Keiko Ihara (井原慶子, ''Ihara Keiko'') (born July 4, 1973) is a Japanese race car driver. She was a former

race queen Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

, a model who appears in a swimsuit or other fashionable apparel at race circuits, before deciding to become a racing driver. She is one of the few Japanese women nationals to race internationally at a high level. Her best finishes in the

British Formula Three Championship British Formula Three Championship may refer to: *British Formula 3 International Series, a class of auto racing for Formula 3 open wheeled single seater racing cars, which took place from 1951 to 2014 *BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Th ...

are two 8th places finishes in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, which helped her to a final championship standing position of 16th with 12 points. In the 2006 series, she finished in 17th and last position in the Championship Class, with 4 points. Ihara joined the Gulf Racing Middle East to compete at the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

in the LMP2 class with

Jean-Denis Délétraz Jean-Denis is a masculine given name, and may refer to: * Jean-Denis Bredin (born 1929), a French attorney * Jean-Denis Délétraz (born 1963), a Swiss racecar driver * Jean-Denis Lanjuinais (1753–1827), a French politician, historian and noblema ...

and

Fabien Giroix Fabien Giroix (born 17 September 1960) is a French racing driver from Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Paris. Racing career Formula cars Giroix began his career in French Formula Renault in 1984, finishing 4th. In 1985 he drove in the French Formula Thr ...

as codrivers. In 2013, she raced two rounds for Gulf Racing Middle East and four with

OAK Racing OAK Racing is an endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA WEC World Champion drivers and teams on LMP2 class. In 2012 the team cont ...

, both in the LMP2 class. The driver won the Fuji round of the 2014

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

for Oak Racing, together with

Ho-Pin Tung Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Chinese-Dutch racing driver who races with a Chinese license. Career Born in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands, Tung started kart racing in the Netherlands in 1997 before graduating to single-seaters. I ...

and David Cheng.

Racing record

Career summary

Season still in progress. † – Charity race guest.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series results

* Season still in progress

External links

* * 1973 births Living people Racing drivers from Tokyo Japanese racing drivers Japanese female racing drivers French Formula Three Championship drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Formula BMW Asia drivers European Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Carlin racing drivers {{Japan-autoracing-bio-stub Signature Team drivers OAK Racing drivers Eurasia Motorsport drivers Team Aguri drivers Larbre Compétition drivers