| Seiji Ara | |
|---|---|
) Ara in 2010. | |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Born | May 5, 1974 Chiba (Japan) |
| FIA GT1 World Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2010 |
| Current team | Swiss Racing Team |
| Car number | 4 |
| Starts | 20 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 42nd in 2010 |
| Previous series | |
| 2009 2004 2001-02, 06-08 2000-09 1998-00 1996 | WTCC Le Mans Series Formula Nippon Super GT Japanese F3 Barber Pro Series |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Years | 2001–2005, 2009 |
| Teams | Viper Team Oreca, Audi Sport Japan Team Goh, Jim Gainer International, NAVI Team Goh |
| Best finish | 1st (2004) |
| Class wins | 1 |
Seiji Ara (荒 聖治; Ara Seiji) (born May 5, 1974 in Chiba, Japan) is a race car driver.
He was the winner of the 24-hour Le Mans race in 2004, driving an Audi R8.[1] In the same year he also raced in the Le Mans Endurance Series and Japanese GT Championship.
In earlier years he had competed in Formula Nippon (2001–2002), Japanese Formula 3 (1997–2000) and the Barber Dodge Pro Series (1995).
He made his World Touring Car Championship debut with Wiechers-Sport at the 2009 FIA WTCC Race of Japan.
Racing record
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |  Viper Team Oreca |  Masahiko Kondo Ni Amorim | Chrysler LMP | LMP900 | 243 | DNF | DNF |
| 2002 | Audi Sport Japan Team Goh | Hiroki Katoh Yannick Dalmas | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 358 | 7th | 6th |
| 2003 | Audi Sport Japan Team Goh |  Jan Magnussen Marco Werner | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 370 | 4th | 2nd |
| 2004 | Audi Sport Japan Team Goh |  Rinaldo Capello Tom Kristensen | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 379 | 1st | 1st |
| 2005 | Jim Gainer International | Ryo Michigami Katsutomo Kaneishi | Dome S101Hb-Mugen | LMP1 | 193 | DNF | DNF |
| 2009 | Navi Team Goh | Keisuke Kunimoto Sascha Maassen | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | LMP2 | 339 | DNF | DNF |
| 2012 | Pescarolo Team | Nicolas Minassian Sébastien Bourdais | Dome S102.5-Judd | LMP1 | 203 | NC | NC |
Complete GT1 World Championship results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Swiss Racing Team | Nissan | ABU QR 12 | ABU CR Ret | SIL QR 14 | SIL CR 9 | BRN QR 15 | BRN CR 14 | PRI QR 12 | PRI CR Ret | SPA QR 17 | SPA CR 16 | NÜR QR 17 | NÜR CR 21 | ALG QR 11 | ALG CR 18 | NAV QR 13 | NAV CR Ret | INT QR 13 | INT CR 16 | SAN QR Ret | SAN CR 13 | 42nd | 2 |
Complete JGTC/Super GT results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | TOM'S | Toyota Supra | GT500 | MOT 9 | FUJ Ret | SUG 8 | FUJ 14 | TAI 12 | MIN 9 | SUZ 12 | 21st | 7 | ||
| 2001 | Tsuchiya Engineering | Toyota Supra | GT500 | TAI 9 | FUJ 11 | SUG 11 | FUJ DNQ | MOT 7 | SUZ 7 | MIN 10 | 19th | 11 | ||
| 2002 | Tsuchiya Engineering | Toyota Supra | GT500 | TAI 6 | FUJ | SUG 11 | SEP Ret | FUJ 3 | MOT 9 | MIN 5 | SUZ 7 | 16th | 32 | |
| 2003 | Tsuchiya Racing | Toyota Supra | GT500 | TAI 10 | FUJ | SUG 4 | FUJ 14 | FUJ 17 | MOT 3 | AUT 12 | SUZ Ret | 13th | 26 | |
| 2004 | Team Cerumo | Toyota Supra | GT500 | TAI 5 | SUG 1 | SEP 7 | TOK 14 | MOT 10 | AUT 11 | SUZ 4 | 5th | 45 | ||
| 2005 | Kraft | Toyota Supra | GT500 | OKA Ret | FUJ 7 | SEP 12 | SUG 14 | MOT 11 | FUJ 16 | AUT 12 | SUZ 16 | 19th | 4 | |
| 2006 | Kondo Racing | Nissan Z | GT500 | SUZ | OKA | FUJ | SEP | SUG 10 | SUZ 5 | MOT 6 | AUT 14 | FUJ 3 | 16th | 28 |
| 2007 | Kondo Racing | Nissan Z | GT500 | SUZ Ret | OKA 15 | FUJ Ret | SEP 1 | SUG 10 | SUZ 10 | MOT 5 | AUT Ret | FUJ 5 | 10th | 34 |
| 2008 | Kondo Racing | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | SUZ 5 | OKA 8 | FUJ 11 | SEP 1 | SUG 8 | SUZ 7 | MOT 14 | AUT 16 | FUJ 15 | 14th | 34 |
| 2009 | Kondo Racing | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 1 | SUZ 8 | FUJ 4 | SEP 5 | SUG 13 | SUZ 11 | FUJ 13 | AUT 3 | MOT 11 | 8th | 48 |
| 2011 | Lexus Team WedsSport BANDOH | Lexus SC430 | GT500 | OKA 15 | FUJ 3 | SEP 11 | SUG 8 | SUZ 11 | FUJ 13 | AUT 7 | MOT 11 | 13th | 18 | |
| 2012 | Lexus Team WedsSport BANDOH | Lexus SC430 | GT500 | OKA 12 | FUJ 13 | SEP 9 | SUG Ret | SUZ 6 | FUJ 3 | AUT 3 | MOT 5 | 9th | 36 | |
| 2013 | Lexus Team WedsSport BANDOH | Lexus SC430 | GT500 | OKA 14 | FUJ 11 | SEP 15 | SUG 9 | SUZ 6 | FUJ Ret | AUT 13 | MOT 10 | 14th | 9 | |
| 2014 | BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie | BMW Z4 GT3 | GT300 | OKA 2 | FUJ 4 | AUT 15 | SUG 8 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 3 | BUR 2 | MOT 7 | 3rd | 62 | |
| 2015 | BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie | BMW Z4 GT3 | GT300 | OKA Ret | FUJ 6 | CHA 3 | FUJ Ret | SUZ 2 | SUG 19 | AUT 3 | MOT 9 | 7th | 47 | |
| 2016 | BMW Team Studie | BMW M6 GT3 | GT300 | OKA 3 | FUJ 24 | SUG 10 | FUJ 20 | SUZ DNS | CHA 6 | MOT 15 | MOT 12 | 15th | 17 | |
| 2017 | BMW Team Studie | BMW M6 GT3 | GT300 | OKA 13 | FUJ 7 | AUT 4 | SUG 16 | SUZ 6 | FUJ 11 | BUR 10 | MOT 13 | 15th | 18 | |
| 2019 | McLaren Customer Racing Japan | McLaren 720S GT3 | GT300 | OKA 19 | FUJ 14 | SUZ 13 | CHA | FUJ | AUT | SUG | MOT | NC | 0 | |
| 2020 | BMW Team Studie × CSL | BMW M6 GT3 | GT300 | OKA | FUJ | SUZ | CHA | SEP | SUG | AUT | MOT | * | * |
* Season still in progress.
References
- ^ Williams, Jack (2004-06-13). "Audi, Corvette steal the show at Le Mans". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello Guy Smith | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2004 with: Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello | Succeeded by J.J. Lehto Marco Werner Tom Kristensen |