A podium finish at Paul Ricard and a top five finish to round off the French F4 Championship

Hiyu Yamakoshi can take an extremely positive view of his first season in the French Championship. Like other Japanese drivers before him, Hiyu has learnt a great deal from the FFSA Academy, which has identified and trained a large number of young hopefuls who are now competing at the highest level of motor sport. In total, he scored 14 points, set two fastest race laps and finished on the podium five times.

Podium finishes were on the agenda at the seventh and final round of the Championship, held from 6th to 8th October at Le Castellet in the south of France. Right from the start of the meeting, he drove at a very fas pace, as demonstrated by his 5th fastest time in Free Practice and his performances in the Qualifying session on Friday. His times in Qualifying enabled him to start P6, P7 and P5 in each of the three races. He regretted, however, that his best time had been cancelled because he had exceeded the limits of the track, but also that he had not been able to complete his three best sectors in the same lap, which would have enabled him to do even better!

On Saturday, collisions prevented him from increasing his points tally, both in Race 1 and Race 2, in which he had got off to a good start and was in contention for a place on the podium.

Determined to end his season in the FIA-certified French F4 Championship with a good result, Hiyu Yamakoshi immediately found himself fighting in the leading group after another excellent start. Able to keep pace with the two Championship leaders just ahead of him, as demonstrated by his second fastest time in the race, the promising Japanese driver crossed the finish line in 3rd position. Just a few days before his 17th birthday, he secured 5th place in the overall standings, an excellent result for his first full season in F4, having just come from karting.

In addition to the highly competitive F4 Academy events in 2023, Hiyu had the opportunity to further his learning and gain further experience in two other F4 Championships, in the United Arab Emirates at the start of the season and in Spain, with the Pinnacle VAR and Tecnicar teams. As a result, he has visited a number of well-known circuits and is sure to be a driver to watch over the coming years.

Info Kartcom / Photo © KSP – Guillaume Veuve