Seiji Ara is a racing driver from Japan who competes in GT World Challenge Asia for Plus with Bmw M Team Studie. Ara has recorded 4 wins and 18 podiums from 135 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,297 ranks Ara 2469th of 40,349 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the high 8,000s. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file.
| 2026-08-30 | Okayama | P11 | −33 |
| 2026-08-29 | Okayama | P7 | +34 |
| 2026-07-12 | Fuji | P22 | −153 |
| 2026-07-11 | Fuji | P16 | −94 |
| 2026-05-03 | Mandalika International Circuit | P17 | −140 |
| Rating won | Race | Series | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| +184 | Suzuka 2022 | Super GT | P1 |
| +175 | TI Aida 2009 | Super GT | P1 |
| +163 | Sepang International Circuit 2008 | Super GT | P1 |
| +144 | Fuji 2012 | Super GT | P3 |
| +141 | Suzuka 2023 | Super GT | P1 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ▸GT World Challenge Asia | Plus with Bmw M Team Studie | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P26 | −784 | 4,297 |
| 2024 | ▸Super GT | Bmw M Team Studie x CRS | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P5 | +416 | 5,081 |
| 2023 | ▸Super GT | BMW Team Studie x CRS | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P6 | +345 | 4,665 |
| 2022 | ▸Super GT | BMW Team Studie x CSL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P10 | +163 | 4,320 |
| 2021 | ▸Super GT | BMW Team Studie x CSL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −342 | 4,157 |
| 2020 | ▸Super GT | BMW Team Studie × CSL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P24 | −338 | 4,297 |
| 2019 | ▸Super GT | Mclaren Customer Racing Japan | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P16 | −87 | 4,716 |
| 2018 | ▸24H Series | D'station Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P17 | −49 | 4,832 |
| 2017 | ▸Super GT | BMW Team Studie | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P12 | +103 | 4,924 |
| 2016 | ▸Super GT | BMW Team Studie | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P12 | −113 | 4,930 |
| 2015 | ▸Super GT | BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | P7 | −105 | 4,931 |
| 2014 | ▸Super GT | BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P3 | +387 | 5,037 |
| 2013 | ▸Super GT | Lexus Team Wedssport Bandoh | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P13 | −355 | 4,701 |
| 2012 | ▸Super GT | Lexus Team Wedssport Bandoh | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | P9 | +290 | 5,055 |
| ▸WEC | Pescarolo Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P17 | −2 | ||
| 2011 | ▸Super GT | Lexus Team Wedssport Bandoh | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P13 | −89 | 4,767 |
| 2009 | ▸Super GT | Kondo Racing | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P7 | +130 | 4,856 |
| ▸World Touring Car Championship | Wiechers-Sport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P24 | −71 | ||
| 2008 | ▸Super GT | Kondo Racing | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P10 | ↑400−58 | 4,798 |
| 2000 | ▸Formula 3 Macau | Toda Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | −221 | 4,455 |
| 1999 | ▸Formula 3 Macau | TOM''S Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | +3,326 | 4,676 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇯🇵 Takashi KogureFIA Gold | 5,006 | 89 | 38 | 51 | 43% |
| 🇯🇵 Tatsuya KataokaFIA Gold | 5,151 | 86 | 30 | 56 | 35% |
| 🇯🇵 Takuto IguchiFIA Silver | 4,419 | 86 | 43 | 43 | 50% |
