Kokoro Sato
Japanese racing driver (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kokoro Sato (佐藤 こころ, Satō Kokoro; born 4 March 2008) is a Japanese racing driver who competes in Kyojo Cup for Team Optimus Cerumo・Inging.
| Kokoro Sato | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | |
| Born | 3 April 2008 Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan |
Career
Karting (2013–2023)
Sato began karting in 2013.[1] Starting out in micro karts,[2] Sato won the 2015 SL Takarazuka Series in the Kids class, before clinching the SL Kobe Series title in Micro Max the following year.[3] Sato then moved to cadet karts, most notably winning the SL Ikoma title in 2018,[4] as well as finishing runner-up in the JAF-sanctioned Junior Kart West Region Championship in 2019.[5] Moving to junior karts in 2020, Sato became the first female to win a race in the All-Japan Junior Karting Championship as she finished third in the West Region standings,[6] before securing runner-up honours the following year.[7][8] In her final two years in karting, Sato raced in the FP-3 category in 2022,[9] before most notably taking fifth in the FS-125 JAF standings of the All-Japan Karting Championship the following year.[10]
Kyojo Cup and endurance debut (2024–present)
In 2024, Sato made her Kyojo Cup debut as a Privateer at the age of 16,[11][12] taking a best result of 17th twice.[13][14] With the series moving on from the Vita-01 to field the KC-MG01 F4 car for 2025, Sato continued in the series, joining series newcomers Cerumo・INGING alongside Riona Tomishita.[15] Starting off the season with her maiden series podium in the round one's feature race,[16] Sato then finished no lower than sixth in the remaining four rounds,[17] as she took her only other podium of the season in round four,[18] en route to a fourth-place points finish.[19]
At the start of 2026, Sato made her endurance racing debut at the Dubai 24 Hour for Rookie Racing in the TCX class alongside Miki Onaga, Rio Shimono, Aimi Saito and Rami Sasaki.[20] For the rest of the year, Saito returned to Cerumo・INGING for her third campaign in Kyojo Cup.[21][22]
Karting record
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | SL Takarazuka Series – Kids Freshman | ||
| 2014 | SL Kobe Series – Kids | 2nd | |
| SL Takarazuka Series – Kids | 4th | ||
| 2015 | Kids & Junior Kart Race National Championship | Team Nagao | 2nd |
| SL Kobe Series – Kids | RTK Orange Juice with Nagao | 2nd | |
| SL Ikoma Series – Kids | 4th | ||
| SL Takarazuka Series – Kids | 1st | ||
| 2016 | SL Kobe Series – Micro Max | Team Nagao | 1st |
| RMC Japan Final – Micro Max | 4th | ||
| 2017 | SL Kobe Series – Cadet Open | Team Nagao | 6th |
| 2018 | SL Kobe Series – Cadet Open | 3rd | |
| SL Ikoma Series – Cadet Open | 1st | ||
| All-Japan Junior Karting Championship – FP-Jr Cadets | Team Nagao | 21st | |
| Junior Kart West Region Championship – FP-Jr Cadets | 10th | ||
| 2019 | All-Japan Junior Karting Championship – FP-Jr Cadets | Energy Japan | 5th |
| Junior Kart West Region Championship – FP-Jr Cadets | 2nd | ||
| SL Kobe Series – Cadet Open | 2nd | ||
| SL Biwako Series – Cadet Open | Team Nagao | 9th | |
| Toyopet SL Kart Meeting – Cadet Open | DNS | ||
| 2020 | All-Japan Junior Karting Championship – FP-Jr | Team Nagao | 9th |
| Junior Kart West Region Championship – FP-Jr | 3rd | ||
| SL Kobe Series – SS | 3rd | ||
| 2021 | All-Japan Karting Championship – FP-Jr | Team Nagao | 6th |
| All-Japan Karting West Region Championship – FP-Jr | 2nd | ||
| Kart Race in Suzuka – Yamaha SS | 21st | ||
| 2022 | All-Japan Karting Championship – FP-3 | Team Nagao | 14th |
| All-Japan Karting West Region Championship – FP-3 | 5th | ||
| 2023 | All-Japan Karting Championship – FS-125 JAF | Team Nagao | 5th |
| Sources:[4][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] | |||
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kyojo Cup | Kokoro Sato | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2025 | Kyojo Cup | Optimus Cerumo・INGING | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 4th |
| 2025–26 | 24H Series Middle East – TCX | Toyota Gazoo Rookie Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 54 | NC |
| 2026 | Kyojo Cup | Team Optimus Cerumo・INGING | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28* | 5th* |
| Sources:[30] | |||||||||
Complete Kyojo Cup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Privateer | FUJ1 17 |
FUJ2 1 23 |
FUJ2 2 Ret |
FUJ3 20 |
FUJ4 17 |
NC 1 8 |
NC 2 9 |
FUJ5 22 |
NC | 0 | ||
| 2025 | Optimus Cerumo・INGING | FUJ1 SPR 4 |
FUJ1 FIN 3 |
FUJ2 SPR 4 |
FUJ2 FIN 6 |
FUJ3 SPR 6 |
FUJ3 FIN 5 |
FUJ4 SPR 3 |
FUJ4 FIN 5 |
FUJ5 SPR 5 |
FUJ5 FIN 5 |
4th | 57 |
| 2026 | Team Optimus Cerumo・INGING | FUJ1 SPR 3 |
FUJ1 FIN 6 |
FUJ2 SPR 3 |
FUJ2 FIN 3 |
FUJ3 SPR |
FUJ3 FIN |
FUJ4 SPR |
FUJ4 FIN |
FUJ5 SPR |
FUJ5 FIN |
5th* | 28* |