Igor Fraga

Last updated
Igor Fraga
Nationality Flag of Brazil.svg Brazilian
Born (1998-09-26) September 26, 1998 (age 26)
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
Super GT career
Debut season 2023
Current teamAnest Iwata Racing
Car number26
Former teamsArnage Racing
Starts7
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish23rd in 2023
Super Formula career
Debut season 2025
Current team Nakajima Racing
Car number65
Starts0
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Previous series
2020
2020
2019
2018
2017–18
201517
23
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Toyota Racing Series
FR European Championship
U.S. F2000 National Championship
NACAM Formula 4 Championship
Formula 3 Brasil
Super Formula Lights
Championship titles
2020
2017
Toyota Racing Series
Formula 3 Brasil Academy Class

Igor Omura Fraga (born September 26, 1998) is a Japanese-born Brazilian racing driver and esports player. He currently competes for Nakajima Racing in the 2025 Super Formula Championship and for Anest Iwata Racing in the 2025 Super GT Series. [1] [2] He was the 2020 Toyota Racing Series champion, winning the title by six points ahead of Liam Lawson. [3] Fraga also currently serves as the esports ambassador for the Super Formula Championship. [4] He was formerly a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. [5]

Contents

He has achieved success in esports as well, winning the inaugural FIA Gran Turismo Nations Cup and McLaren Shadow Project racing series in 2018. [6] Fraga holds a joint-record four total championships in the Gran Turismo World Series, tied with Takuma Miyazono, across three disciplines. He also competed in the 2017 Formula One eSports Series but with limited success.

Racing career

Early career

Fraga began his career through karting in 2004 at the Biwako SL Series. He won the Kids Karting class championship during consecutive years in 2004 and 2005, and continued to win the Mini ROK class championships in 2006 and 2007. Fraga would later win the 2008 Asian Karting Open Championship in the Mini ROK class the following year. [7]

2015–18: Junior formula in the Americas

Fraga raced in Formula 3 Brasil for three years, all with Prop Car Racing. Fraga's first season in 2015 did not start well, retiring in its first three races under Class B. At the following race, he finished eighth overall, and third in class. Fraga would earn a total of two pole positions, four fastest laps, nine podiums, and four class wins in the season and would finish third in Class B with 117 points. In 2016, Fraga was promoted to Class A, but only raced in four races, those being the first event at the Velopark and the last event at Interlagos. He would finish eleventh in the Class A standings, with one podium and 19 points. Fraga would return to the newly renamed Academy class in 2017. Fraga won the class, finishing the season with 190 points, with seven pole positions, seven fastest laps, 13 podiums, and 10 class wins. Simultaneously with Formula 3 Brasil, Fraga also raced in NACAM Formula 4 Championship in 2017. In his only season in 2017–18, Fraga finished second overall and earned 286 points, with five pole positions, seven fastest laps, 12 podiums, and six race wins. In 2018, Fraga participated in the U.S. F2000 National Championship. He ended the season in fourth overall, with three podiums and 213 points.

2019–20: Debut in European and Oceanian formula

In 2019, Fraga made his European debut in the inaugural Formula Regional European Championship with RP Motorsport, winning four races and finishing 3rd and therefore best of the non-Prema drivers, behind Frederik Vesti and Enzo Fittipaldi. [8]

The following year in 2020 saw him participate in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, racing with Charouz Racing System alongside Roman Staněk and David Schumacher. [9] Having only scored one point throughout the season, Fraga was set to switch to Hitech Grand Prix at the final round in Mugello, replacing Max Fewtrell, but Charouz would not authorize the move, which would place Fraga on the sidelines for the finale. [10] He would finish the season in 24th.

In March of that year, Fraga was named as a new signing to the Red Bull Junior Team, after winning the Toyota Racing Series championship in 2020, beating out fellow Red Bull Junior Liam Lawson. [5]

Fraga had signed a contract to compete with Hitech for 2021, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fraga's funding from his sponsors was greatly reduced, which caused the team to cancel the contract. [11] Left without a drive, Fraga was released from the Red Bull junior programme following the 2020 season.

