Yorikatsu Tsujiko
Japanese racing driver (born 1984)
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Yorikatsu Tsujiko (辻子 依旦, Tsujiko Yorikatsu; born 7 January 1984) is a Japanese businessman and racing driver.
7 January 1984
Japanese
FIA BronzeYorikatsu Tsujiko | |
|---|---|
辻子 依旦 | |
Tsujiko in 2024 | |
| Born | Yorikatsu Tsujiko 7 January 1984 Kyoto Prefecture, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Categorisation | FIA Bronze |
Business career
Born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1984, Tsujiko moved to the United Kingdom after high school to study mechanical engineering, but returned to Japan a year later after his father fell ill.[1] Following two years working in a car dealership, Tsujiko joined PONOS, which was founded by his father in 1990.[1] One month later his father passed away, and in January 2012 Tsujiko became the company's CEO.[1]
Under his leadership, PONOS released The Battle Cats in November of that year,[2] and also sponsored Williams Racing and Red Bull Racing in Formula One between 2020 and 2022.[3][4] In 2021, Tsujiko founded Ponos Racing in order to begin his career in motorsports as a driver.[5]
Racing career
Tsujiko made his car racing debut in 2021, racing for Ponos Racing in select rounds of the Formula Regional Japanese Championship.[6] Racing at Okayama and Suzuka, Tsujiko scored a best result of 12th in both rounds.[7][8] During 2021, Tsujiko also participated in the season-opening round of the Super Taikyu Series at Motegi with Comet Racing in the ST-Z class.[9]
The following year, Tsujiko returned to Formula Regional Japan with Ponos Racing,[10] whilst also entering GT World Challenge Asia with Comet Racing.[11] In the former, Tsujiko scored a best result of seventh in race one at Okayama and finished 12th in points.[12] In the latter, Tsujiko scored an overall win at Suzuka and five class podiums to secure third in the Am standings.[13]
Remaining with Comet Racing for 2023, Tsujiko raced with the team in both GT World Challenge Asia and the SRO Japan Cup, whilst also returning to Ponos Racing for a part-time schedule in Formula Regional Japan.[14] In GTWC Asia, Tsujiko scored an Am class win at Fuji and once again finished third in the class standings, whereas in Japan Cup, Tsujiko secured seventh in the overall standings with a best result of fourth in the same race.[15] In Formula Regional Japan, Tsujiko scored a best result of fifth in race two at Fuji and ended the year 13th in points.[16] During 2023, Tsujiko also made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, racing in the LMGTE Am class for Kessel Racing alongside Kei Cozzolino and Naoki Yokomizo.[17] In the race, the trio finished ninth in class.[18]
For 2024, Tsujiko remained with Ponos Racing to race in both the Formula Regional Japanese Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup Japan,[19][20] whilst also continuing in the SRO Japan Cup with Comet Racing.[21] In the former, Tsujiko took his maiden series podium by finishing third in race three at Okayama,[22] whereas in Carrera Cup Japan, he scored a best result of ninth at the same venue.[23] Racing in the Am class in Japan Cup, Tsujiko won both races at Suzuka in class and scored one more overall podium to finish runner-up in the Am standings.[24]
In 2025, Tsujiko remained in the SRO Japan Cup as Ponos Racing entered the series and also partook in the Suzuka 1000 km with the same team.[25] In Japan Cup, Tsujiko won at Okayama and Suzuka on his way to runner-up in both the GT3 overall and Pro-Am standings.[26][27] Tsujiko remained with Ponos Racing, which ran in a collaboration with K2 R&D,[28] to race in the 2025–26 Asian Le Mans Series for his debut in endurance prototypes, in which he competed in the LMP2 class.[29] Following the demise of the K&2 partnership ahead of the UAE rounds, United Autosports maintained the team's cars for the final two rounds, in which Tsujiko scored his only points of the season at the finale in Abu Dhabi.[30] For the rest of 2026, Tsujiko remained with his team to continue in the SRO Japan Cup.[31]
Racing record
Racing career summary
‡ Team standings
Complete Formula Regional Japanese Championship 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 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | PONOS Racing | OKA 1 13 |
OKA 2 12 |
OKA 3 13 |
MOT 1 |
MOT 2 |
MOT 3 |
FUJ 1 14 |
FUJ 2 14 |
FUJ 3 12 |
SUG 1 |
SUG 2 |
SUZ 1 |
SUZ 2 |
21st | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | PONOS Racing | FUJ1 1 9 |
FUJ1 2 9† |
FUJ1 3 9 |
OKA 1 7 |
OKA 2 Ret |
OKA 3 8 |
MOT 1 |
MOT 2 |
MOT 3 |
SUG 1 |
SUG 2 |
SUG 3 |
FUJ2 1 10 |
FUJ2 2 9 |
FUJ2 3 8 |
SUZ 1 |
SUZ 2 |
12th | 23 |
| 2023 | PONOS Racing | FUJ1 1 6 |
FUJ1 2 5 |
FUJ1 3 7 |
SUZ 1 |
SUZ 2 |
OKA 1 |
OKA 2 |
OKA 3 |
MOT 1 |
MOT 2 |
MOT 3 |
FUJ2 1 6 |
FUJ2 2 9 |
SUG 1 |
SUG 2 |
SUG 3 |
13th | 34 | |
| 2024 | PONOS Racing | SUZ 1 7 |
SUZ 2 9 |
SUZ 3 7 |
SUG 1 |
SUG 2 |
OKA 1 Ret |
OKA 2 5 |
OKA 3 3 |
MOT 1 |
MOT 2 |
FUJ1 1 Ret |
FUJ1 2 DNS |
FUJ2 1 12 |
FUJ2 2 11 |
11th | 39 | |||
Complete GT World Challenge Asia results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  Kessel Racing |
Kei Cozzolino Naoki Yokomizo |
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am |
303 | 38th | 9th |
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | PONOS Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SEP 1 15 |
SEP 2 WD |
DUB 1 12 |
DUB 2 11 |
ABU 1 12 |
ABU 2 9 |
18th | 2 |