Sho Tsuboi

Sho Tsuboi
Tsuboi in the 2018 Japanese Formula 3 Championship at Sportsland Sugo.
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(1995-05-21) 21 May 1995 Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
Super GT career
Debut season	2017
Current team	TGR Team au TOM'S
Car number	36
Former teams	Rookie Racing, Racing Project Bandoh, SARD, Tsuchiya Engineering, LM Corsa
Starts	57
Wins	7 (2 in GT300)
Podiums	18 (4 in GT300)
Poles	4 (2 in GT300)
Fastest laps	5 (1 in GT300)
Best finish	1st in 2021 & 2023
Super Formula career
Debut season	2019
Current team	Vantelin Team TOM'S
Car number	36
Former teams	Cerumo・INGING
Starts	41
Wins	2
Podiums	8
Poles	2
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	3rd in 2020
Previous series
2016-18 2015 2012-13	Japanese Formula Three F4 Japanese Championship Formula Challenge Japan
Championship titles
2021, 2023 2018 2015	Super GT - GT500 Japanese Formula 3 Championship F4 Japanese Championship

Sho Tsuboi (坪井 翔, Tsuboi Shō, born May 21, 1995) is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing and TOM'S Racing, who currently competes in the Super GT Series GT500 class and Super Formula Championship.

Tsuboi is a two-time Super GT GT500 Champion in 2021 and 2023, as well as the champion in the 2015 F4 Japanese Championship and 2018 Japanese Formula 3 Championship.

Career

Early career

Tsuboi began his single-seater racing career in 2012 and drove for two years in Formula Challenge Japan. He finished seventh in the standings in 2012, and fifth in 2013, with two race victories.

Following the closure of Formula Challenge Japan, Tsuboi raced in the 2014 JAF Formula 4 regional championship series, finishing second in the FC class championship. That same year, he officially joined the Toyota Young Driver Program (TDP).

In 2015, he made his debut in the inaugural FIA F4 Japanese Championship with the TOM'S Spirit team. He won seven races, and won the championship by just three points ahead of Tadasuke Makino.

Formula 3

In 2016, he entered the Japanese Formula 3 Championship with TOM'S. Despite not winning a race, he finished third in the championship with 15 podiums in 17 races. In 2017, he won his first race, and won eight of the last ten races to finish second in the championship.

Tsuboi won the championship title in 2018, his third season. Tsuboi set a Japanese F3 record with 17 victories in 19 races, finishing second in the other two races that he did not win.

Tsuboi made three starts in the Macau Grand Prix FIA Formula 3 World Cup between 2016 and 2018. He finished 16th in 2016, and 14th in 2017. In the 2018 race, he and German racing driver Sophia Flörsch were involved in a serious accident. Tsuboi escaped serious injury after Flörsch's car became airborne from contact with Jehan Daruvala.

Super GT

GT300 (2017-2018)

Tsuboi drove in the GT300 class of the Japanese Super GT Series from 2017 to 2018. He made his debut for JMS P.mu LM Corsa, driving a Lexus RC F GT3. He finished third in the 2017 GT300 standings, winning the Fuji 500 km and the overseas race at Chang International Circuit. In 2018, he drove for Tsuchiya Engineering in their Toyota 86 MC, and finished seventh in the championship with two podiums.

GT500 (2018-)

Tsuboi made a one-off GT500 debut for Lexus Team SARD in the 2018 Fuji 500 km, finishing second in his first race aboard the Lexus LC 500. In 2019, Tsuboi secured his full-time GT500 debut with Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh. Tsuboi and Yuji Kunimoto finished eleventh in the championship, scoring a third place podium finish at Chang International Circuit.

In 2020, Tsuboi moved to the brand new ROOKIE Racing team (TGR Team Wako's ROOKIE), driving the new Toyota GR Supra GT500. Alongside reigning GT500 champion Kazuya Oshima, Tsuboi scored back to back podium finishes to open the 2020 season. They finished the year seventh in the championship, recording a best finish of second at the fifth round at Fuji Speedway.

Tsuboi changed teams once again in 2021, joining TGR Team au TOM'S, alongside Yuhi Sekiguchi. Tsuboi finished second in the opening round at Okayama International Circuit, battling Kenta Yamashita for the lead for several laps. Heading into the final round at Fuji Speedway, Tsuboi and Sekiguchi trailed championship leader Naoki Yamamoto by 16 points. Tsuboi went on to win the race for his first career GT500 class victory. Yamamoto was taken out from a championship-clinching position after GT300 driver Ren Sato crashed into his car with 15 laps remaining, which ultimately secured the championship for Tsuboi and Sekiguchi.

