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Kohta Kawaai

{{short description|Japanese racing driver}}

{{Infobox racing driver

| name = Kohta Kawaai

| image =

| nationality = {{flagicon|JPN}} Japanese

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|08|07|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Shizuoka, Japan

| current series =

| first year =

| current team =

| car number =

| former teams =

| starts =

| wins =

| podiums =

| poles =

| fastest laps =

| best finish =

| year =

| prev series = Super GT GT300
Super Formula Lights
F4 Japanese Championship

| prev series years = 2020-23
2022
2016-2019

| titles = Super GT GT300
Super Taikyu ST-Z

| title years = 2023
2023

| record template1 =

}}

{{nihongo|Kohta Kawaai|川合 孝汰|Kawaai Kōta}} (born August 7, 1994) is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes for Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave in both the Super GT and Super Taikyu racing series.{{cite news|url=https://motorsport.com/supergt/news/gt300-update-leon-ktunes-saitama/10427614/|title=How SUPER GT's 2023 GT300 field is shaping up|date= 4 February 2023|work= motorsport.com|access-date=4 February 2023}}

Kawaai won the 2023 Super GT Championship in the GT300 class and the 2023 Super Taikyu Championship in the ST-Z class.

Racing career

=Early Racing Career=

In 2016, Kawaai started his formula racing career in F4 Japanese Championship racing with Le Beausset Motorsports. He raced in the same series till 2019 where he claimed 3rd in the standings behind Ren Sato, and Atsushi Miyake.

= Super GT =

File:No.52 SAITAMA TOYOPET GB GR Supra GT at 2022 Takanoko no Hotel Suzuka GT 300km (81).jpg

Kawaii moves up to Super GT - GT300 with Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave, paired up with Hiroki Yoshida.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/12/26/toyota-gr-supra-gt300-in-development-set-for-2020-launch.html|title=Toyota GR Supra GT300 In Development – Set For 2020 Launch|date=26 December 2019|work=dailysportscar.com|access-date=26 December 2019}} In his debut season, he managed to get a win and podiums which claimed him, and Yoshida to Second in the standings behind to Kondo Racing of Kiyoto Fujinami & João Paulo de Oliveira. Kawaai continue to race with the same team, claimed 9th in the standings and missed 1 race after he tested positive for COVID-19 where he replaced by Taku Bamba.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailysportscar.com/2021/01/17/saitama-toyopet-greenbrave-announces-2021-racing-activities.html|title=Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave Announces 2021 Racing Activities|date=17 January 2021|work=dailysportscar.com|access-date=17 January 2021}}{{Cite web|title=SUPER GT: Saitama Toyopet's Kohta Kawaai to miss Suzuka race|url=https://www.motorsport.com/supergt/news/saitama-toyopet-kawaai-supra-bamba/6650677/|access-date=2021-12-21|website=www.motorsport.com|language=en}} in 2022, with the same team Kawaai managed to clinch a win at Autopolis with also another podium, and gets 4th in the standings.{{cite news |date=18 February 2022 |title=SUPER GT announces 43-car entry list for 2022 |work=motorsport.com |url=https://au.motorsport.com/supergt/news/2022-entry-list-43-cars/8277057/ |access-date=18 February 2022}}

In 2023 Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave retained both Kawaai & Hiroki Yoshida and they claimed 2 wins and 4 podiums. Kawaai went on to win the 2023 Super GT Championship in the GT300 class alongside Yoshida.

= Super Formula Lights=

Kawaai returned to formula racing in 2022, competed in Super Formula Lights for Rn-Sports.{{Cite web |title=Fuji Speedway {{!}} 2022年 SFL シリーズカレンダー {{!}} superformula lights en |url=https://superformula-lights.com/en/2022calender/r1_2_3#p01 |access-date=2022-04-04 |website=superformula-lights.com}} He claimed his first pole in the series, and competed only 3 rounds where he claimed 8th in the final standings.

