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Riki Okusa (大草 りき, Ōkusa Riki) (born November 25, 1999) is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes in the GT500 class in Super GT for Nakajima Racing for the 2024 season and previously in the GT300 class in for GAINER, partnered with Hironobu Yasuda.
Racing career
Early career
In 2018, Okusa made his formula racing debut in the final round of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, finishing fifth in his first race. The following year, he contested the shootout for Honda's Suzuka Circuit Racing School scholarship, but lost out to current Formula 2 driver Ayumu Iwasa. After spending 2019 starring in Super Taikyū, where he claimed the championship title in the ST-3 class, Okusa returned to formula racing in the inaugural season of the Formula Regional Japanese Championship, claiming the first podium of his formula racing career by finishing third in a one-off appearance at Fuji Speedway. In Super Taikyū, he switched to the ST-TCR class, ultimately finishing as championship runner-up alongside Katsumasa Chiyo and mentor Hironobu Yasuda. He returned to the Formula Regional Japanese championship in 2021 with his personal sponsor's eponymous team, PONOS Racing. Although he only competed in three rounds, Okusa managed to clinch third place in the standings, with 2 wins and seven podiums to his name. Okusa made another two cameos again at 2022 Formula Regional Japanese Championship with Sutekina Racing, claiming a win, a pole position, and three podiums.
Super GT
Okusa made his debut in Super GT's GT300 class with GAINER, paired up alongside Ryūichiro Tomita and third driver Yūsuke Shiotsu. Okusa made an immediate impact, qualifying in third on debut in Okayama and taking his first win at the next round at Fuji Speedway. He would ultimately take his maiden pole position and two more podiums throughout the season to finish third in the standings, three points behind the championship-winning car of Kondō Racing. In 2023, Okusa paired up with his longtime mentor and 2008 GT300 class champion Hironobu Yasuda.
Okusa will move to GT500, as he moves to Nakajima Racing alongside Takuya Izawa.
Super Formula
Okusa makes his Super Formula debut with TGM Grand Prix, replacing the outgoing Toshiki Oyu at Suzuka Circuit. He performed admirably on debut, finishing ahead of full-time teammate Cem Bölükbaşı in both races.
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Japanese Formula 3 Championship | Hanashima Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10th |
| 2019 | Super Taikyu - ST3 | Techno First | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 122‡ | 1st‡ |
| 2020 | Formula Regional Japanese Championship | Zap Speed | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 14th |
| Super Taikyu - ST-TCR | Waimarama Kizuna Racing | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 102.5‡ | 2nd‡ | |
| 2021 | Formula Regional Japanese Championship | PONOS Racing | 7 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 140 | 3rd |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | Porsche Japan | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 144 | 4th | |
| Super Taikyu - ST-Z | Porsche Team EBI Waimarama | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 52.5‡ | 7th‡ | |
| 2022 | Super GT - GT300 | GAINER | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 49 | 3rd |
| Formula Regional Japanese Championship | Sutekina Racing | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 63 | 10th | |
| Super Taikyu - ST-Z | Porsche Team EBI Waimarama | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 80‡ | 5th‡ | |
| 2023 | Super GT - GT300 | GAINER | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 17th |
| Super Formula | TGM Grand Prix | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23rd | |
| Super Taikyu - ST-Z | Techno First | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 99‡ | 3rd‡ | |
| 2024 | Super GT | Modulo Nakajima Racing |
‡ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Zap Speed | FUJ11 | FUJ12 | FUJ13 | SUG1 | SUG2 | SUG3 | FUJ21 5 | FUJ22 3 | MOT1 | MOT2 | OKA1 | OKA2 | AUT1 | AUT2 | 14th | 25 | |||
| 2021 | PONOS Racing | OKA1 | OKA2 | OKA3 | MOT1 1 | MOT2 2 | MOT3 1 | FUJ1 | FUJ2 | FUJ3 | SUG1 2 | SUG2 2 | SUZ1 2 | SUZ2 2 | 3rd | 140 | ||||
| 2022 | Team Sutekina | FUJ11 | FUJ12 | FUJ13 | OKA1 | OKA2 | OKA3 | MOT1 | MOT2 | MOT3 | SUG1 6 | SUG2 Ret | SUG3 3 | FUJ21 1 | FUJ22 3 | FUJ23 Ret | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | 10th | 63 |
Complete Super Formula 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 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | TGM Grand Prix | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | SUZ 18 | SUZ 13 | 23rd | 0 |
Complete 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 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | GAINER | Nissan GT-R | GT300 | OKA 6 | FUJ 1 | SUZ 15 | FUJ 22 | SUZ 2 | SUG 3 | AUT 7 | MOT 8 | 3rd | 49 |
| 2023 | GAINER | Nissan GT-R | GT300 | OKA 11 | FUJ 5 | SUZ 8 | FUJ 7 | SUZ 13 | SUG 9 | AUT 10 | MOT 16 | 17th | 16 |