For 2022, Sekiguchi was replaced by GT500 newcomer Giuliano Alesi, but the new combination of Tsuboi and Alesi only recorded one podium finish. In 2023, Ritomo Miyata transferred from the number 37 TOM'S team to join Tsuboi. The pair won the Golden Week Fuji 450km race, finished second in the spring race at Suzuka, then reeled off back-to-back wins at Autopolis and Mobility Resort Motegi to clinch the championship by a whopping 29-point final margin.

Tsuboi raced with his sixth different co-driver in as many seasons in 2024 after Kenta Yamashita replaced Miyata for 2024. He became the first driver in GT500 history to win three consecutive championship races after winning the first round at Okayama.

Super Formula

After his record-setting 2018 Japanese F3 campaign, Tsuboi made the step up to the Super Formula Championship in 2019, joining JMS P.mu/Cerumo-INGING. He recorded a best finish of second in a wet race at Fuji Speedway. Tsuboi finished 12th in the championship, and was third in the Rookie of the Year cup behind Álex Palou.

Tsuboi improved to third in the championship in 2020. He won his first race in the second round at Okayama, and then went on to win the final race of the season at Fuji. He finished the season with 50 points, just twelve points behind eventual series champion Naoki Yamamoto. However, Tsuboi slumped to 15th in the standings in 2021, only managing to score six points with a best finish of seventh at Suzuka.

After five seasons at Cerumo-INGING, Tsuboi moved to Vantelin Team TOM'S in 2024 to replace his former Super GT co-driver Miyata.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2012	Formula Challenge Japan	FTRS TMC	12	0	0	0	0	7	7th
2013	Formula Challenge Japan	FTRS TMC FCJ	12	2	0	1	3	36	5th
2015	F4 Japanese Championship	Team TOM'S	14	7	4	3	10	195	1st
2016	Japanese Formula 3 Championship	Team TOM'S	17	0	0	1	15	87	3rd
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	16th
2017	Japanese Formula 3 Championship	Team TOM'S	20	9	8	4	15	140	2nd
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	14th
	Super GT - GT300	LM Corsa	7	2	0	0	2	61	3rd
	Super Taikyu - ST-4	TOM'S Spirit	5	5	4	3	5	135‡	1st‡
2018	Japanese Formula 3 Championship	Team TOM'S	19	17	14	16	19	214	1st
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	16th
	Super GT - GT500	Team SARD	1	0	0	0	1	15	16th
	Super GT - GT300	Tsuchiya Engineering	7	0	2	1	2	39	7th
	Super Taikyu - ST-4	TOM'S Spirit	6	4	5	2	5	159‡	1st‡
2019	Super Formula	JMS P.mu/cerumo・INGING	7	0	0	0	1	12	11th
	Super GT - GT500	Team WedsSport Bandoh	8	0	2	0	1	27.5	11th
	Super Taikyu - ST-4	TOM'S Spirit	6	2	5	1	4	123.5‡	2nd‡
2020	Super Formula	JMS P.mu/cerumo・INGING	7	2	0	0	2	50	3rd
	Super GT - GT500	TGR Team Wako's ROOKIE	8	0	2	0	3	47	7th
	Super Taikyu - ST-4	C.S.I Racing	5	3	3	3	4	129‡	1st‡
2021	Super Formula	P.mu/cerumo・INGING	7	0	0	0	0	6	15th
	Super GT - GT500	TGR Team au TOM'S	8	1	0	1	3	64	1st
	Super Taikyu - ST-4	C.S.I Racing	6	2	5	4	5	129.5‡	2nd‡
2022	Super Formula	P.mu/cerumo・INGING	10	0	0	0	1	30	11th
	Super GT - GT500	TGR Team au TOM'S	8	0	0	1	1	29.5	10th
	Super Taikyu - ST-Z	Corolla Shin-Ibaraki CSIRacing	5	1	1	1	2	107‡	3rd‡
		My Cars CSIRacing	2	0	0	0	2
2023	Super Formula	P.mu/cerumo・INGING	9	0	1	1	3	59	4th
	Super GT - GT500	TGR Team au TOM'S	8	3	1	1	4	89	1st
	Super Taikyu - ST-4	TOM'S Spirit	6	1	0	6	5	100.5‡	3rd‡
	TGR GR86/BRZ Cup	Spread	2	0	0	0	0	8	19th
2024	Super Formula	Vantelin Team TOM'S	1	0	0	0	0	0	11th*
	Super GT - GT500	TGR Team au TOM'S	1	1	1	1	1	23	1st
	Super Taikyu - ST-Q	ORC ROOKIE Racing

^* Season still in progress. ‡ Team standings.

