Sara Matsui becomes Kyojo Cup's youngest-ever driver as she makes series debut with Kondo Racing

Fifteen-year-old Sara Matsui will become Kyojo Cup's youngest driver ever as she joins series newcomers Kondo Racing to make her single-seater debut following a lengthy karting career, most notably spending three seasons in Europe as a member of the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy.

One month before the season-opening round of the Fuji-based Kyojo Cup, a new team and face will join the series, as Sara Matsui and Kondo Racing will enter the all-female championship.

Kondo Racing are yet to officially shake down the KC-MG 01, but enter the series with heaps of single-seater experience under their belt, having raced in Super Formula since 2000 and even clinching the teams' title in 2018 with Nick Cassidy and Kenta Yamashita.

Matsui meanwhile, who will become Kyojo Cup's youngest driver ever next month, is no stranger to the car having sampled it in last year's audition at Fuji. Prior to that, the 15-year-old raced in European karting for the last three years under the wing of the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy.

During that time span, Matsui most notably finished second in the Lonato round of the 2024 WSK Super Master Series in OK-NJ, as well as picking up a third-place finish in last year's Al Forsan round of the Champions Of The Future Academy Program.

With Matsui's addition to the grid, only one slot is yet to be filled - that being TGM Grand Prix's vacant seat left by Maaya Orido earlier in the year, who ultimately switched to the All-Japan EV-GP Series ahead of her fifth season in the series.

In addition to the previously announced Toyota-linked drivers, KCMG will once again feature a four-car lineup, with Kelsey Pinkowski returning to the team for her sophomore season, alongside Joanne Ciconte, who comes off a season in F1 Academy for MP Motorsport.

Fujisan Shizuoka Racing meanwhile, will expand to two cars, featuring fellow Australian Paige Raddatz and the return of Rina Ito, who was a constant presence in the series' VITA-01 era. Mihara Racing Team and Fukuda Racing will retain Kilei Kanemoto and Marie Iwaoka, respectively, as did fellow single-car teams Buzz Racing and Autolook Racing, who will field Emily Zhao and Ryu Yamamoto for the second consecutive season.