Wikipedia

Natsu Sakaguchi

Natsu Sakaguchi (坂口 夏月, Sakaguchi Natsu; born 8 September 1995 in Fukuoka Prefecture[1]) is a Japanese racing driver who last competed for JLOC in Super GT.

Natsu Sakaguchi
Sakaguchi in 2022
NationalityJapan Japanese
Born (1995-09-08) 8 September 1995 (age 30)
Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Categorisation FIA Silver

Career

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Sakaguchi made his single-seater debut in 2012, racing in the Super FJ Suzuka Series, finishing fourth in points after winning the season finale.[2] After finishing second in the Japanese Grand Prix-supporting Super FJ Challenge Cup the following year, Sakaguchi was awarded the Honda SRS-F scholarship to compete in JAF Formula 4 in 2014.[3] Following a sixth-place points finish in the overall standings in JAF Formula 4, Sakaguchi made a one-off return to the Super FJ Suzuka Series, winning from pole position for Take First.[4]

Following one year on the sidelines, Sakaguchi made his racing return in 2017 by joining Team Mach in the GT300 class of Super GT alongside Kiyoto Fujinami.[5] At Autopolis, Sakaguchi finished eighth, scoring his first points in the series and the team's first in seven years.[6] Remaining with Team Mach for 2018, Sakaguchi was joined by Yuya Hiraki for his second season in the series.[7] At the penultimate round of the season at Autopolis, Sakaguchi ran as high as second and finished the race a then-career best seventh.[8]

In 2019, Sakaguchi was retained by Team Mach alongside Hiraki.[9] Three rounds into the season, Sakaguchi took his maiden podium in GT300, finishing second at Suzuka and taking Team Mach's best result in Super GT.[10] Sakaguchi remained with Team Mach for 2020, pairing up with Hiraki for the third season in a row.[11] At the opening round of the season at Fuji, Sakaguchi scored his second career podium by finishing third, which enabled him to end the season 14th in the standings.[12]

After spending four seasons with Team Mach, Sakaguchi switched to JLOC for 2021, partnering Kosuke Matsuura.[13] Sakaguchi's best result of the season came at Sugo, where he finished fourth in what was his only points scoring result of the season.[14] During 2021, Sakaguchi also won the Fuji 24 Hours overall.[15] Sakaguchi remained with JLOC and Matsuura for the 2022 season.[16] Having finished in the points three times in the first part of the season, Sakaguchi scored a podium at Motegi, finishing runner-up in the season-finale.[17] In early 2023, JLOC retained both Sakaguchi and Matsuura for that year's Super GT season.[18] At the fifth round of the season at Suzuka, Sakaguchi took his fourth career podium by taking second place behind Team UpGarage.[19]

For the third consecutive season, JLOC retained the Sakaguchi-Matsuura pairing for their number 87 car.[20] Having qualified second for the Fuji 350km race, Sakaguchi finished sixth in his last race with the Huracan Evo before switching to the Evo2 from the fifth round onwards.[21] With the Evo2, Sakaguchi finished fourth in the penultimate round of the season at Motegi and ended the season 11th in the standings.[22] Ahead of the 2025 season, it was announced that Sakaguchi would remain with JLOC and Matsuura as they would drive the Huracan Evo2 for the full season.[23] In his first full season with the Huracan Evo2, Sakaguchi scored a best result of seventh at Okayama as he ended the year 20th in points.[24]

Sakaguchi remained with JLOC for the following year, as he became the team's reserve driver.[25]