2023–24: Super GT and Super Formula Lights

At the end of 2022, Fraga partook in a Super Formula test with B-Max Racing. [12] Fraga later took part in the post-season rookie test with Team Impul, driving Yuhi Sekiguchi's #19 car. [13] For 2023, he was confirmed to compete in the 2023 Super Formula Lights championship, racing with B-Max Racing, [14] later earning his first win in the series at Sportsland Sugo.

Fraga also participated in the 2023 Super GT Series that same year in the GT300 class, competing with Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage in the Lexus RC F GT3 alongside Yuga Furutani and Miki Koyama, the latter joining the lineup in five of the eight rounds. [15] Fraga and Furutani would score twice across the season, with two consecutive points finishes at Suzuka Circuit and Sugo, finishing 10th and 7th respectively. Koyama, who entered with the team for the Suzuka round, did not run a stint during the race and thus remained scoreless. Igor Fraga is set to return for a second season with Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage for 2024. In February 2024, Fraga was announced as a reserve driver for Nakajima Racing in the Super Formula Championship. [16]

2025–present: Promotion to Super Formula

In January 2025, Fraga was confirmed as a driver for Nakajima Racing competing in the 2025 Super Formula Championship alongside Ren Sato. [1] Fraga was also confirmed to return for a second season of Super GT competition with Anest Iwata Racing, this time racing with 2008 Super GT Series GT300 champion Hironobu Yasuda. [2]

Esports career

Fraga in esports
Career highlights and awards

In 2017, Fraga qualified for the first Formula One Esports Series final, having finished 4th and 2nd in his Heat group. His results in the final however weren't as good, finishing the three races 14th, 18th and scored six points in the last race where he finished 15th. He ended the final 18th out of 20 drivers.

Fraga has participated in the FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships, and made his first appearance in the series in the inaugural 2018 season, participating in the Nations Cup. On the build-up to the World Final, Igor Fraga won the Americas regional final event in Las Vegas, finishing first overall with 43 points in three races and securing a World Final spot. Fraga would take the inaugural Nations Cup championship in the World Final in Monaco with 54 points. [17] Fraga returned to the series in 2019 for both Nations Cup and Manufacturer Series championships. A first corner spin in Red Bull Ring at the first semi-final of the World Final sent Fraga to last place and he would later be eliminated in the Nations Cup as a result, finishing 10th. [18] He later won that year's Manufacturer Series championship for Toyota with teammates Rayan Derrouiche and Tomoaki Yamanaka. Fraga returned for the rebooted 2020 season in both competitive series. He did not qualify for the World Finals for the Nations Cup, but did finish 4th overall in the World Finals for the Manufacturer Series alongside Shohei Sugimori and Valerio Gallo. [19]

Fraga competed in the inaugural McLaren Shadow Project in 2018 and won the series, beating runners-up Nuno Pinto and Miguel Ballester in the grand final. [20] [21]

In 2021, Fraga would compete in the inaugural Olympic Virtual Series, participating in the 'Motor Sport' event in the Gran Turismo Sport game. [22] [23] Fraga scored a 2nd-place finish in the first race, but would not be able to complete the following two races due to a network problem, which he later clarified on his Twitter. [24] In 2022, Fraga won the Toyota GR GT Cup championship in the Gran Turismo World Series. [3] Fraga was also appointed as the esports ambassador for the Super Formula Championship later that year. [4] In 2023, Fraga was champion in the Honda Racing eMS competition in the Challenge Class. [25] [26]

Personal life

Fraga was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan to Brazilian parents. [27] He previously resided in Ipatinga, Brazil, but later moved back to Japan in 2022, which he had announced on his Twitter account. [20] [28] Fraga is a multilinguist, capable of speaking Portuguese, English, Japanese, and Spanish. [29]

In January 4, 2025. Igor Fraga is married to his girlfriend, Lorena.