| 🇯🇵 Yuki Nakayama | 4,048 | 86 | 49 | 37 | 57% |
| 🇯🇵 Katsuyuki HiranakaFIA Gold | 3,820 | 86 | 41 | 45 | 48% |
| 🇯🇵 Takashi KobayashiFIA Gold | 4,295 | 84 | 51 | 33 | 61% |
| 🇯🇵 Nobuteru TaniguchiFIA Silver | 5,252 | 80 | 30 | 50 | 38% |
| 🇯🇵 Takayuki AokiFIA Silver | 3,990 | 79 | 50 | 29 | 63% |
| 🇯🇵 Shinichi TakagiFIA Silver | 4,632 | 78 | 36 | 42 | 46% |
| 🇯🇵 Hideki YamauchiFIA Gold | 4,352 | 78 | 40 | 38 | 51% |
| 🇯🇵 Sho TsuboiFIA Platinum, 5× champion | 6,799 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% |
| 🇯🇵 Kenta YamashitaFIA Platinum, 3× champion | 6,403 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 53% |
| 🇯🇵 Tomoki NojiriHigher-rated, 2× champion | 6,367 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75% |
| # | Driver | Series | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,459 | 🇺🇸 Reece Gold | European Le Mans Series | 4,301 |
| 2,460 | 🇲🇴 Kevin Tse | British GT Championship | 4,300 |
| 2,461 | 🇮🇹 Michela Cerruti | Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie | 4,300 |
| 2,462 | 🇺🇸 Bobby Allison | NASCAR Xfinity | 4,299 |
| 2,463 | 🇧🇷 Fernando Rees | WEC | 4,299 |
| 2,464 | 🇵🇹 Michel Neugarten | FIA GT Championship | 4,299 |
| 2,465 | 🇩🇪 Jusuf Owega | GT World Challenge Europe | 4,298 |
| 2,466 | 🇮🇹 Lorenzo Patrese | IMSA WeatherTech | 4,298 |
| 2,467 | 🇩🇰 Valdemar Eriksen | European Le Mans Series | 4,298 |
| 2,468 | 🇮🇹 Adrien De Leener | Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie | 4,297 |
| 2,469 | 🇯🇵 Seiji Ara | GT World Challenge Asia | 4,297 |
| 2,470 | 🇺🇸 Jack Jeffers | USF Pro 2000 | 4,296 |
| 2,471 | 🇺🇸 Jake Bollman | ARCA Menards Series | 4,296 |
| 2,472 | 🇲🇾 Jordan Love | Asian Le Mans Series | 4,296 |
| 2,473 | 🇬🇧 Remo Ruscitti | SKUSA SuperNationals | 4,295 |
| 2,474 | 🇯🇵 Takashi Kobayashi | Super GT | 4,295 |
| 2,475 | 🇲🇨 Hubert Haupt | Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie | 4,294 |
| 2,476 | 🇺🇸 Kevin Grubb | NASCAR Xfinity | 4,294 |
| 2,477 | 🏳️ Michael Zehe | Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie | 4,293 |
| 2,478 | 🏳️ Raphael Abbate | Stock Car Pro Series | 4,293 |
| 2,479 | 🇬🇧 Tom Chilton | BTCC | 4,292 |
Seiji Ara is an established professional, FIA Gold graded, racing in multiclass endurance championships in Japan and Asia. He has spent 17 seasons in Super GT since 2008, running GT300 and GT500 machinery for BMW M Team Studie x CRS, and has taken four wins and eighteen podiums across 119 starts in that series. His current activity places him in GT World Challenge Asia for 2026 with Plus and BMW M Team Studie, racing a BMW M4 GT3 in shared-drive endurance format.[1]
Ara's record in Super GT has been built against a field of professionals and semi-professionals, including a handful of starts in single-driver Formula 3 Macau (1999–2000), two rounds of the World Touring Car Championship (2009) and one appearance in the 24H Series A6-PRO class on a multiclass international endurance grid. He has finished ahead of Kenta Yamashita, a multiple Super GT champion and Super Formula professional, eight times in their head-to-head meetings. Against Takashi Kogure, another Super GT champion with comparable experience, Ara has been closely matched over their years as regular opponents. Tatsuya Kataoka, a three-time Super GT GT300 champion, typically finishes ahead of him when they race together. Ara has also beaten Sho Tsuboi, an elite professional and five-time Super GT champion, twice in their encounters on the Super GT grid.[2]