🇯🇵 Dai Yoshihara

Dai Yoshihara holds a Racer Rating of 4,122, placing him at the professional level; this is the grade of a national championship front-runner or a sharp competitor in established feeder series, typically beating semi-professionals comfortably. His FIA Bronze categorisation denotes amateur or gentleman driver status within GT and endurance racing, where he races alongside professionals. Yoshihara is an active competitor with four seasons of racing on record across multiple disciplines, accumulating 20 starts, 5 wins, and 9 podiums. His primary platform has been IMSA Pilot Challenge, where he has made 14 starts for Montreal Motorsport Group since 2024, securing 2 wins and 6 podiums. Earlier in 2023 he competed in TC America and TC series racing, winning once and twice respectively in limited entries.[1]

The calibre of Yoshihara's regular opposition reflects his professional standing. His most frequent rivals in IMSA Pilot Challenge have been FIA Silver and Gold graded drivers, including former champions such as Bryson Morris, Denis Dupont, Mark Wilkins, and Harry Gottsacker. Against this field Yoshihara has compiled a mixed head-to-head record; he has finished ahead of Morris in 10 of 14 shared races, outpaced Denis Dupont in 6 of 14, and beaten Harry Gottsacker in 5 of 14. He has also finished ahead of much stronger drivers on occasion, including four times against Robert Wickels, a two-time champion rated as an established professional. However, against Mason Filippi and Mark Wilkins he has more often been behind than ahead, losing the head-to-head in both cases. His average finishing position across all classified races stands at P4.8, indicating competitive mid-field performance rather than consistent front-running.[2]

Yoshihara's racing background encompasses drifting, road racing, time attack, and hill climb competition prior to his present IMSA Pilot Challenge campaign. His induction into the Drift Racing Hall of Fame in April 2026 reflects his standing in that discipline. Recent IMSA headlines indicate both Honda success in the four-hour Mid-Ohio race and related technical achievements, suggesting the equipment and programme have performed competitively, though Yoshihara's specific role in those results cannot be determined from the record alone.