Complete Japanese Formula 3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	DC	Pts
2016	Zent Team TOM'S	Toyota	SUZ 1 3	SUZ 2 2	FUJ 1 3	FUJ 2 3	OKA 1 2	OKA 2 3	SUZ 1 2	SUZ 2 DNS	FUJ 1 2	FUJ 2 3	MOT 1 3	MOT 2 3	OKA 1 3	OKA 2 4	SUG 1 3	SUG 2 3	SUG 3 3					3rd	87
2017	Corolla chukyo Kuo Team TOM'S	Toyota	OKA 1 2	OKA 2 9	OKA 3 5	SUZ 1 3	SUZ 2 9	FUJ 1 7	FUJ 2 2	OKA 1 3	OKA 2 3	SUZ 1 1	SUZ 2 1	FUJ 1 Ret	FUJ 2 1	MOT 1 1	MOT 2 1	MOT 3 1	AUT 1 1	AUT 2 1	SUG 1 1	SUG 2 2		2nd	140
2018	Corolla chukyo Kuo Team TOM'S	Toyota	SUZ 1 1	SUZ 2 1	SUG 1 1	SUG 2 1	FUJ 1 1	FUJ 2 2	OKA 1 2	OKA 2 1	OKA 3 C	MOT 1 1	MOT 2 1	MOT 3 1	OKA 1 1	OKA 2 1	OKA 3 C	SUG 1 1	SUG 2 1	SUG 3 1	SUG 4 1	FUJ 1 1	FUJ 2 1	1st	214

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	Points
2017	LM Corsa	Lexus RC F GT3	GT300	OKA 8	FUJ 1	AUT 6	SUG 13	FUJ 9	SUZ 6	CHA 1	MOT 6	3rd	61
2018	Tsuchiya Engineering	Toyota 86 MC	GT300	OKA 3		SUZ 2	CHA 19	FUJ 5	SUG 24	AUT 24	MOT 8	7th	39
	Lexus Team SARD	Lexus LC 500	GT500		FUJ 2							16th	15
2019	Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh			OKA 6‡	FUJ 13	SUZ 7	CHA 3	FUJ 9	AUT 8	SUG 13	MOT 7	11th	27.5
2020	TGR Team Wako's Rookie	Toyota GR Supra		FUJ 3	FUJ 3	SUZ 9	MOT 4	FUJ 2	SUZ 12	MOT 12	FUJ Ret	7th	47
2021	TGR Team au TOM'S			OKA 2	FUJ 13	MOT 3	SUZ 5	SUG 4	AUT 10	MOT 8	FUJ 1	1st	64
2022				OKA 6	FUJ 2‡	SUZ 10	FUJ 4	SUZ 9	SUG 10	AUT 8	MOT 9	10th	29.5
2023				OKA 15	FUJ 1	SUZ 2	FUJ 4	SUZ 10	SUG 7	AUT 1	MOT 1	1st	89
2024				OKA 1	FUJ	SUZ	FUJ	SUZ	SUG	AUT	MOT	1st*	23*

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. ^* Season still in progress.

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	10	DC	Points
2019	JMS P.mu/cerumo・INGING	SUZ 5	AUT 12	SUG Ret	FUJ 2	MOT 17	OKA 11	SUZ 10				11th	12
2020		MOT Ret	OKA 1	SUG 13	AUT Ret	SUZ Ret	SUZ 4	FUJ 1				3rd	50
2021	P.mu/cerumo・INGING	FUJ Ret	SUZ 7	AUT Ret	SUG 15	MOT 9	MOT Ret	SUZ 16				15th	6
2022		FUJ 8	FUJ 12	SUZ 20	AUT 13	SUG 11	FUJ 2	MOT 5	MOT 10	SUZ 8	SUZ 12	11th	30
2023		FUJ Ret	FUJ 2	SUZ 2	AUT 3	SUG 7	FUJ 11	MOT Ret	SUZ 5‡	SUZ 5		4th	59
2024	Vantelin Team TOM'S	SUZ 11	AUT	SUG	FUJ	MOT	FUJ	FUJ	SUZ	SUZ		11th*	0*

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. ^* Season still in progress.