Kyosuke Mineo

Kyosuke Mineo is a Japanese racing driver who most recently competed in the Super GT Series. He made a Super GT debut in 2006, reaching a peak in 2012 when he was the GT300 class champion, driving a Porsche 911 GT3-R for Team Taisan.

Kyosuke Mineo

Several championship titles early in a career

Born in December 1974, Kyosuke Mineo started his racing career in 1996, participating in the Nissan Zaurus Jr Kanto Series. Next year, he was the champion in the Nissan Zaurus Jr East Japan Series. In 1998 and 1999, Mineo participated in the Esso Formula Toyota and then progressed to the Japanese Formula 3 in 2000. He was ninth in the overall standings and the best F3 rookie.

Since 2001, Mineo was active in the Net'zCup Altezza, winning the championship title in 2003. In 2004, he stepped into Super Taikyu series, finishing third in the N class. In 2004, he made an improvement and finished second in the N class of the Super Taikyu series.

Super GT Series debut in 2006

In 2006, Mineo made a debut in the Japanese Super GT Series, driving the #14 Porsche 996 GT3-R for Endless Sports. His full-time teammate was Mitsuhiro Kinoshita. Scoring one podium, they finished 21st in the GT300 classification.

In 2007, Mineo changed a car and the team. He joined apr team to drive the #31 Toyota MR-S, sharing a car with Yuya Sakamoto. They were 18th in the GT300 standings. Next year, Mineo and Sakamoto stayed in the #31 Toyota, finishing 14th in the points.

Super Taikyu ST-2 class champion in 2009

In 2009, Mineo participated in five rounds of the Super GT Series, driving the #31 Toyota Corolla Axio for apr team. His main competition in 2009 was the Super Taikyu series, in which he became the ST-2 class champion. He stayed in the Super Taikyu ST-2 class for two more seasons.

In the 2010 Super GT Series, Mineo had just one start, driving for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) at Suzuka 1000 km. In 2011, Mineo joined Team Taisan in the Super GT Series and participated full season in the #26 Porsche 996 GT3. In one race, he was driving team's Ferrari F430 GT2.

Kyosuke Mineo and Naoki Yokomizo are celebrating 2012 Super GT title

Double Super GT and Super Taikyu champion in 2012

The season 2012 was the most successful year in Mineo's career. He won two championship titles in the same season. In the Super GT Series, he and Naoki Yokomizo conquered the GT300 class in the #911 Team Taisan Endless Porsche 911 GT3-R. They were race winners one time in the season's finale at Twin Ring Motegi.

In 2012, Mineo participated for the first time in the ST-1 class of the Super Taikyu series, winning the championship title in his first attempt.

Kyosuke Mineo in 2015

Five manufacturers in four seasons

Mineo stayed in the Team Taisan's Porsche for one more season, finishing 12th in the GT300 points in 2013. His co-driver in the #0 car was Naoki Yokomizo. In the 2014 Super GT season, Mineo competed with three different manufacturers. He started a season with Leon Racing's Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 and the joined Porsche Team KTR to drive a Porsche 911 GT3 R. At Suzuka 1000 km race, he was driving Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 for Team Taisan.

In 2015, Mineo was driving the #77 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 for Direction Racing, scoring no wins or podiums to finish 17th in the points. In 2016, Mineo stayed with Team Direction but switched to the #108 Lamborghini Huracan GT3, sharing a car with three different co-drivers.

Jono Lester and Kyosuke Mineo in 2017

Back to Porsche in 2017

For the 2017 Super GT Series, Mineo returned to Porsche. He was driving the #9 Porsche 911 GT3-R for Pacific with Gulf Racing, sharing a car with New Zealander Jono Lester. They scored GT300 podium in the season-opening race, finishing third at Okayama International Circuit. Later in the season, their best result was the fourth place in season's finale at Twin Ring Motegi. At the end of the season, they were 8th in the final GT300 standings.

Mineo left Super GT Series in 2018 but returned in 2019, driving again the #9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Pacific Racing. His full-time partner was Naoki Yokomizo. Without wins or podiums, they finished just 27th in the points.

Photos: Kyosuke Mineo, Gulf Racing,