Yuta Kamimura (上村 優太, Kamimura Yūta; born 26 April 1995[1] in Kobe) is a Japanese racing driver. He is the 2023 SRO Japan Cup champion.[2]
In 2014, Kamimura graduated from the Suzuka Circuit Racing School Formula with a scholarship to compete in the inaugural season of the F4 Japanese Championship for Honda Formula Dream Project.[3] Despite scoring a fifth-place finish in the season opener at Okayama,[4] Kamimura didn't score another top-five finish until the season-ending Motegi round, where he finished fourth and ended his maiden season in single-seaters 12th in points.[5]
Kamimura returned to HFDP for the 2016 season.[6] Despite a double podium at the opening round of the season at Okayama,[7][8] Kamimura only scored points five more times and ended the season 14th in the standings.
After leaving single-seaters at the end of 2016, Porsche Japan and the PCCJ Committee selected Kamimura for their 2017 scholarship, which saw him compete on full-time basis in Porsche Carrera Cup Japan.[9] In his first season in the series, Kamimura finished runner-up to Shinji Takei.[10]
Kamimura returned to PCCJ for 2018, after being retained for the scholarship program alongside Yoshiaki Katayama.[11] After finishing runner-up in the season-ending race at Suzuka, Kamimura ended the season second in points to Tsubasa Kondo.[12]
Returning to Carrera Cup Japan for the next two seasons, Kamimura joined Porsche Center Okazaki and finished runner-up in both seasons, to Ukyo Sasahara in 2019,[13] and to Ryo Ogawa in 2020.[14]
In late 2018, ARN Racing announced that Kamimura would drive for them in GT World Challenge Asia alongside Hiroaki Nagai.[15] Despite a slow start to the season, Kamimura took his maiden podium in race one at Suzuka and scored points twice more to finish 22nd in the standings.[16]
Having been announced to return to the series for 2020 with ARN alongside Nagai,[17] Kamimura returned to the series when it was relaunched in 2022, still alongside Nagai but changing to Porsche Center Okazaki for his sophomore season in the championship.[18]
On his series return, Kamimura finished on the podium three times, at Suzuka,[19] Fuji and the season-ending race at Okayama to end the season eighth in the overall standings and third in the Japan Cup standings.[20][21]
In 2023, Kamimura returned to GTWC Asia, along with a full-time campaign in Japan Cup.[22] In the main series, Kamimura scored two podiums, a third-place finish in race one at Suzuka and a second-place finish at Motegi's race two en route to a tenth place finish in the points.[23][24]
In Japan Cup, Kamimura won both of the races at Motegi and scored four more podiums to become champion at the season-ending round at Okayama.[2]
Kamimura continued his partnership with Porsche Center Okazaki for the 2024 season.[25] Having only scored points three times across the season, Kamimura finished 34th in the standings with a best result of sixth in race one at Suzuka.[26]
Returning to GT World Challenge Asia for 2025, Kamimura is set to compete on a part-time basis.[27]
In 2021, Kamimura made his GT300 debut, racing in the second round of that year's Super GT season for apr's number 30 GR Sport Prius alongside Hiroaki Nagai and Manabu Orido. On his maiden outing, Kamimura finished 18th.[28]
The following year, Kamimura made an unexpected return to Super GT, replacing Hiroaki Nagai at the fifth round of the season at Suzuka.[29] Kamimura went from 21st to take his maiden podium in Super GT, by finishing third.[30]
For 2023, Kamimura stayed with apr as a third driver.[31] Racing in half of the season's rounds, Kamimura scored a best finish of ninth at the third round of the season at Suzuka.[32]
During 2017, Kamimura made a one-off appearance in the LMP3 class of the Asian Le Mans Series, driving for TKS alongside Shinyo Sato and Takuya Shirasaka.[33] In his only start in the series, Kamimura finished third.[34]
During his sophomore season in Carrera Cup Japan, Kamimura made his GT3 debut in that year's Suzuka 10 Hours for Callaway Competition with Bingo Racing alongside Yuichi Mikasa and Shinji Takei.[35]
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | F4 Japanese Championship | Honda Formula Dream Project | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 12th |
| 2016 | F4 Japanese Championship | Honda Formula Dream Project | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 45 | 14th |
| 2017 | Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | Porsche Japan Junior Programme | 10 | 3 | 9 | 176 | 2nd | ||
| 2017–18 | Asian Le Mans Series – LMP3 | TKS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 9th |
| 2018 | Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | Porsche Japan Junior Programme | 11 | 3 | 9 | 182 | 2nd | ||
| Suzuka 10 Hours | Callaway Competition with Bingo Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 26th | |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Asia | LKM Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 33rd | |
| Super Taikyu – ST-1 | apr | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 76‡ | 2nd‡ | |
