Hillspeed’s three-car entry for the first event of the new GB3 Championship season is complete, with the confirmation that Japanese racer Hiyu Yamakoshi has signed with the Markham Vale team to compete at the Silverstone GP Circuit this weekend plus two other events in 2025.
Tokyo’s Yamakoshi, who will race in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) this year and has two seasons of Formula 4 experience under his belt within Europe, joins multiple GB3 race winners Hillspeed after a positive maiden test in the new Tatuus MSV GB3-025 car last week.
In addition to this weekend’s opening three rounds of the GB3 campaign, the 18-year-old will also compete at the third event of the season at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps and the sixth race meeting of 2025, at the Brands Hatch GP Circuit in late August.
Yamakoshi got his first experience of his Hillspeed GB3 car at the aforementioned Brands Hatch just over a week ago, where he lapped just a second shy of the top four on his first ever visit to the track – a day which delivered wet and dry conditions.
His deal with Hillspeed means the team has a capacity three-car entry for this weekend's curtain-raiser, with Yamakoshi partnering compatriot Kanato Le and British driver Freddie Slater.
Beginning his motorsport career in karts, Yamakoshi won his domestic SL National Championship in 2019, was runner-up in the All-Japan FS125 Karting Championship the following year and then also second in the SL National Championship. Additionally, he finished second in the IAME Japan Series X30 Junior Championship in 2020 and he went on to compete in the CIK-FIA European Championship.
Debuting in cars in Formula 4 in 2023 as part of the F4 UAE Championship, the Japanese racer then dovetailed campaigns in Europe that same year in the French F4 Championship and the F4 Spanish Championship – achieving five podiums in the former.
Remaining in F4 last year, Yamakoshi was third overall in the Italian F4 Championship with two wins and he was also a double winner in the Euro 4 Championship, in which he was fourth in the standings. This year, the teenager has already made outings in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship.
Hiyu Yamakoshi said: “I'm very happy to be competing in three events of the GB3 Championship with Hillspeed. With very limited practice time I know Silverstone will be a very difficult weekend, but I will try to learn as much as I can from my team-mate Freddie [Slater] who I competed against for the title in Italian and Euro F4 last year. I will do my best to fight for the lead from the start."
Hillspeed Team Principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “Hiyu is a very welcome addition to the Hillspeed family and we’re looking forward to his series debut at Silverstone this weekend, as well as the visits to Spa and Brands GP. It’s fantastic for Hillspeed to have all three cars on the grid for the opening weekend of the new season, and I’m confident Hiyu will work very well with his team-mates Kanato [Le] and Freddie [Slater]. He did a good job on his first ever visit to Brands last week for his GB3 test debut with us, so we’re all looking forward to a great weekend.”
23 April 2025