Karting record

Karting career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamPosition
2004Biwako SL Series — Kids KartingPeter Pan1st
2005Nishi Nihon Challenge — Kids KartingPeter Pan1st
Biwako SL Series — Kids Karting1st
2006Biwako SL Series — Mini ROKCRG Japan1st
2007Biwako SL Series — Mini ROKCRG Japan1st
Asian Karting Open Championship — Mini ROKNC
2008Asian Karting Open Championship — Mini ROKCRG Japan1st
Biwako SL Series — Mini ROKNC

Career summary

Career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition
2015 Fórmula 3 Brasil - Class B Prop Car Racing1642491173rd
2016 Fórmula 3 Brasil Prop Car Racing400011911th
2017 Fórmula 3 Brasil - Academy Class Prop Car Racing161077131901st
2017–18 NACAM Formula 4 Championship Prop Car Racing18657122802nd
2018 U.S. F2000 National Championship Exclusive Autosport1400032134th
2019 Formula Regional European Championship DR Formula RP Motorsport 24443113003rd
2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship Charouz Racing System 160000124th
Toyota Racing Series M2 Competition 1543393621st
2023 Super Formula Lights B-Max Racing Team 181117624th
Super GT - GT300 Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage80000523rd
2024 Super GT - GT300 Anest Iwata Racing by Arnage 800000NC
Super Formula PONOS Nakajima Racing Reserve driver
2025 Super Formula PONOS Nakajima Racing
Super GT - GT300 Anest Iwata Racing

Complete U.S. F2000 National Championship results

YearTeam1234567891011121314RankPoints
2018 Exclusive Autosport STP
8
STP
2
IMS
8
IMS
17
LOR
7
ROA
8
ROA
5
TOR
7
TOR
2
MDO
17
MDO
3
MDO
5
POR
15
POR
4
4th213

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrant12345678910111213141516171819202122232425DCPoints
2019 DR Formula
RP Motorsport
LEC
1

3
LEC
2

3
LEC
3

7
VLL
1

7
VLL
2

8
VLL
3

C
HUN
1

5
HUN
2

DNS
HUN
3

4
RBR
1

2
RBR
2

9
RBR
3

1
IMO
1

1
IMO
2

3
IMO
3

2
IMO
4

3
CAT
1

10
CAT
2

4
CAT
3

7
MUG
1

5
MUG
2

5
MUG
3

5
MNZ
1

1
MNZ
2

1
MNZ
3

3
3rd300

Complete Toyota Racing Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearTeam123456789101112131415DCPoints
2020 M2 Competition HIG
1

2
HIG
2

7
HIG
3

3
TER
1

3
TER
2

6
TER
3

2
HMP
1

1
HMP
2

4
HMP
3

1
PUK
1

2
PUK
2

5
PUK
3

8
MAN
1

1
MAN
2

4
MAN
3

1
1st362

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrant123456789101112131415161718DCPoints
2020 Charouz Racing System RBR
FEA

16
RBR
SPR

25
RBR
FEA

26
RBR
SPR

14
HUN
FEA

15
HUN
SPR

Ret
SIL
FEA

15
SIL
SPR

Ret
SIL
FEA

18
SIL
SPR

10
CAT
FEA

24
CAT
SPR

18
SPA
FEA

19
SPA
SPR

27
MNZ
FEA

24
MNZ
SPR

17
MUG
FEA

MUG
SPR

24th1

Complete Super Formula Lights results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrant123456789101112131415161718PosPoints
2023 B-Max Racing Team AUT
1

Ret
AUT
2

4
AUT
3

7
SUG
1

2
SUG
2

6
SUG
3

1
SUZ
1

Ret
SUZ
2

9
SUZ
3

7
FUJ
1

8
FUJ
2

4
FUJ
3

8
OKA
1

2
OKA
2

2
OKA
3

2
MOT
1

3
MOT
2

2
MOT
3

4
4th62

Complete Super GT results

YearTeamCarClass12345678DCPts
2023 Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage Lexus RC F GT3 GT300 OKA
12
FUJ
14
SUZ
17
FUJ
19
SUZ
10
SUG
7
AUT
11
MOT
17
23rd5
2024 Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage Lexus RC F GT3 GT300 OKA
17
FUJ
14
SUZ
14
FUJ
20
SUG
18
AUT
Ret
MOT
Ret
SUZ
21
NC0
2025 Anest Iwata Racing Lexus RC F GT3 GT300 OKA
FUJ
SEP
FUJ
SUG
AUT
MOT
SUZ

