Ai Miura | |
Nationality: | Japanese |
Birth Date: | 24 November 1989 |
Current Series: | Formula Regional Japanese Championship |
First Year: | 2020 |
Teams: | Super License |
Starts: | 15 |
Wins: | 1 |
Best Finish: | 2nd |
Year: | 2021 |
is a Japanese female racing driver who last raced in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship.[1]
Miura's single seater career began due to the influence of her father and brother. At the age of 12, she participated in a kart race for the first time and eventually won the championship. After that, she honed her skills in karting. At Osaka Sangyo University, where she studied Mechanical Engineering, she was one of the drivers of their solar car project, participating in the yearly FIA Solar Car Race at the Suzuka Circuit, taking several victories throughout the years.
In 2011, she participated in Super FJ (Suzuka) with the support of Exedy in recognition of her success in karting. After graduating from university one year later, she became an employee of Exedy and participated in Formula Challenge Japan (FCJ) while enrolled in the public relations department of the company.
In 2014, she made her debut in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship (N class), being the first female driver in the series in 18 years. She finished on the podium at the opening race held at Suzuka Circuit, and took her first victory in the following 2nd round, finally finishing in 4th place in the series. In 2015, she continued to participate in the N class of the All Japan F3 Championship, winning 3 races and finishing 2nd.
From 2016 until 2018, she was part of the B-MAX Racing Team, achieving a best race result of 4th Overall and 8th in the standings (both the best ever for a female in the series). The following year, in 2019, she joined ThreeBond Racing and continued participated in the All-Japan F3 Championship (C class). In 2020, she participated in the KYOJO CUP for LHG Racing with YLT, winning the championship in her first try. In addition, she also took part in a few races in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship in place of Tomoki Takahashi with the Super License team. She took her first podium at the Twin Ring Motegi. In 2021, she finished as runner-up of the championship,[2] taking her first win at Fuji Speedway[3] during the season, while also competing in Super Taikyu.