Racing record

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Racing career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2012 Super FJ – Suzuka Series 6 1 0 0 1 50 4th
2013 F1 Grand Prix Super FJ Challenge Cup ART GP Japan[26] 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
2014 JAF Formula 4 East - FC HFDP Racing 5 0 –** –** 0 42 6th
JAF Formula 4 West - FC 6 0 –** –** 2 55 5th
JAF Formula 4 Overall - FC 11 0 –** –** 2 97 6th
2015 Super FJ – Suzuka Series Take First 1 1 0 0 1 20 9th
2017 Super GT – GT300 Team Mach 7 0 0 0 0 3 23rd
2018 Super GT – GT300 Team Mach 7 0 0 0 0 4 20th
2019 Super GT – GT300 Team Mach 7 0 0 0 1 15 21st
2020 Super GT – GT300 Team Mach 8 0 0 0 1 19 14th
Super Taikyu – ST-X GTNET Motor Sports[27] 1 0 0 0 1 82.5‡ 3rd‡
2021 Super GT – GT300 JLOC 8 0 0 0 0 8 20th
Super Taikyu – ST-X GTNET Motor Sports 1 1 0 0 1 82‡ 4th‡
2022 Super GT – GT300 JLOC 8 0 0 0 1 23 15th
Super Taikyu – ST-X GTNET Motor Sports[28] 5 1 0 4 3 97.5‡ 4th‡
2023 Super GT – GT300 JLOC 8 0 0 0 1 19 15th
Super Taikyu – ST-X GTNET Motor Sports[29] 6 0 0 2 2 89‡ 5th‡
2024 Super GT – GT300 JLOC 8 0 0 1 0 26 11th
Super Taikyu – ST-X GTNET Motor Sports[30] 5 1 2 3 2 107.5‡ 5th‡
Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86/BRZ Cup 4MINUTES Co., Ltd. R&D 8 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2025 Super GT – GT300 JLOC 8 0 0 0 0 29 20th
Super Taikyu – ST-X GTNET Motor Sports 3 0 0 0 0 26‡ 5th‡
SRO Japan Cup – GT3 Galah Racing With GTNET 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2026 Super GT – GT300 JLOC
Super Taikyu – ST-X GTNET MotorSports
SRO Japan Cup – GT3 Pro-Am GalahRacing
Sources:[31]

‡ Team standings

** The FC class was a class using modified Formula Challenge Japan's FC106 chassis and running with the JAF Formula 4's "C" class, an upper grade class. So, there were neither pole position nor fastest lap.[32]

Complete Super GT results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Pts
2017 Team Mach Toyota 86 MC GT300 OKA
17		 FSW
19		 AUT
8		 SUG
12		 FSW
28		 SUZ
22		 CHA TRM
15		 23rd 3
2018 Team Mach Toyota 86 MC GT300 OKA
Ret		 FUJ
12		 SUZ
Ret		 CHA
 FUJ
19		 SUG
22		 AUT
7		 MOT
18		 20th 4
2019 Team Mach Toyota 86 MC GT300 GT300 OKA
Ret		 FUJ
Ret		 SUZ
2		 CHA
 FUJ
17		 AUT
17		 SUG
18		 MOT
14		 21st 15
2020 Team Mach Toyota 86 MC GT300 GT300 FUJ
3		 FUJ
11		 SUZ
29		 MOT
23		 FUJ
15		 SUZ
4		 MOT
Ret		 FUJ
Ret		 14th 19
2021 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo GT300 OKA
21		 FSW
15		 TRM
Ret		 SUZ
16		 SUG
4		 AUT
25		 TRM
Ret		 FSW
15		 20th 8
2022 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo GT300 OKA
8		 FSW
12		 SUZ
16		 FSW
8		 SUZ
9		 SUG
19		 AUT
11		 TRM
2		 15th 23
2023 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo GT300 OKA
7		 FSW
Ret		 SUZ
23		 FSW
16		 SUZ
2		 SUG
19		 AUT
19		 TRM
21		 15th 19
2024 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo GT300 OKA
7		 FSW
8		 SUZ
21		 FSW
62		 11th 26
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 SUG
7		 AUT
13		 MOT
4		 SUZ
Ret
2025 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 GT300 OKA
7		 FUJ
25		 SEP
9		 FS1
(21)		 FS2
14		 SUZ
16		 SUG
18		 AUT
9		 MOT
11		 20th 29

