Kenta Yamashita (山下 健太, Yamashita Kenta; born 3 August 1995) is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing who is currently competing in Super GT for TOM'S and in Super Formula for Kondō Racing. He won the GT500-class Super GT championship title in 2019, 2024 and 2025. He previously won the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 Championship and the 2013 Formula Challenge Japan titles.
| Kenta Yamashita | |
|---|---|
 Yamashita at the podium of the 2024 Super Formula Motegi round | |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Born | 3 August 1995 Chiba, Japan |
| Super GT - GT500 career | |
| Debut season | 2017 |
| Current team | TGR Team au TOM'S |
| Categorisation |  FIA Platinum |
| Car number | 1 |
| Former teams | Racing Project Bandoh, Team LeMans, SARD, Rookie Racing |
| Starts | 62 |
| Wins | 11 |
| Podiums | 22 |
| Poles | 6 |
| Fastest laps | 3 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2019, 2024, 2025 |
| Super Formula career | |
| Debut season | 2017 |
| Current team | KCMG |
| Car number | 8 |
| Former teams | Kondo Racing |
| Starts | 77 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 5th in 2019 |
| Previous series | |
| 2019-20 2015-17 2014–16 2013 2012 | FIA WEC - LMP2 Super GT - GT300 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Formula Challenge Japan Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ |
| Championship titles | |
| 2019, 2024-25 2016 2013 2012 | Super GT Japanese Formula 3 Championship Formula Challenge Japan Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ |
Career
editKarting
editYamashita competed in karts before graduating to single-seater cars in 2012.[citation needed]
Formula Super FJ and Formula Challenge Japan
editYamashita began his racing car career in the 2012 Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ, which he won in his first season. In all four starts, he took the pole, fastest lap, and race win.[1] In 2013, he progressed to the Formula Challenge Japan series, which was a racing category intended for drivers between entry level and Formula 3. He scored seven podiums and in 12 races, including four wins, and took the championship title.[2]
All-Japan Formula Three
editIn 2014, Yamashita graduated to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship with the Petronas Team TOM'S. He finished runner-up in the championship to the more experienced Nobuharu Matsushita.[3]
In 2015, Yamashita continued to race in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship with TOM'S, he managed to clinch runners up, just lose out to Nick Cassidy the eventual champion. 2016, Yamashita won the title in the final round, pips out Jann Mardenborough to the title.
Super GT
editIn 2015, Yamashita made his debut in GT300 class with Porsche Team KTR alongside Alexandre Imperatori. He then made one off appearance the next season with Tsuchiya Engineering. He stayed with the team full time afterwards. That season, he won his first race alongside Takamitsu Matsui.
Yamashita made a one off appearance with Racing Project Bandoh in Fuji Speedway.[4] Then for 2018, he steped up to GT500 with Bandoh, as he replaced Yuhi Sekiguchi.[5] Yamashita then transferred to Lexus Team Wako's LeMans, replacing Felix Rosenqvist, who left Super GT to compete in the IndyCar Series.[6] He then with Kazuya Oshima won the title at the final race of the season. That would be Team LeMans final title as the team discontinued their campaign in GT500. For 2020, Yamashita initially did not listed to compete in Super GT as he was focused to do WEC. But because of the pandemic, he only ran a couple of races in that year. He covered up for Heikki Kovalainen at Team SARD for Round 1 because Kovalalinen unable to enter Japan. Then Yamashita would race in two rounds as he replaced Nick Cassidy, as Cassidy began preparations for his debut in the 2021 FIA Formula E World Championship.
In 2021, Yamashita returned to the series full time in 2021, this time with new Rookie Racing with his former champion pair Oshima.[7] During his time with the team, he won two races, and couple of podiums. For 2024, he moved to 2023 champion team Team au TOM'S to pair with Sho Tsuboi as he replaced Ritomo Miyata.[8]
Super Formula
edit
Yamashita made his Super Formula debut in 2017 with Kondo Racing alongside his 2015 title rival Cassidy.[4] Yamashita stayed with the same team for over nine years, and he managed only to win once.
In 2026, Yamashita moved to KCMG with Kalle Rovanperä.[9][10]
FIA World Endurance Championship
edit.jpg)
Yamashita made his international racing debut in the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving in the LMP2 class for Danish team High Class Racing alongside Anders Fjordbach and amateur driver Mark Patterson.[11] Yamashita would impress in qualifying sessions throughout the season, outmatching more experienced opponents on a regular basis, but the team would ultimately achieve little success in races and ended the season as the last-placed LMP2 team. Yamashita reached the Hyperpole session in qualifying for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans before the team was forced to retire with a gearbox problem.
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit* Season still in progress.
‡ Team standings.