Complete Super Formula results

YearTeamEngine123456789101112DCPoints
2025 PONOS Nakajima Racing Honda SUZ
SUZ
MOT
MOT
AUT
FUJ
FUJ
SUG
FUJ
FUJ
SUZ
SUZ
TBDTBD

Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 FormulaRapida.net (2025-01-10). "Iwasa stays in Super Formula, Fraga returns in Honda line-up". FormulaRapida.net. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
    2. 1 2 Klein, Jamie (2025-01-21). "Rasmussen Lands Lexus GT300 Drive After JOTA Exit – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
    3. 1 2 "Igor Fraga Wins 2020 Toyota Racing Series Title in Final Race Decider". GTPlanet. 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
    4. 1 2 "Real and virtual – a two-sword athlete in motorsports! Japanese-Brazilian Driver – Igor Fraga Appointed as "SUPER FORMULA e-Motorsports Ambassador" | SUPER FORMULA Official Website". superformula.net. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
    5. 1 2 Hensby, Paul (2020-03-23). "Igor Fraga Joins Red Bull Junior Team Programme For 2020". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    6. "The First Nations Cup Champion is Crowned! - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
    7. "The inside scout – Igor Fraga". FIAFormula3® – The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
    8. "Can an Esports star end Brazil's F1 drought?". The Race. 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
    9. "F1 Esports finalist Igor Fraga becomes first sim racer to join FIA F3 grid | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    10. "Red Bull junior misses F3 finale amid contract saga". Motorsport Week. 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    11. Klein, Jamie (2025-01-28). "The single-seater return of a Red Bull reject who beat Lawson, Colapinto and Tsunoda". Autosport. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
    12. Klein, James (18 November 2022). "B-Max to hold SF Lights test for international drivers". Motorsport.com . Retrieved 18 November 2022.
    13. "Super Formula reveals Suzuka rookie test entry list". www.motorsport.com. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
    14. "Igor Fraga completes B-Max Super Formula Lights line-up". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
    15. "Anest Iwata Racing with Arnage Introduces All-Rookie Crew For Their Lexus RC F GT3". dailysportscar.com. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
    16. Evans, Andrew (2024-02-14). "Igor Fraga Secures Super Formula Reserve Seat at Ponos Nakajima Racing". GTPlanet. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
    17. Lumb, Tim (18 November 2018). "Brazil's Igor Fraga wins GT Sport Nations Cup World Final in Monaco". Autosport.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    18. "Reigning champ Fraga in shock exit from Gran Turismo Finals". www.motorsport.com. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    19. "Competitors - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    20. 1 2 "McLaren Racing – Igor Fraga wins McLaren Shadow Project 2018". www.mclaren.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    21. "Igor Fraga earns spot on McLaren Shadow F1 Esports team". F1Esports News. 2019-01-18. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
    22. Lyon, Peter. "Olympic Season Kicks Off With Virtual Racing World Final". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
    23. "Inaugural Olympic Virtual Series concludes successfully – Olympic News". International Olympic Committee. 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
    24. "About what happened today in the OVS final..." Twitter. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
    25. "フラガ、スーパーフォーミュラをドライブした2日後にeスポーツ大会で優勝。超多忙な"二刀流"レースキャリア「ずっと走っていられるのがメリット」" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2024-12-29. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
    26. "Tokyo Auto Salon HRC motorsport conference". Honda.Racing. 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
    27. "McLaren Racing – Getting to know: Igor Fraga". www.mclaren.com. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
    28. https://twitter.com/1gorfraga/status/1555532938850504704 [ bare URL ]
    29. "Igor Fraga - USF2000.com". USF2000. Retrieved 2019-06-22.[ permanent dead link ]
    Sporting positions
    Preceded by Toyota Racing Series
    Champion

    2020
    Succeeded by
    Incumbent
    Preceded by New Zealand Grand Prix
    Winner

    2020
    Succeeded by