Racing record

=Career summary=

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center"

! Season

! Series

! Team

! Races

! Wins

! Poles

! FLaps

! Podiums

! Points

! Position

2016

|align=left| F4 Japanese Championship

|align=left| Le Beausset Motorsports

| 14

| 0

| 0

| 0

| 1

| 56

| 11th

2017

|align=left| F4 Japanese Championship

|align=left| Le Beausset Motorsports

| 14

| 0

| 0

| 0

| 0

| 78

| 8th

2018

|align=left| F4 Japanese Championship

|align=left| Le Beausset Motorsports

| 14

| 0

| 0

| 1

| 2

| 135

| 4th

2019

|align=left| F4 Japanese Championship

|align=left| Le Beausset Motorsports

| 14

| 0

| 0

| 1

| 4

| 131

| bgcolor="#FFDF9F" |3rd

rowspan="2" |2020

|align=left| Super GT - GT300

| rowspan="2" align="left" | Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

| 8

| 2

| 2

| 1

| 2

| 62

|style="background:#dfdfdf;"| 2nd

align=left| Super Taikyu - ST-3

|5

|2

|1

|1

|4

|114‡

|style="background:#dfdfdf;"|2nd‡

rowspan="2" |2021

|align=left| Super GT - GT300

| rowspan="2" align="left" | Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

| 7

| 0

| 0

| 0

| 2

| 34

| 9th

align=left| Super Taikyu - ST-3

|6

|2

|1

|4

|4

|95.5‡

|4th‡

rowspan="3" | 2022

|align=left| Super GT - GT300

| rowspan="2" align="left" | Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

| 8

| 1

| 0

| 0

| 2

| 48

| 4th

align=left| Super Taikyu - ST-3

|6

|3

|2

|2

|4

|134‡

|style="background:#dfdfdf;"|2nd‡

align=left| Super Formula Lights

|align=left| Rn-Sports

| 12

| 0

| 1

| 0

| 0

| 10

| 8th

rowspan="2" |2023

|align=left| Super GT - GT300

| rowspan="2" align="left" | Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

| 8

| 2

| 0

| 1

| 4

| 74

|style="background:#ffffbf;"| 1st

align=left| Super Taikyu - ST-Z

|7

|4

|2

|0

|7

|174‡

|style="background:#ffffbf"|1st‡

2024

|align=left| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT2-R+4WD

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

‡ Team standings

= Complete F4 Japanese Championship results =

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

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Team

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! DC

! Pts

2017

! nowrap| Le Beausset Motorsports

|style="background:#EFCFFF"| OKA
1
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| OKA
2
{{small|6}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| FUJ1
1
{{small|8}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| FUJ1
2
{{small|7}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| SUG
1
{{small|5}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| SUG
2
{{small|10}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF"| FUJ2
1
{{small|14}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF"| FUJ2
2
{{small|13}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF"| FUJ2
3
{{small|27}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF"| SUZ
1
{{small|25}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF"| SUZ
2
{{small|14}}

|style="background:#FFFFBF"| MOT
1
{{small|1}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| MOT
2
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF"| MOT
3
{{small|Ret}}

! 11th

! 56

2017

! nowrap| Le Beausset Motorsports

|style="background:#EFCFFF"| OKA
1
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| OKA
2
{{small|7}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| FUJ1
1
{{small|7}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| FUJ1
2
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| AUT
1
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| AUT
2
{{small|5}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| SUG
1
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF"| SUG
2
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| FUJ2
1
{{small|7}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF"| FUJ2
2
{{small|21}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| SUZ
1
{{small|6}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| SUZ
2
{{small|7}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| MOT
1
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF"| MOT
2
{{small|7}}

! 8th

! 76

2018

!nowrap| Le Beausset Motorsports

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| OKA
1
{{small|8}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| OKA
2
{{small|8}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ1
1
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ1
2
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| SUZ
1
{{small|5}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| SUZ
2
{{small|7}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ2
1
{{small|5}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ2
2
{{small|7}}

|style="background:#dfdfdf;"| SUG
1
{{small|2}}

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| SUG
2
{{small|3}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| AUT
1
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| AUT
2
{{small|6}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| MOT
1
{{small|5}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| MOT
2
{{small|6}}