References

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  1. ↑ "レーシングの血統。BBS LM-R". driver-web.jp (in Japanese). 28 October 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  2. ↑ "2012年 スーパーFJ 鈴鹿シリーズ レースリザルト". jss-org.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "今年のSRS-Fスカラシップは坂口、福住が獲得". as-web.jp (in Japanese). 21 November 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "SFJ:第1戦鈴鹿公式予選 坂口夏月がポールポジション". fmotor.jp (in Japanese). 22 February 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "GT300 Season Preview: Mother Chassis". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  6. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (22 May 2017). "Victory For Lexus Team Au TOM's In Autopolis". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  7. ↑ "2018 Super GT GT300 Preview, Part 1: JAF-GT & Mother Chassis". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  8. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (21 October 2018). "Hirakawa & Cassidy Win At Autopolis For TOM's, Points Tied Going Into Motegi!". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  9. ↑ "スーパーGT：TEAM MACHが2019年体制を発表。車名をADVICS マッハ車検 MC86へ一新". as-web.jp. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  10. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (26 May 2019). "Nakajima, Sekiguchi Lead Lexus Team au TOM's To Suzuka 300km Victory". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  11. ↑ "スーパーGT：TEAM MACHが2020年体制を発表。坂口＆平木の若手コンビ継続で頂点目指す". as-web.jp. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  12. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (19 July 2020). "Toyota GR Supras Sweep Super GT Opener On Debut". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "JLOC、2021年のスーパーGT参戦体制を発表。小暮／元嶋組、松浦／坂口組で「まずは1勝」目指す". as-web.jp. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  14. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (12 September 2021). "Calsonic Team Impul Ends Five Year Winless Drought In Sugo Thriller". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  15. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (23 May 2021). "GTNET Motor Sports Wins Fuji 24 Hours For The Third Time". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  16. ↑ "JLOC、2022年もスーパーGT参戦のドライバーラインアップは変更せず。結果を目指す一年に". as-web.jp. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  17. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (6 November 2022). "Calsonic Team Impul & Kondo Racing Secure Championship Double For Nissan". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  18. ↑ "42 Cars Entered For 2023 SUPER GT Series". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  19. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (27 August 2023). "ARTA Leads Honda Double Victory At Suzuka Summer 450km". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  20. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (21 February 2024). "2024 SUPER GT Entry List Revealed". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  21. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (4 August 2024). "ARTA Secures Honda Civic Type R-GT's First Victory In Fuji". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  22. ↑ "GT300 OFFICIAL RESULT 1/2" (PDF). dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  23. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (17 February 2025). "SUPER GT Reveals 43 Car Capacity Grid For 2025 Season". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  24. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (13 April 2025). "TOM'S Reigning Champions Cruise To Win In Wet Okayama Opener". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  25. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (20 February 2026). "JLOC Announces 2026 Driver Line-Ups". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  26. ↑ "SFJ:F1日本GP鈴鹿S-FJチャレンジカップレース決勝結果". fmotor.jp. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  27. ↑ "スーパー耐久：GTNETが新体制を発表。Team DAISHINとコラボレーションし、大八木親子が参戦". as-web.jp. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  28. ↑ O'Connell, RJ (21 March 2022). "GTNET Motor Sports Wins Dramatic Suzuka 5 Hour Race". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  29. ↑ "TEAM DAISHINがMP Racingとコラボ！ ニッサンGT-RニスモGT3でスーパー耐久ST-Xクラスに参戦へ". as-web.jp. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  30. ↑ "実は"薄氷の勝利"だったDAISHIN GT-R。スーパー耐久第4戦もてぎで後半戦に繋げる優勝に". as-web.jp. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  31. ↑ "Natsu Sakaguchi | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  32. ↑ "Result". 日本フォーミュラー・フォー協会 (Japan Formula 4 Forum). Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
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