Ryō Hirakawa Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Ryō Hirakawa is a Japanese professional racing driver who has primarily competed in major Japanese competitions like the Japanese Championship Super Formula and the Super GT Series after making his debut in the 2013 season of Japanese Championship Super Formula. He had won the Super GT Series (GT500 class) in 2017 and finished as a runner-up in both 2018 and 2019. As of July 2020, his best performance in the Japanese Championship Super Formula was the 5th place that he had secured in 2018. He had also competed in a couple of seasons of the European Le Mans Series (LMP2 class), finishing 5th in 2016 and 4th in 2017. Before 2013, he had competed in several intermediate tiers and formula series in Japan starting with the Formula Challenge Japan series in 2010 where had finished in 6th place. He went on to finish as a runner-up in the competition in both 2011 and 2012. He had also won the 2012 Japanese Formula 3 Championship and the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup Japan.

Born Name

Ryō Hirakawa

Nick Name

Ryō

Sun Sign

Pisces

Born Place

Kure, Seto Inland Sea, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Residence

Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Nationality

Occupation

Professional Racing Driver

Car Number

20 – Japanese Championship Super Formula

Super GT Series Teams

Ryō has raced for –

• Lexus Team Petronas TOM’S (2014)
• Lexus Team KeePer TOM’S (2015-2019)

Build

Athletic

Height

5 ft 10 in or 178 cm

Weight

68 kg or 150 lbs

Race / Ethnicity

Asian (Japanese)

Hair Color

Dark Brown

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Toned physique
• Short-cropped hair
• Affable smile
• Has a mole on his right cheek
• Clean-shaven look

Brand Endorsements

Ryō has been sponsored by –

• Arai Helmet Limited
• Clarion Co.
• Achievement Corporation
• Hiroshima Toyopet

Ryō Hirakawa Favorite Things

• Food – Grilled Meat
• Quote/Phrase – ‘Stick to the End’
• Car – Toyota Harrier

Source – Ryo-Hirakawa.com

Ryō Hirakawa Facts

1. Ryō, like most professional drivers, had started his racing journey with karts. He had started at the age of 11 and progressed to the KF2 category in 2009. In 2010, he had participated in the 2010 Super FJ Okayama championship and won his debut race. This made him the youngest driver ever to do so. He had turned 16 just a month before the event.
2. When he won the 2012 Japanese Formula 3 Championship, he had won 7 out of the first 10 races in the season, while finish as a runner-up in the other 3 races. This had made his position on the leaderboard so dominant that he won the title by 15 points despite winning all of the last 5 races in the season. As for Ryō, he had finished 3rd in 3 of those last 5 races and retired in the other two. This meant that in an astonishing 13 out of the 15 races, he had finished on the podium.
3. He was the youngest driver ever to win the Japanese Formula 3 Championship and the JAF West Japan F4 Series, both results arriving in 2012.
4. His title triumph at the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup Japan was similarly dominant. He had finished on the podium in 9 of the 12 races winning 7 of them. He had also secured 6 pole positions in those 12 races.
5. When he had joined the 2013 season of Japanese Championship Super Formula, he became, at the age of 19, the youngest driver ever to participate in the championship.

Featured Image by Ryō Hirakawa / Instagram