Japan’s WEC Warriors

Ahead of the 6 Hours of Fuji, meet the trio of Japanese FIA World Endurance Championship aces and find out how they compare with some of the past names from the Land of the Rising Sun…

1.    Kazuki Nakajima – Toyota Gazoo Racing (LMP1), 4 wins

With four wins to his name – including two at Fuji – Kazuki Nakajima is the most successful Japanese driver in series history. A two-time champion of Japan’s premier Super Formula championship, Nakajima joined the WEC in 2012 after a spell in Formula 1 and quickly stamped his mark on the team, becoming in 2014 the first Japanese to get pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and earning a move to join Toyota’s championship-winning duo Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi in the No. 1 car for 2015. 

Unfortunately, a third place in the Silverstone season-opener proved the lone high point that season as back injuries forced his withdrawal from Spa, while 2016 was overshadowed by the heart-breaking retirement while leading Le Mans with three minutes to go. But 2017 showed the 32-year-old’s true mettle, as Nakajima took back-to-back wins for the first time in his WEC career at Silverstone and Spa. 

2.    Kamui Kobayashi – Toyota Gazoo Racing (LMP1), 1 win

Now in his second stint in the WEC, Kamui Kobayashi is flourishing into an esteemed sportscar racer in his own right, earning a truly impressive qualifying lap record for the current 24 Hours of Le Mans track layout in June this year. 

Thirty-one-year-old Kobayashi’s first foray into the series came with Ferrari in the LMGTE Pro class alongside Toni Vilander in 2013.  Second at Silverstone and three further podiums showed that he was more than cut out for GT racing, before a return to Formula 1 with Caterham beckoned for 2014.

Back in the WEC for 2016 – this time in LMP1 with Toyota – Kobayashi scored a stunning first win at Fuji and took the title to the final round in Bahrain, but ultimately had to settle for third in points. Despite his prodigious pace at Le Mans, Kobayashi is still waiting to add to his victory one year ago. Could Fuji once again provide a welcome homecoming? 

3.    Keita Sawa – Clearwater Racing (LMGTE-Am), 1 win

There aren’t many better ways to mark your first outing as a WEC regular than with a win, but that’s precisely what Keita Sawa managed at Silverstone in April. Granted, the 41-year-old Japanese had already made his series debut at Le Mans last year, but victory on his first ever visit to the British circuit alongside Matt Griffin and Clearwater team patron Mok Weng Sun was still an impressive achievement. 

A past champion in both the Asian Le Mans Series and Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, the vastly-experienced Sawa could represent the best bet for a home win, a result which could have even greater significance in the LMGTE Am title race with just 14 points separating the top three in the standings.

And (some of) the rest…

Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato is the best-known of the WEC’s Japanese alumni, but two cameo appearances with Oak in 2012 yielded little success. A veteran of 92 Grand Prix starts, Sato joined Bertrand Baguette and Dominik Kraihamer in the French team’s Honda-powered Pescarolo LMP1 machine, but a best finish of 14th place at the Shanghai season finale was a disappointing return.

Japanese drivers have traditionally fared well in the LMP2 ranks however, with both Shinji Nakano and Tsugio Matsuda racking up a class win apiece. 
A Formula 1 regular in the mid-90s, Nakano has appeared in four of the WEC’s six seasons, his most recent outing coming one year ago at Fuji with Manor in LMP2. His sole win also arrived at Fuji in 2012. 

Two-time Super GT champion Matsuda has also appeared in four different campaigns in LMP2, managing a win at COTA in 2014 with KCMG. He has also made two starts at Le Mans in the WEC era, memorably retiring in 2015 after losing a valiant effort to bring his Nissan GT-R LM back to the pits on three wheels shortly before the Porsche Curves.