Miki Koyama (小山 美姫, Koyama Miki, born 5 September 1997 in Yokohama) is a Japanese racing driver, currently racing in the Super GT Series GT300 class as a third driver for Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage. She is best known for her time racing in the W Series from 2019 to 2021, and for becoming the first woman to win an FIA-sanctioned, all-gender single-seater championship when she won the 2022 Formula Regional Japanese Championship.[1][2]
Biography
Having started racing in karts, Koyama attended the Formula Toyota Racing School before moving to Japanese F4 in 2015.[3] She was the first champion of the all-women's Kyojo Cup series in 2017, and repeated as champion in 2018.
In 2019, Koyama was announced as one of the 18 permanent drivers for the inaugural season of the W Series.[4] At the first W Series round at Hockenheim, Koyama qualified 17th and finished 7th after setting the fastest lap of the race.[5] During the remainder of the season, Koyama earned three more points finishes en route to 7th in the championship, and was named as a returning competitor for the 2020 W Series.[6] While the 2020 season was abandoned due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Koyama returned to the series when it resumed in 2021. She also made a one-off entry into the Super Formula Lights championship at Fuji Speedway.
After two seasons in the W Series, Koyama was named as a Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) academy driver for the 2022 season.[7] She raced full-time in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship for Super License, with backing from Toyota. Koyama won seven races and clinched the series title at the September meeting at Fuji.
On 7 February 2023, Koyama was announced as the third driver for Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage in the 2023 Super GT Series. Koyama became the first woman to race in the championship since Cyndie Allemann in 2012.[8] She successfully passed her rookie orientation test at Fuji Speedway on 21 April.[9] In the fourth round at Fuji, Koyama drove her first race stint and finished 19th in class.[10]
Japanese