! 4th

! 135

2019

! Le Beausset Motorsports

| style="background:#cfcfff;" | OKA
1
{{small|20}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | OKA
2
{{small|5}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | FUJ1
1
{{small|5}}

| style="background:#ffdf9f;" | FUJ1
2
{{small|3}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | SUZ
1
{{small|7}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | SUZ
2
{{small|6}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | FUJ2
1
{{small|6}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | FUJ2
2
{{small|6}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | AUT
1
{{small|5}}

| style="background:#ffdf9f;" | AUT
2
{{small|3}}

| style="background:#ffdf9f;" | SUG
1
{{small|3}}

| style="background:#dfffdf;" | SUG
2
{{small|6}}

| style="background:#efcfff;" | MOT
1
{{small|Ret}}

| style="background:#dfdfdf;" | MOT
2
{{small|2}}

!style="background:#ffdf9f"| 3rd

!style="background:#ffdf9f"| 131

= Complete Super Formula Lights results =

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

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! Pos

! Points

2022

! Rn-Sports

|style="background:#EFCFFF| FUJ
1
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF| FUJ
2
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF| FUJ
3
{{small|6}}

| SUZ
1

| SUZ
2

| SUZ
3

|style="background:#CFCFFF| AUT
1
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF| AUT
2
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF| AUT
3
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF| SUG
1
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF| SUG
2
{{small|8}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF| SUG
3
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF| MOT
1
{{small|5}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF| MOT
2
{{small|6}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF| MOT
3
{{small|5}}

| OKA
1

| OKA
2

| OKA
3

! 8th

! 10

=Complete Super GT results=

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

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
Year

! Team

! Car

! Class

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! DC

! Pts

2020

! Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

! Toyota GR Supra GT300

! GT300

|style="background:#ffffbf;"| FUJ
{{small|1}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ
{{small|6}}

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SUZ
{{small|12}}

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| MOT
{{small|25}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#efcfff;"| SUZ
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| MOT
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#ffffbf;"| FUJ
{{small|1}}

!style="background:#dfdfdf;"| 2nd

!style="background:#dfdfdf;"| 62

2021

! Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

! Toyota GR Supra GT300

! GT300

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| OKA
{{small|3}}

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| FUJ
{{small|27}}

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| MOT
{{small|3}}

|style="background:#;"| SUZ
{{small

}

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SUG
{{small|21}}

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| AUT
{{small|3}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| MOT
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ
{{small|9}}

! 9th

! 34

|-

| 2022

! Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

! Toyota GR Supra GT300

! GT300

|style="background:#efcfff;"| OKA
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| SUZ
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| FUJ
{{small|14}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| SUZ
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SUG
{{small|18}}

|style="background:#ffffbf;"| AUT
{{small|1}}

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| MOT
{{small|3}}

! 4th

! 48

|-

| 2023

! Saitama Toyopet GreenBrave

! Toyota GR Supra GT300

! GT300

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| OKA
{{small|5}}

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| FUJ
{{small|3}}

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| SUZ
{{small|3}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FUJ
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#efcfff;"| SUZ
{{small|Ret}}

|style="background:#ffffbf;"| SUG
{{small|1}}

|style="background:#ffffbf;"| AUT
{{small|1}}

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| MOT
{{small|7}}

!style="background:#ffffbf;"| 1st

!style="background:#ffffbf;"| 74

|}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{DriverDB driver|kohta-kawaai}}
  • http://www.kohtakawaai.com

{{s-start}}

{{s-sports}}

{{succession box| before = João Paulo de Oliveira
Kiyoto Fujinami||title = Super GT
GT300 Champion | years=2023 | after=Takashi Kogure
Yuya Motojima|with=Hiroki Yoshida}}

{{s-end}}

Category:Living people

Category:Japanese racing drivers

Category:1994 births

Category:Japanese F4 Championship drivers

Category:Super GT drivers

Category:Sportspeople from Shizuoka Prefecture

Category:Super Formula Lights drivers