Kohei Hirate

Kohei Hirate
Born	Template:Birth year and age Komaki, Aichi, Japan
Occupation	Racing driver
Years active	1999–present
Known for	Two-time Super GT series champion

is a professional Japanese race car driver and a two-time champion in the Super GT series.

Career

Hirate embarked on his karting journey in 1999 at the age of 13, capturing the All Japan Junior Kart Championship title and achieving notable placements in both national and FIA Oceania events. He advanced to compete in Formula Toyota with Tom's Spirit, where he secured four victories and finished as the runner-up.

In 2003, Hirate joined Prema Powerteam for Formula Renault competition, earning seven wins and concluding the 2004 season as vice-champion. During that year, he also participated in select races with Prema's Formula Three Euroseries outfit before committing full-time in 2005 with Team Rosberg, finishing twelfth overall. By 2006, he served as a test driver for Toyota F1 while attaining third place in the Formula Three Euroseries standings. The following year, he continued his role with Toyota and competed in the GP2 Series representing Trident Racing.

Hirate returned to Japan in 2008, simultaneously competing in Formula Nippon and Super GT. Driving for Team Impul, he achieved fourth place in the 2008 Formula Nippon championship and fifth place in the 2009 season.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2002	Formula Toyota	TOM'S Spirit	?	4	2	?	?	?	2nd
2003	Formula Renault 2000 Italia	Prema Powerteam	12	1	0	1	2	113	8th
	Formula Renault 2000 Masters		8	0	0	0	0	8	21st
	Formula Renault 2000 Germany	Franken Racing	4	0	0	0	0	33	24th
	Formula Renault 2000 Netherlands	?	?	?	?	?	?	15	21st
2004	Formula 3 Euro Series	Prema Powerteam	4	0	0	0	0	0	28th
	2004 Bahrain Superprix		1	0	0	0	0		12th
	Italian Formula Renault Championship		15	6	6	2	10	266	2nd
	2004 Formula Renault 2000 Germany season		2	0	0	0	0	25	25th
	Asian Formula Renault Challenge	Asia Racing Team	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2005	2005 Formula 3 Euro Series season	Team Rosberg	20	0	0	0	1	18	11th
	2005 Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	0	0		5th
	Macau Grand Prix		1						NC
2006
	rowspan=4) Full Formula 3 Euro Series results (key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position; those in italics represent fastest lap) Year Team Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Final Position Points 2005 Team Rosberg Opel HOC 1 HOC 2 PAU 1 PAU 2 SPA 1 SPA 2 MON 1 MON 2 OSC 1 OSC 2 NOR 1 NOR 2 NÜR 1 NÜR 2 ZAN 1 ZAN 2 LAU 1 LAU 2 HOC 1 HOC 2 12th 18 2006 Manor Motorsport Mercedes HOC 1 HOC 2 LAU 1 LAU 2 OSC 1 OSC 2 BRH 1 BRH 2 NOR 1 NOR 2 NÜR 1 NÜR 2 ZAN 1 ZAN 2 CAT 1 CAT 2 Full GP2 Series results (key) (Pole positions are shown in bold; fastest laps are indicated in italics) </tbody> Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Final Standing Points Scored 2007 Trident Racing BHR FEA 18 BHR SPR Ret CAT FEA 13 CAT SPR 10 MON FEA 12 MAG FEA Ret MAG SPR 11 SIL FEA 18 [[2007 Silverstone GP2 Series round|getSIL] SPR}} Template:Small RET Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results (Template:A1GP results legend#key) (Bold indicates pole position, italics designate fastest lap) Year Team Engine Rounds Final Classification Points Earned 2008 Formula Nippon season Team Impul Toyota <style='white-space:nowrap;'>Retired at Fuji, second place at Suzuka, sixth at Motegi, third at Okayama, fifth and first at Suzuka rounds, retired at Motegi, did not start second Motegi race, fifth at Sportsland Sugo 4th | 42 2009 Formula Nippon season Team Impul Toyota Achieved a podium finish at Fuji (third), fourth place at Suzuka, retired at Motegi, with remaining results between fourth and eighth, failing to score points in the last three events. 5th | 32 2010 Formula Nippon season Team Impul Toyota Maintained consistent top ten finishes throughout the season, including a victory at Fuji and podiums at Motegi. 5th | 25.5 2011 Formula Nippon season Team Impul Toyota Displayed varied outcomes with a best result of second place at Fuji, concluding the year eighth overall. 8th | 15 2012 Formula Nippon season P.mu/cerumo・INGING Motorsport Toyota Secured multiple top ten finishes without podium appearances, finishing ninth in the standings. 9th | 8 2013 Super Formula season P.mu/cerumo・INGING Motorsport Toyota Attained a runner-up finish at Fuji amid several retirements, ultimately placing ninth in the championship. 9th | 11 Full Super GT Results Year Team Vehicle Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Final Position Points 2008 apr Toyota MR-S GT300 SUZ 13th OKA 12th FUJ 1st SEP 9th SUG 6th SUZ MOT AUT 9th FUJ Retired 15th 33 2009 Lexus Team SARD Lexus SC430 GT500 OKA 15th SUZ 10th FUJ 10th SEP 13th SUG 2nd SUZ 7th FUJ 11th AUT 12th MOT 5th 14th 27 2010 Lexus Team SARD Lexus SC430 GT500 SUZ 5th OKA 10th FUJ Retired SEP < br > 10th SUG < br > 10th SUZ < br > 8th FUJ < br > C MOT < br > 11th 12th 12 ... (table continues with consistent formatting and data for following seasons) ... Year Team Vehicle Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Final Position Points 2011 Lexus Team Cerumo Lexus SC430 GT500 OKA < br > 8th FUJ < br > 5th SEP < br > 5th SUG < br > 11th SUZ < br > 14th FUJ < br > 1st AUT < br > 3rd MOT < br > 10th 6th 47 ‡ Points halved due to race completion below 75% distance. * Current season ongoing. External links Official website of Kohei Hirate