Ai Miura

Ai Miura
NationalityJapan Japanese
Born (1989-11-24) 24 November 1989 (age 34)
Formula Regional Japanese Championship career
Debut season2020
TeamsSuper License
Starts15
Wins1
Best finish2nd in 2021

Ai Miura (三浦愛, Miura Ai, born 24 November 1989 in Nara Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese female racing driver who last raced in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship.[1]

Career

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Miura's single seater career began due to the influence of her father and brother. At the age of 12, she participated in a kart race for the first time and eventually won the championship. After that, she honed her skills in karting. At Osaka Sangyo University, where she studied Mechanical Engineering, she was one of the drivers of their solar car project, participating in the yearly FIA Solar Car Race at the Suzuka Circuit, taking several victories throughout the years.

In 2011, she participated in Super FJ (Suzuka) with the support of Exedy in recognition of her success in karting. After graduating from university one year later, she became an employee of Exedy and participated in Formula Challenge Japan (FCJ) while enrolled in the public relations department of the company.

In 2014, she made her debut in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship (N class), being the first female driver in the series in 18 years. She finished on the podium at the opening race held at Suzuka Circuit, and took her first victory in the following 2nd round, finally finishing in 4th place in the series. In 2015, she continued to participate in the N class of the All Japan F3 Championship, winning 3 races and finishing 2nd.

From 2016 until 2018, she was part of the B-MAX Racing Team, achieving a best race result of 4th Overall and 8th in the standings (both the best ever for a female in the series). The following year, in 2019, she joined ThreeBond Racing and continued participated in the All-Japan F3 Championship (C class). In 2020, she participated in the KYOJO CUP for LHG Racing with YLT, winning the championship in her first try. In addition, she also took part in a few races in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship in place of Tomoki Takahashi with the Super License team. She took her first podium at the Twin Ring Motegi. In 2021, she finished as runner-up of the championship,[2] taking her first win at Fuji Speedway[3] during the season, while also competing in Super Taikyu.

Racing record

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Karting

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2001
  • 1st SL Meihan Final Round FP3-F Class
2002
  • Suzuka Championship - RSO class
2003
  • 3rd Suzuka Championship - OPEN class
  • 6th Suzuka Championship - JRMC class
2004
  • 2nd RotaxMax Junior class
  • 2nd Suzuka Championship - JRMC class
  • 11th Macau International Kart GP - JrMAX Class
  • 9th Asia Pacific Championship - MAX Class
2005
  • 5th Rotax Max - Junior class
  • 2nd Suzuka Championship - JRMC class
  • 18th EuroChallenge UK round - Junior Class
2006
  • 4th Rotax Max - Senior class
  • 2nd Mizunami Challenge Cup - RMC Class
  • 31st EuroChallenge in Italy - Senior Class
  • 28th EuroChallenge in Austria - Senior Class
  • Ret EuroChallenge in Belgium - Senior Class
  • 6th Macau International Kart GP SrMAX class
2007
  • 19th RotaxMax Senior Class
  • Participation in EuroChallenge - Senior class
2008
  • 8th Rotax Max - Senior class
  • Participated in the Japan Open Masters
2009
  • 11th Rotax Max Senior class
  • Participated in the Japan Open Masters
2010
  • 9th Rotax Max Senior Class
FIA Solar Car Race Suzuka
  • 2009: 1st, 2010: 1st, 2011: 2nd, 2012: 1st, 2013: 1st, 2014: 1st, 2016: 1st

Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2011 Suzuka Clubman Race SFJ Class Series ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 10th
2012 Formula Challenge Japan Exedy Racing Team 12 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2013 Formula Challenge Japan Exedy Racing Team 12 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2014 Japanese Formula 3 Championship - National Exedy Racing Team 15 1 0 0 7 55 4th
2015 Japanese Formula 3 Championship - National Exedy Racing Team 13 3 2 0 16 123 2nd
2016 Japanese Formula 3 Championship B-Max Racing Team 17 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2017 Japanese Formula 3 Championship B-Max Racing Team 20 0 0 0 0 11 8th
2018 Japanese Formula 3 Championship B-Max Racing Team 19 0 0 0 0 1 12th
2019 Japanese Formula 3 Championship ThreeBond Racing 13 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2020 Formula Regional Japanese Championship Super License 4 0 0 0 1 39 11th
Kyojo Cup LHG Racing with YLT 4 1 3 1 4 80 1st
Super Taikyu - ST-3 HELM Motorsports 1 0 0 0 1 44‡ 5th‡
2021 Formula Regional Japanese Championship Super License 13 1 1 1 7 179 2nd
TCR Japan Touring Car Series - Saturday Series Dome Racing 2 0 0 0 1 23 12th
TCR Japan Touring Car Series - Sunday Series 4 0 0 0 1 31 9th
Super Taikyu - ST-Z Hayashi Telempu SHADE Racing 6 0 0 2 0 42‡ 8th‡
2022 Super Taikyu - ST-3 FKS Team Fukushima 4 0 1 1 3 76‡ 4th‡
2024 Super Taikyu - ST-3 Okabe Jidosha Motorsport

‡ Team standings.

References

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  1. ^ "Profile". driverdb.com. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "No stopping at the D'station for Sawa as he takes another FRJC wi". formulascout.com. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Sawa turns prize D'station drive into FRJC victory at Fuji". formulascout.com. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
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