| Super Taikyu – ST-5 | Team221 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 132‡ | 1st‡ | |
| 2019 | Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | Porsche Center Okazaki | 10 | 3 | 8 | 154 | 2nd | ||
| Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia | ARN Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 22nd | |
| Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia – Pro-Am | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 82 | 10th | |||
| Intercontinental GT Challenge | apr with ARN Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2020 | Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | Porsche Center Okazaki | 8 | 4 | 6 | 132 | 2nd | ||
| Super Taikyu – ST-X | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20‡ | 6th‡ | ||
| apr | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 79‡ | 5th‡ | ||
| 2021 | Super GT – GT300 | apr | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Super Taikyu – ST-X | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64‡ | 5th‡ | ||
| Porsche Center Okazaki | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 98.5‡ | 3rd‡ | ||
| 2022 | GT World Challenge Asia | Porsche Center Okazaki | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 8th |
| GT World Challenge Asia – Pro-Am | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 74 | 6th | |||
| Super Taikyu – ST-X | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 111‡ | 3rd‡ | ||
| apr | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 83‡ | 6th‡ | ||
| Super GT – GT300 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 22nd | ||
| 2023 | Super GT – GT300 | apr | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24th |
| Super Taikyu – ST-X | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 118‡ | 2nd‡ | ||
| GT World Challenge Asia | Porsche Center Okazaki | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 71 | 10th | |
| GT World Challenge Asia – Silver-Am | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 78 | 9th | |||
| SRO Japan Cup | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 133 | 1st | ||
| 2024 | GT World Challenge Asia | Porsche Center Okazaki | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 34th |
| GT World Challenge Asia – Silver-Am | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 104 | 9th | |||
| Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | Hyper Water Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 15th | |
| Super Taikyu – ST-4 | Asano Racing Service[36] | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65‡ | 5th‡ | |
| 2025 | GT World Challenge Asia | Porsche Center Okazaki | * | * | |||||
| GT World Challenge Asia – Silver-Am | * | * | |||||||
| Super Taikyu – ST-X | D'station Racing | *‡ | *‡ | ||||||
| Super Taikyu – ST-1 | |||||||||
| Sources:[37] | |||||||||
‡ Team standings
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Honda Formula Dream Project | OKA 1 Ret |
OKA 2 5 |
FUJ1 1 11 |
FUJ1 2 15 |
FUJ2 1 Ret |
FUJ2 2 12 |
SUZ 1 8 |
SUZ 2 10 |
SUG 1 8 |
SUG 2 6 |
AUT 1 16 |
AUT 2 15 |
MOT 1 7 |
MOT 2 4 |
12th | 35 |
| 2016 | Honda Formula Dream Project | OKA 1 3 |
OKA 2 2 |
FUJ1 1 9 |
FUJ1 2 10 |
SUG 1 7 |
SUG 2 Ret |
FUJ2 1 12 |
FUJ2 2 9 |
FUJ2 3 28 |
SUZ 1 14 |
SUZ 2 21 |
MOT 1 Ret |
MOT 2 10 |
MOT 3 18 |
14th | 45 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | TKS | LMP3 | Ginetta-Juno LMP3 | Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 | ZHU |
FUJ 3 |
BUR |
SEP |
9th | 15 |
(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 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | ARN Racing | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Pro-Am | SEP 1 28 |
SEP 2 12 |
CHA 1 14 |
CHA 2 19 |
SUZ 1 3 |
SUZ 2 12 |
FSW 1 6 |
FSW 2 9 |
KOR 1 |
KOR 2 |
SIC 1 Ret |
SIC 2 DNS |
10th | 82 |
| 2022 | Porsche Centre Okazaki | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Pro-Am | SEP 1 | SEP 2 | SUZ 1 2 |
SUZ 2 Ret |
FUJ 1 3 |
FUJ 2 2 |
SUG 1 |
SUG 2 |
OKA 1 6 |
OKA 2 3 |
6th | 74 | ||
| 2023 | Porsche Centre Okazaki | Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | Pro-Am | BUR 1 6 |
BUR 2 16 |
FSW 1 15 |
FSW 2 13 |
SUZ 1 3 |
SUZ 2 10 |
MOT 1 2 |
MOT 2 4 |
OKA 1 8 |
OKA 2 13 |
SEP 1 6 |
SEP 2 4 |
9th | 78 |
| 2024 | Porsche Centre Okazaki | Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | Silver-Am | SEP 1 2 |
SEP 2 2 |
BUR 1 Ret |
BUR 2 10 |
FSW 1 |
FSW 2 |
SUZ 1 3 |
SUZ 2 5 |
OKA 1 2 |
OKA 2 5 |
SIC 1 6 |
SIC 2 10 |
9th | 104 |
| 2025 | Porsche Centre Okazaki | Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | Silver-Am | SEP 1 6 |
SEP 2 3 |
MAN 1 |
MAN 2 |
BUR 1 |
BUR 2 |
FUJ 1 |
FUJ 2 |
OKA 1 |
OKA 2 |
BEI 1 |
BEI 2 |
14th* | 23* |
(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 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | apr | Toyota GR Sport Prius PHV apr GT | GT300 | OKA | FUJ 18 |
SUZ | MOT | SUG | AUT | MOT | FUJ | NC | 0 |
| 2022 | apr | Toyota GR86 GT300 | GT300 | OKA | FUJ | SUZ | FUJ | SUZ 3 |
SUG | AUT | MOT | 22nd | 11 |
| 2023 | apr | Toyota GR86 GT300 | GT300 | OKA 13 |
FUJ1 |
SUZ1 9 |
FUJ2 |
SUZ2 17 |
SUG |
AUT 16 |
MOT |
24th | 2 |
* Season still in progress.
