2025 Kyojo Cup season

The 2025 Kyojo Cup season is the ninth season of the Kyojo Cup, promoted by Inter Proto Motorsports Co., Ltd.

This is the first season using the Hybrid KCMG KC MG-01, previously used in the 2019 and 2022 FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cups. The FCR-VITA01, which was used from 2017 to 2024, will continue to race in the FCR-Vita series.[1][2][3]

Teams and drivers

All teams will compete with an identical KCMG KC MG-01 chassis and Abarth 1.4-litre turbocharged hybrid engine, with Bridgestone as the tire supplier for the series.[4][3]

Team No. Driver Rounds
Japan BigBoss W Team TOM'S[5] 1 Japan Aimi Saito[5] 1–3
37 United States Hana Burton[5][6] 1–3
Japan docomo business ROOKIE[5] 4 Japan Mako Hirakawa[5] 1–3
Hong Kong Kids com Team KCMG[5] 7 Japan Miki Onaga[5] 1–3
8 Japan Rami Sasaki[5] 1–3
9 United States Kelsey Pinkowski[7] 1–3
10 Japan Reina Amaya[8] 1–2
Finland Flame Airikkala[7] 3
Japan Fujisan Shizuoka Racing[3] 12 Japan Yuika Hosokawa[3] 1–3
Japan AiWin Re-Kobe[5] 17 Japan Itsumo Shiraishi[5] 1–3
Japan Mihara Racing Team[3] 32 Japan Kilei Kanemoto[9] 1–3
Japan Fukuda racing[3] 33 Japan Marie Iwaoka[3] 1–3
Japan Team Optimus CerumoINGING[N 1][5]
Thailand INGING 2W zoomies Singha Sittipol Nexzter[N 1][3]
38 Japan Kokoro Sato[5] 1–3
39 Japan Riona Tomishita[5] 1–3
59 Thailand Sitarvee Limnantharak[3] 1–3
Japan Dojo Racing[3] 46 Japan Ayumu Nagai[10] 1–3
Japan TGM Grand Prix[3] 53 Japan Miku Ikejima[3] 1–3
55 Japan Maaya Orido[3] 1–3
Japan ATeam Buzz Racing[3] 57 China Zhao Yunqing[3] 1–3
Japan Itochu Enex Wecars Team Impul with Dr.Dry[5] 86 Japan Rio Shimono[5] 1–3
Japan Autolook Racing[3] 87 Japan Ryu Yamamoto[11] 1–3
Source:[12]

Calendar and results

The provisional calendar for 2025 was confirmed on 8 September 2024, which consists of five rounds all taking place at Fuji Speedway.[13] The official dates were confirmed in mid-January.[14][15] The series announced there will be 2 races in each round, with Sprint race held on Saturday which consists of 10 laps to determine as well for the Feature race grid, and Feature race on Sunday consists of 12 laps.[3][12]

Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Supporting
1 SR Shizuoka Prefecture Fuji Speedway 10 May Japan Rio Shimono Japan Rio Shimono Japan Rio Shimono Japan Itochu Enex Wecars Team Impul with Dr.Dry Fuji Champion Race Series
Inter Proto Series
FR 11 May Japan Rio Shimono Japan Rio Shimono Japan Itochu Enex Wecars Team Impul with Dr.Dry
2 SR 19 July Japan Aimi Saito Japan Aimi Saito Japan Aimi Saito Japan BigBoss W Team TOM'S Super Formula
Porsche Carrera Cup Japan
FR 20 July Japan Miki Onaga Japan Miki Onaga Hong Kong Kids com Team KCMG
3 SR 16 August Japan Aimi Saito Japan Aimi Saito Japan Rio Shimono Japan Itochu Enex Wecars Team Impul with Dr.Dry Fuji Champion Race Series
Inter Proto Series
FR 17 August Japan Miki Onaga Japan Rio Shimono Japan Itochu Enex Wecars Team Impul with Dr.Dry
4 SR 11 October Super Formula
Honda N-One Owner's Cup
FR 12 October
5 SR 8 November Fuji Champion Race Series
Inter Proto Series
FR 9 November

Season summary

Round one

Round one of the season took place between 9–11 May. Qualifying and the sprint race took place on 10 May, with rainy and low visibility conditions lasting throughout the day. Rio Shimono took pole position, Hana Burton took second with a time 20 milliseconds slower than Shimono, and Miki Onaga qualified third. The sprint race started under a safety car due to damp conditions. The safety car ended after 2 laps, with Onaga moving up to second and Burton falling to fifth. On the second to last lap, Maaya Orido and Yuika Hosokawa collided, with the prior retiring from the race and the latter continuing, although a lap down. Shimono finished the race in first, ahead of Onaga and Mako Hirakawa, who were 9.638 seconds and 12.152 seconds behind Shimono, respectively.[16][17]

