Kyojo Cup: Will Shimono defend her crown?
- MARCO ALBERTINI
- May 7
- 3 min read
Entering the second year of the "Kyojo Formula" era, the tenth season of Kyojo Cup returns to Fuji this weekend for its first of five scheduled rounds, with a grid largely similar to last year's, which will see the debut of two high-profile drivers in a field mostly composed of seasoned veterans. Here's our preview.
Last year, Rio Shimono (#86) was the woman to beat, as she and her Dr.Dry squad dominated the first season with the new KC-MG01 chassis, winning all but two races and finishing third in the other two, as they secured the title with a round to spare.
2022 Kyojo Cup champion Miki Onaga (#7) was Shimono's closest rival all year, being one of two drivers to have denied her a clean season sweep, as the KCMG driver took one win in round two and six other podiums to secure runner-up honors, ahead of 2024 series champion Aimi Saito (#36). The TOM'S racer was the only other driver to win a race, also doing so in round two, before standing on the podium four other times to cap off a rollercoaster title defense.
Behind the two experienced veterans sat Kokoro Sato (#38), who stunned the paddock by her consistent form in her first full-season. The Cerumo/INGING finished all but two races inside the top five, even scoring a pair of third-place finishes between the first and fourth rounds to secure a highly-promising fourth-place championship finish.
KCMG's Rami Sasaki (#8) also showed promise, with her late-season charge earning her a top-five position in the overall standings, after jumping Mako Hirakawa (#4) in points during the final round. The Rookie Racing driver, who will skip this weekend's round due to a clash with the All-Japanese Rally Championship, scored two podiums in the first three rounds last year, in which she displayed brilliant race pace and composure around her rivals.
Also to look out for is Cerumo/INGING's Riona Tomishita (#39), who stood on the podium three times last year, as well as winning the FCR-Vita overall and Kyojo titles last season. TOM'S racer Hana Burton (#37) and AiWin's Itsumo Shiraishi (#17) also demonstrated flashes of speed. Both drivers qualified on the front row once during the season - Burton doing so in round one, while Shiraishi emulated that in round three - but ultimately were not able to convert their promising performance into a podium in either case.
This weekend will also mark the series debut for three drivers. Karting graduate and former Williams F1 Team Driver Academy member Sara Matsui (#3) will be the series' youngest-ever driver when she makes her debut for Kondo Racing, doing so at the age of 15. KCMG meanwhile, will house Australia's Joanne Ciconte (#10), who aims to go big in Japan following a rocky rookie season in F1 Academy for MP Motorsport. The third and final driver to make their debut will be fellow Australian Paige Raddatz (#11), who will drive for Fujisan Shizuoka Racing's second car alongside series veteran Rina Ito (#12).
On-track action will begin on Thursday as the first three practice sessions will be held at 10:00, 13:40 and 15:00 local time, (UTC+9) followed by three more sessions on Friday, which will take place at 9:50, 13:40 and 15:15.
Saturday's qualifying will be live streamed in both English and Japanese on the Inter Proto Series x Kyojo Cup YouTube channel at 9:30 local, whilst the Kyojo Sprint will begin five and a half hours later, at 15:00. The final race of the weekend, the Kyojo Final, will be contested at 14:00 on Sunday.
