ2 1 27 |
FUJ2 2 Ret |
SUG 1 |
SUG 2 |
AUT 1 |
AUT 2 |
MOT 1 |
MOT 2 |
47th | 0 |
| 2019 | Honda Formula Dream Project | OKA 1 Ret |
OKA 2 Ret |
FUJ1 1 2 |
FUJ1 2 5 |
SUZ 1 1 |
SUZ 2 1 |
FUJ2 1 4 |
FUJ2 2 9 |
AUT 1 3 |
AUT 2 6 |
SUG 1 18 |
SUG 2 27 |
MOT 1 8 |
MOT 2 7 |
6th | 125 |
| 2020 | Vegaplus | FUJ1 1 |
FUJ1 2 |
FUJ1 3 |
SUZ 1 5 |
SUZ 2 2 |
SUZ 3 3 |
MOT 1 6 |
MOT 2 9 |
MOT 3 8 |
FUJ2 1 9 |
FUJ2 2 7 |
FUJ2 3 4 |
7th | 68 | ||
| 2021 | Honda Formula Dream Project | FUJ1 1 4 |
FUJ1 2 31 |
SUZ 1 2 |
SUZ 2 2 |
MOT1 1 3 |
MOT1 2 5 |
MOT1 3 2 |
SUG 1 8 |
SUG 2 9 |
SUG 3 6 |
MOT2 1 3 |
MOT2 2 2 |
FUJ2 1 Ret |
FUJ2 2 4 |
5th | 150 |
Complete Super Formula Lights results
edit(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 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Toda Racing | FUJ 1 Ret |
FUJ 2 2 |
FUJ 3 4 |
SUZ 1 2 |
SUZ 2 1 |
SUZ 3 2 |
AUT 1 2 |
AUT 2 1 |
AUT 3 2 |
SUG 1 Ret |
SUG 2 3 |
SUG 3 5 |
MOT 1 2 |
MOT 2 9 |
MOT 3 4 |
OKA 1 1 |
OKA 2 3 |
OKA 3 1 |
2nd | 113 |
Complete Super Formula results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | FUJ 15 |
FUJ 19 |
SUZ 17 |
AUT 16 |
SUG 15 |
FUJ 63 |
MOT Ret2 |
SUZ 3 |
SUZ 12 |
7th | 35.5 |
| 2024 | SUZ 42 |
AUT 5 |
SUG 14 |
FUJ DNS |
MOT 19†2 |
FUJ 92 |
FUJ 4 |
SUZ 11 |
SUZ 12 |
4th | 75 |
* Season still in progress.
Complete Super GT results
edit| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Team UpGarage | Honda NSX GT3 Evo | GT300 | OKA 2 |
FUJ 13 |
SUZ Ret |
FUJ 3 |
SUZ 14 |
SUG 11 |
AUT 19 |
MOT 4 |
8th | 34 |
| 2023 | Modulo Nakajima Racing | Honda NSX-Type S GT500 | GT500 | OKA 10 |
FUJ 14 |
SUZ 14 |
FUJ 2 |
SUZ 8 |
SUG 11 |
AUT 11 |
MOT Ret |
14th | 19 |
| 2024 | Astemo Real Racing | Honda Civic Type R-GT GT500 | GT500 | OKA Ret |
FUJ 3 |
SUZ |
FUJ |
SUZ |
SUG |
AUT |
MOT |
References
edit- ^ a b c "HFDP Drivers' Documentary SFL Vol.2 ~Kakunoshin Ohta~". honda.racing. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Honda outlines Super Formula driver roster for 2022". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Honda 2023 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Honda 2024 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Suzuka Super Formula: Miyata beats Lawson to title, Ota wins finale". motorsport.com. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "Kakunoshin Ohta To Test Acura ARX-06 At Daytona". dailysportscar.com. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
External links
edit- Kakunoshin Ohta career summary at DriverDB.com