With the feature race's start grid being set by the sprint race's finishing order, Shimono started the feature race in first. Halfway through the race, Kokoro Sato overtook Hirakawa for third place. Hirakawa continued to lose multiple positions, but was able to finish fourth. TOM'S driver Aimi Saito gained multiple places throughout the race, finishing in seventh. With Sato holding onto third, Onaga maintained second place, finishing 9.175 seconds behind Shimono. Shimono had a dominant weekend, claiming both race victories and achieving the maximum possible points for the round.[17][18]

Championship standings

Sprint race points
Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th 
Points 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
Feature race points
Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th 
Points 20 15 11 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
Qualifying points
Position  1st   2nd   3rd 
Points 3 2 1

Drivers' championship

Pos Driver FUJ1 FUJ2 FUJ3 FUJ4 FUJ5 Points
SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR
1 Japan Rio Shimono 11 1 32 3 13 1 83
2 Japan Miki Onaga 23 2 2 1 16 6 57
3 Japan Aimi Saito 14 7 11 2 191 10 36
4 Japan Kokoro Sato 4 3 4 6 6 5 35
5 Japan Mako Hirakawa 3 4 10 12 2 4 30
6 Japan Rami Sasaki 7 6 9 19 5 2 26
7 Japan Riona Tomishita 9 11 7 5 3 3 25
8 Japan Ayumu Nagai 5 8 6 4 17 16 18
9 Japan Itsumo Shiraishi 12 10 5 7 42 17 16
10 Japan Kilei Kanemoto 8 5 11 15 8 7 12
11 United States Hana Burton 62 9 Ret3 8 12 14 11
12 Japan Miku Ikejima 10 12 8 9 7 8 8
13 Thailand Sitarvee Limnantharak 13 13 13 11 10 9 2
14 Japan Marie Iwaoka 11 14 12 10 13 13 1
15 Finland Flame Airikkala 9 18 0
16 Japan Yuika Hosokawa 20 16 17 14 11 12 0
17 Japan Maaya Orido 19 20 15 13 15 11 0
18 Japan Ryu Yamamoto 18 18 14 18 20 15 0
19 United States Kelsey Pinkowski 16 17 18 17 14 20 0
20 China Zhao Yunqing 15 19 19 16 18 19 0
21 Japan Reina Amaya 17 15 17 Ret 0
Pos Driver SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR Points
FUJ1 FUJ2 FUJ3 FUJ4 FUJ5
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Other points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Did not enter (cell empty)
Text formatting Meaning
Bold Pole position
Italics Fastest lap

Notes

  1. ^ a b Cars No. 38 and No. 39 entered as Team Optimus Cerumo・INGING, cars No. 59 entered as INGING 2W zoomies Singha Sittipol Nexzter

References

  1. ^ "📣 Just unveiled: Say hello to the new #KYOJOCUP machine. The KYOJO FORMULA KC-MG01 is set to debut in 2025. This hybrid-powered car will succeed the current VITA-01, meaning the all-female series will turn into a formula series. An exciting development!". X.com. 20 July 2024.
  2. ^ "KYOJO CUP、2025年からハイブリッド搭載フォーミュラを使用へ。新型車KC-MG01をお披露目". as-web.jp. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "女子レーサーたちの新時代が始まる。2025年KYOJO CUP、ハイブリッドフォーミュラで進化". driving athlete. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  4. ^ "KYOJO CUP Introduces New Vehicle". thxnews. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2025 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Hana Burton returns to Kyojo Cup as TGR-backed driver". racers-behindthehelmet.com. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Kids com Team KCMG 2025season release". KCMG Japan. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  8. ^ "2025 KYOJO CUP Round1開催情報". kyojocup.jp. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  9. ^ @drivingathlete_official; (26 December 2024). "2025 KYOJO CUPに金本きれい選手が参戦決定". Retrieved 26 December 2024 – via Instagram.
  10. ^ @drivingathlete_official; (29 December 2024). "2025 KYOJO CUPに金本きれい選手が参戦決定". Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via Instagram.
  11. ^ @drivingathlete_official; (26 December 2024). "2025 KYOJO CUPに山本龍選手が参戦決定". Retrieved 26 December 2024 – via Instagram.
  12. ^ a b Intan, Maiya (9 May 2025). "Kyojo Cup: 2025 season guide". Feeder Series. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  13. ^ "NEWS Here's the provisional 2025 calendar for the Kyojo Cup!". X.com. 8 September 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  14. ^ "NEWS 🇯🇵 Here is the updated 2025 calendar for the Kyojo Cup!". X.com. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  15. ^ "富士チャンピオンレース(FCR)年間レース情報". fsw.tv. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  16. ^ Albertini, Marco (10 May 2025). "Kyojo Cup: Rio Shimono dominates season-opening Fuji sprint". Racers. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  17. ^ a b Muschlien, Finjo (11 May 2025). "Feeder Series weekend review, results and standings: 08–11 May". Feeder Series. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  18. ^ Albertini, Marco (11 May 2025). "Kyojo Cup: Shimono caps off dominant weekend with a win in the final". Racers. Retrieved 11 May 2025.