Complete Formula Challenge Japan results
editComplete Japanese Formula 3 Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Petronas Team TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 1 1 |
SUZ 2 3 |
MOT 1 2 |
MOT 2 2 |
MOT 3 2 |
OKA 1 5 |
OKA 2 1 |
FUJ 1 2 |
FUJ 2 2 |
MOT 1 3 |
MOT 2 6 |
SUG 1 6 |
SUG 2 2 |
FUJ 1 3 |
FUJ 2 2 |
2nd | 90 | ||
| 2015 | Petronas Team TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 1 Ret |
SUZ 2 3 |
MOT 1 2 |
MOT 2 1 |
MOT 3 1 |
OKA 1 8 |
OKA 2 1 |
FUJ 1 1 |
FUJ 2 3 |
OKA 1 2 |
OKA 2 2 |
FUJ 1 5 |
FUJ 2 1 |
MOT 1 3 |
MOT 2 2 |
SUG 1 4 |
SUG 2 3 |
2nd | 113 |
| 2016 | Zent Team TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 1 1 |
SUZ 2 1 |
FUJ 1 5 |
FUJ 2 2 |
OKA 1 1 |
OKA 2 6 |
SUZ 1 Ret |
SUZ 2 2 |
FUJ 1 6 |
FUJ 2 4 |
MOT 1 5 |
MOT 2 2 |
OKA 1 1 |
OKA 2 5 |
SUG 1 1 |
SUG 2 1 |
SUG 3 1 |
1st | 113 |
Complete Super GT results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
(Number) Driver did not take part in this sprint race, points are still awarded for the teammate's result.
* Season still in progress.
Complete Super Formula results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | SUZ 14 |
OKA 7 |
OKA 6 |
FUJ Ret |
MOT 6 |
AUT 13 |
SUG 11 |
SUZ C |
SUZ C |
11th | 6.5 | |||
| 2018 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | SUZ 9 |
AUT C |
SUG 8 |
FUJ 18 |
MOT 6 |
OKA 6‡ |
SUZ 3 |
9th | 11.5 | |||||
| 2019 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | SUZ 3 |
AUT 7 |
SUG 6 |
FUJ 17 |
MOT 13 |
OKA 1 |
SUZ 9 |
5th | 21 | |||||
| 2020 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | MOT 23 |
OKA | SUG 6 |
AUT 5 |
SUZ 9 |
SUZ 6 |
FUJ 10 |
7th | 34 | |||||
| 2021 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | FUJ 12 |
SUZ 12 |
AUT 11 |
SUG 14 |
MOT 15 |
MOT 8 |
SUZ 6 |
14th | 8 | |||||
| 2022 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | FUJ 11 |
FUJ 4 |
SUZ 162 |
AUT 12 |
SUG Ret |
FUJ 7 |
MOT 6 |
MOT Ret |
SUZ 14 |
SUZ 13 |
15th | 19 | ||
| 2023 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | FUJ Ret |
FUJ 3 |
SUZ 5 |
AUT 4 |
SUG 8 |
FUJ 17 |
MOT 9 |
SUZ 11 |
SUZ 9 |
8th | 32 | |||
| 2024 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | SUZ 2 |
AUT 7 |
SUG 6‡ |
FUJ 13 |
MOT 21 |
FUJ 10 |
FUJ 8 |
SUZ 8 |
SUZ 9 |
7th | 48.5 | |||
| 2025 | Kondo Racing | Toyota | SUZ 9 |
SUZ 11 |
MOT 7 |
MOT 131 |
AUT 3 |
FUJ 12 |
FUJ 8 |
SUG 9 |
FUJ 10 |
SUZ 11 |
SUZ 14 |
SUZ 14 |
11th | 27.5 |
| 2026 | KCMG | Toyota | MOT 13 |
MOT 7 |
SUZ Ret |
SUZ 16 |
FUJ |
FUJ |
FUJ |
SUG |
FUJ |
FUJ |
SUZ |
SUZ |
17th* | 4* |
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
* Season still in progress.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
editComplete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |  High Class Racing |
Anders Fjordbach Mark Patterson |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 88 | DNF | DNF |
References
edit- ↑ "Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ 2012 standings | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ "Formula Challenge Japan 2013 standings | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ "Japanese Formula 3 Championship 2014 standings | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- 1 2 "Toyota GAZOO Racing Outlines 2017 Motorsports Activities". Toyota Motor Corporation. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ↑ "Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces Super GT Programmes For 2018". dailysportscar.com. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ↑ "Toyota Gazoo Racing Announces 2019 Super GT Programmes". dailysportscar.com. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ↑ "Toyota reveals 2021 Super GT drivers, GT500 grid complete". dailysportscar.com. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ↑ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2024 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ↑ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Announces 2026 Motorsport Program". TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. 19 December 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
- ↑ "TEAM GOH to Field Single-Car Entry in 2026 SUPER FORMULA with Toyota Engine". Team Goh. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ↑ Lloyd, Daniel (17 July 2019). "Super GT Points Leader Yamashita's Debut Confirmed". sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
External links
edit- Official website
- Kenta Yamashita career summary at DriverDB.com