Super Formula champion, Ritomo Miyata, will make his debut in Formula 2 and ELMS in 2024. He will continue his role of Reserve Driver in WEC.
Ritomo Miyata’s career has been very successful since 2016 when he won Japanese Formula 4 for the first time. The following year, he repeated the excellent performance, winning the title a second time. He then moved on to Japanese F3, where he finished as a vice-champion for two consecutive years. In 2020 Miyata debuted in Super Formula Lights and won the title, with twelve wins out of 17 races. After proving his skills on the track, he was chosen by Vantelin team TOM’s and began racing in Super Formula.
This year, after an intense fight with the Red Bull junior team driver Liam Lawson, the Japanese driver managed to graduate champion with two wins and four more podiums. In 2024, many are excited to see what Miyata will be able to do in Formula 2 and ELMS.
(｣´□`)｣ ｵﾊﾌｫｰﾐｭﾗ!!
今日の📷はこちらSUPER FORMULA
2023 DRIVERS' CHAMPION
🏆#宮田莉朋(@M_Ritmo)#SFormula pic.twitter.com/EuTzpAb4tD— スーパーフォーミュラ公式 (@SUPER_FORMULA) November 1, 2023
At the same time, Miyata also continued his role as a reserve driver for Toyota in WEC. In September 2023, he took part in the 6 hours of Fuji in the GTE AM class. Despite it being his first race in this category, the Japanese finished in third place, showing great skills in adaptation to different driving styles. This year, thanks to his commitment as a training driver for the WEC Challenge Program, he has been able to travel very often in Europe and participate in Hypercar Simulator tests.
The beginning of a new journey
From 2024, Miyata will participate only in European championships. The two series represent a new challenge for him. It has been announced that he will race with the Cool Racing team in ELMS (European Le Mans Series). The team with which Miyata will line up in the Formula 2 grid in 2024 is still unknown. The goal for the Japanese driver is to get as much experience as possible, also in preparation for a possible retirement of Kobayashi. Miyata is his most plausible successor, being one of the stars of the Toyota Racing program.
Miyata expressed his gratitude to the Toyota team, which has been supporting him on his path since 2020:
“First of all, I want to express my sincere gratitude to ‘Morizo’ [Toyota President Akio Toyoda] and to all TGR for giving me the opportunity to drive in FIA F2 and ELMS. I was selected as a training driver for the WEC Challenge Program starting in 2023, which gave me more opportunities to travel to Europe with the team and participate in the Hypercar simulator tests with TGR-E.”
Kazuki Nakajima, Toyota’s WEC Vice President, is excited to announce the news:
“This is a great opportunity for Miyata to gain experience in formula and endurance racing and will open up many possibilities beyond that, depending on how hard he works.”
2024 F2 grid
Miyata’s name is added to the list along with those of Hauger, Colapinto, Duerksen, Antonelli, and O’Sullivan. All of them have been announced for the 2024 Formula 2 season, while it is expected confirmations or farewells of some drivers of the 2023 season. Among the names that circulate to enter the grid of F2 next year is Paul Aron. The young Estonian driver will race during the Abu Dhabi weekend for Trident, taking over for Novalak.
