After switching to ART Grand Prix at the end of 2024, Kanato Le won his first Formula Regional race in Abu Dhabi over the winter, and he’s confident that he can replicate such a result in Europe. Le sat down with Feeder Series last month to talk about his expectations for his main campaign in FR Europe.

By Francesca Brusa

Le came into the 2024 FR Europe season with only two weekends of experience at the FR level and struggled in the first half of the season. But in a wet second race at Le Castellet, he broke through to claim fourth place, which became third after Ugo Ugochukwu’s disqualification weeks later. That was Le’s and his team G4 Racing’s first and only top-three result all season.

With two further points finishes in race two at Barcelona and Monza, the Japanese racer ended the year as  the best-placed and only scoring driver for the Swiss-owned, Spanish-based squad. 

“Last year was a bit difficult, obviously,” he told Feeder Series on reflection in the Misano paddock. “I think the biggest struggle was finding the pace, as a team and also myself.

“Having the race in the wet, I was able to show what I’m really capable of, and getting that podium meant a lot for me and the team as well, to get loads of points. It was a really hard but important year for me, to have that experience.”

The Tokyo-born racer switched to ART Grand Prix in the off-season, beginning with the Macau Grand Prix in mid-November. He then continued with the French outfit over the winter in FR Middle East, giving him 17 races’ worth of experience before the FR Europe season began. 

“All the teams I’ve worked with are amazing, but this year it’s a bit different,” Le said. “Since I started working with them last year from Macau, I know them quite well. 

“Also my teammates, Taito [Kato] and Evan [Giltaire], they’re very good drivers and it’s always nice to have good references. Off the track as well, they’re really nice drivers. I get on with them really well.

“I feel like it’s very positive as a team. It’s very open, everyone’s really nice and trying to achieve the same goal of winning, so it’s the right mindset to be in.”

The right mindset and the right environment can make a big difference. Le knows that all too well now after he claimed his first victory in two years in race two of the opening FRegional Middle East round in mid-January.

He went on to snatch four further top-five results, collecting a total of 11 points finishes overall to wind up eighth in the standings. 

“I think it was a really good opportunity to do the UAE [FR championship] with ART since I’m racing with them this year,” he said. “It was good to build the relationship early on in the season, and every race we were improving. Sometimes we didn’t get the result we wanted, but we were always moving in the right direction, and it was good to do it to prepare for the FRECA season.”

After the FR Middle East season ended, Le made his way back to Europe to compete in the Formula Regional series run by ACI Sport and Alpine. He also joined Hillspeed for a partial campaign in GB3, in which he made a cameo appearance at Spa last year. 

Having entered Misano with a season in FR Europe already under his belt and an FR-level victory in hand, Le said he was ready to take victory in FR Europe too.

“It’s definitely achievable. In the UAE as well, we worked together and I was able to achieve a win, so I don’t see why we can’t do it in FRECA as well,” he told Feeder Series.

“I have good experience and this year I’m with ART, a really good team. My aim is to be winning races, [score] podiums consistently, and then finish top five, top three in the championship would be good.”

The Tokyo native has yet to take a victory in FR Europe, with his best result being a finish in fourth in race two at Spa. He currently holds 14th position in the standings, with both of his teammates appearing in the top seven. 

While Le has yet to win in FR Europe, he did so in GB3’s Spa round, held two weeks after FR Europe’s. Le stood on the podium in all three races of the rain-affected weekend and even claimed the top spot in the second race from pole. 

Apart from racing, the Japanese driver plays an important role in the activities of Shine for the Children, a non-profit organisation run by his mother.

“I’ve been doing this since I was back in Japan,” Le said. “Obviously I’m very privileged to be able to race in motorsport and to have the support I get from my family. I think it’s the right thing to also be able to give support to people that are in need.

“My mom, and everyone else who’s supporting the NPO, helped build a school in Cambodia, and it was really nice to see kids who don’t really have the privilege be able to get education. It’s really nice to see how they’re growing up, because I’ve also been supporting them since 2018, so I hope to be able to do this for the upcoming future as well.”

Header photo credit: Alex Galli