is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the

Super Formula Championship The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

and

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...

with Team Mugen

Team Goh Team Goh Motorsports is a Japanese auto racing team founded by Kazumichi Goh in 1996. They currently compete in the Japanese Super Formula Championship. History Initially competing in the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), Team G ...

and Modulo Nakajima Racing respectively.

Career

Early career

Otsu started his motorsport career in karting in 2007, in which he remained active until 2010. In 2013, he switched to formula racing to participate in the Suzuka Circuit Racing School Formula, which is only intended to train drivers. In 2014, he competed in the JAP Japanese Formula 4 Championship and finished fifth in the FC class. In 2015, he made the move to the new Japanese Formula 4 Championship, where he raced as a Honda protégé for the Honda Formula Dream Project team. He took five podiums and finished third in the final standings with 108 points, behind

Sho Tsuboi is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing. He currently competes in the GT500 class of the Super GT Series for TGR Team au TOM's, where he is the 2021 series champion. He also competes in the Super Formula Championship for P.mu Cerumo ...

and

Tadasuke Makino is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in a range of motorsport disciplines, including Super GT and European Formula 3. In 2018, Makino joined the FIA Formula 2 Championship with the series' defending champions Russian Time. Currently, Ma ...

Japanese Formula 3

In 2016, Otsu made the move to the

Japanese Formula 3 Championship was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series prom ...

, racing for the HFDP Racing team. He achieved five points finishes, with fifth place on the

Okayama International Circuit Okayama International Circuit (岡山国際サーキット), formerly known as TI Circuit Aida (TIサーキット英田) before 2005, is a private motorsport race track in Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. TI was the abbreviation of "Tanak ...

as the best result. As a result, he finished tenth in the final standings with 6 points. In 2017, he made the move to the TODA Racing team within the class. During the season, he was on the podium six times before winning the season finale at the Sportsland SUGO. With 79 points, he finished fifth in the final standings behind Mitsunori Takaboshi, Sho Tsuboi,

Álex Palou Álex Palou Montalbo (; born 1 April 1997) is a Spanish racing driver who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, where he won the 2021 series championship. He is the first Spanish racing driver to win a National Championship in ...

and

Ritomo Miyata (born August 10, 1999) is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super Formula for Kuo Vantelin Team TOM'S and Super GT for TGR Team WedsSport Bandoh. He is a 2 time Japanese F4 champion and the 2020 Super Formula Lights champion. E ...

. In 2019, Otsu returned to the series race with the ThreeBond Racing team. He took three podium finishes at

Autopolis is a international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the Northeast of Kumamoto. Nippon Autopolis">F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis/ref> Tsurumaki ordered 30 Buic ...

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...

and

Twin Ring Motegi Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...

, finishing sixth in the standings with 36 points.

Super GT

In 2018, Otsu made his Super GT debut, sharing a Honda NSX GT3 with

Ryo Michigami is a Japanese racing driver. Currently he is driving a Honda NSX GT3 Evo for Modulo Drago Corse in Super GT. He won the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship in 2000. He competed in the GT500 category of the Super GT series in 1995 and t ...

in the GT300 class for the Modulo Drago Corse team that Michigami owned. They achieved a podium finish at Autopolis and were fourteenth in the championship with 24 points. In 2019, He took a podium place at Fuji with Michigami and finished seventeenth in the championship with 19 points. In 2020, Otsu made the move to the GT500 class in Super GT, sharing a Honda NSX-GT GT500 with Takuya Izawa for the Modulo Nakajima Racing team. They achieved two pole positions at the Suzuka International Racing Course and Motegi, but were only on the podium at Motegi. With 31 points, the duo finished twelfth in the final standings.

Super Formula

At the end of the year, he made his debut in the Super Formula season finale with the TCS Nakajima Racing team at Fuji, replacing Tadasuke Makino who suffered from meningitis and needed rest. He finished thirteenth in the race. In 2021 Otsu made his full-time debut in Super Formula with Team Mugen together with

under the Red Bull colours. He went on to get his first pole position in the series and win the race in the sixth round of the season at Motegi.

Racing record

Career summary

^‡ Team standings.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete Super Formula results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otsu, Hiroki 1994 births Living people Japanese racing drivers Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers Super GT drivers Super Formula drivers Nakajima Racing drivers Mugen Motorsports drivers Dandelion Racing drivers Japanese F4 Championship drivers