is a Japanese racing driver who is set to compete in the 2026 European Le Mans Series for Kessel Racing. He is an Asian Le Mans Series class champion and also won 2022 GT World Challenge Asia overall.

Kimura founded Ruf Co., Ltd. in 2001 and still serves as its CEO as of 2026.

In February 2015, Kimura founded CarGuy Racing and also launched SeaGuy in 2024.

Career

Kimura made his car racing debut in 2015, racing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, scoring a lone AM class win at Kuala Lumpur and ending the year fifth in points. After racing part-time in Lamborghin Super Trofeo Asia and Super Taikyu the following year, Kimura began expanding CarGuy Racing's operations in 2017 as he made select starts in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, Super Taikyu and Blancpain GT Series Asia.

The following year, Kimura and CarGuy Racing made their debut in Super GT, scoring a best result of 15th at Okayama on debut. During 2018, Kimura also competed in select rounds of the Blancpain GT Series Asia for the same team. At the end of the year, Kimura raced in the GT class of the 2018–19 Asian Le Mans Series, winning all four races to secure the title. After making a one-off appearance in Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and finishing fifth in the LMGTE Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2019, Kimura and CarGuy Racing returned to the Asian Le Mans Series for the 2019–20 season. In his sophomore year in the series, Kimura won at The Bend and finished second at Sepang to end the year runner-up in points.

In 2020, Kimura made starts in the GT300 class of Super GT for X Works, as well as an appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for MR Racing. The following year, Kimura returned to the GT class of the Asian Le Mans Series, scoring a lone win at Abu Dhabi and ending the season sixth in points. For the rest of the year, Kimura competed in select appearances in Super GT's GT300 class for Pacific/CarGuy Racing, taking a best result of ninth at Autopolis, as well as racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Super Taikyu.

The following year, Kimura competed in a dual campaign in both the LMGTE class of the European Le Mans Series, and the newly relaunched GT World Challenge Asia. In ELMS, Kimura scored third-place finishes at Monza and Algarve to end the year sixth in points despite missing one round. In GTWC Asia, Kimura won at Suzuka and Fuji and took four more podiums to secure the overall and Pro-am titles. During 2022, Kimura also raced in select rounds of Super GT in the GT300 class for Pacific CarGuy Racing, as well as making a one-off appearance in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji for Team Project 1. Continuing with Kessel Racing for 2023, Kimura drove with them for a dual campaign in the LMGTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the LMGTE class of the European Le Mans Series. In the former, Kimura scored podiums at Sebring and Fuji to end the year seventh in the class standings. In the latter, Kimura scored his maiden series win at Aragón en route to a fourth-place points finish. During 2023, Kimura also raced for CarGuy Racing in both the Asian Le Mans Series, and in select rounds of GT World Challenge Asia.

Switching to Akkodis ASP Team for his second full-time season in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Kimura scored a best result of eighth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to end the year a lowly 27th in the LMGT3 standings. In parallel to his WEC campaign, Kimura also continued with Kessel Racing to competed in the European Le Mans Series, a season in which he won at Spa and Mugello to secure runner-up honors in LMGT3. At the start of 2025, Kimura competed in the final two rounds of the 2024–25 Asian Le Mans Series for CarGuy Racing, scoring a best result of sixth at Abu Dhabi to end the winter 20th in points. Returning to the European Le Mans Series with Kessel Racing for 2025, Kimura scored two podiums with a best result of second at Barcelona en route to a fifth-place finish.

Kimura continued with Kessel Racing for his fifth full-time campaign in the European Le Mans Series the following year.

Racing record Racing career summary SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition 2015 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia - Am 9 1 0 0 6 10 5th2016 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia CarGuy Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC Super Taikyu - ST-X DirectionRacing 1 0 0 0 1 15.5‡ 11th‡2017 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia - Am CarGuy Racing 2 0 1 0 2 25 8th Blancpain GT Series Asia - GT3 Pro-Am 2 0 0 0 0 12 19th Super Taikyu - ST-X 4 0 0 0 0 32‡ 8th‡2018 Super GT Series - GT300 CarGuy Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 NC Blancpain GT Series Asia - GT3 Pro-Am 4 0 0 0 1 25 20th Suzuka 10 Hours 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 23rd Super Taikyu - ST-X 1 0 0 0 0 7‡ 10th‡ 2018–19 Asian Le Mans Series - GT CarGuy Racing 4 4 1 0 4 101 1st2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia - Am CarGuy Racing 2 0 1 2 1 30 6th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series - GT CarGuy Racing 4 1 1 0 2 64 2nd FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am MR Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 2020 Super GT - GT300 X Works 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC2021 Asian Le Mans Series - GT Car Guy Racing 4 1 0 0 1 31.5 6th FIA World Endurance Championship – LMGTE Am 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF Super Taikyu - ST-X 1 0 0 0 0 23‡ 7th‡ Super Taikyu - ST-Z Comet Racing 1 0 0 0 0 1‡ 16th‡ Super GT - GT300 Pacific – Car Guy Racing 5 0 0 0 0 2 27th2022 European Le Mans Series - LMGTE Car Guy Racing by Kessel Racing 5 0 0 0 2 52 6th FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Team Project 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 25th GT World Challenge Asia CarGuy Racing 8 2 4 7 6 126 1st Super GT - GT300 Pacific Car Guy Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 NC2023 Asian Le Mans Series - GT Car Guy Racing 4 0 0 0 0 1 19th GT World Challenge Asia – Pro-Am 6 0 0 0 0 18 30th FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Kessel Racing 7 0 0 0 2 58 7th European Le Mans Series - LMGTE 6 1 0 2 1 65 4th2024 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGT3 Akkodis ASP Team 8 0 0 0 0 8 27th European Le Mans Series - LMGT3 Kessel Racing 6 2 0 2 2 74 2nd 2024–25 Asian Le Mans Series - GT CarGuy Racing 4 0 0 0 0 9 20th 2025 European Le Mans Series - LMGT3 Kessel Racing 6 0 0 0 2 53 5th 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMGT3 1 0 0 0 0 8th Ligier European Series - JS P4 Pegasus Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 24th 2026 European Le Mans Series – LMGT3 Kessel Racing 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMGT3 1 0 0 0 0 10thSRO Japan Cup – GT3 AmCarGuy Racing 2 0 0 0 1 15 7th 2026–27 Asian Le Mans Series – GT CarGuy Racing * *Sources:

‡ Team standings

Complete GT World Challenge Asia results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Pts2017Car Guy RacingLamborghini Huracán GT3Pro-AmSEP1SEP2BUR1BUR2SUZ1SUZ2FUJ1FUJ2SHA1SHA2ZHE1ZHE219th122018Car Guy RacingLamborghini Huracán GT3Pro-AmSEP1SEP2BUR1BUR2SUZ1SUZ2FUJ1FUJ2SHA1SHA2ZHE1ZHE220th25 2019 CarGuy RacingFerrari 488 GT3 Am SEP1 SEP2 CHA1 CHA2 SUZ1 SUZ2 FUJ1 FUJ2 KOR1 KOR2 SHA1 SHA2 6th 302022Car Guy RacingFerrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020Pro-AmSEP1SEP2SUZ1SUZ2FUJ1FUJ2SUG1SUG2OKA1OKA22nd1532023Car Guy RacingFerrari 296 GT3Pro-AmBUR1BUR2FUJ1FUJ2SUZ1SUZ2MOT1MOT2OKA1OKA2SEP1SEP230th18

Complete Super GT results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%" ! Year ! Team ! Car ! Class ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! DC ! Pts |- | 2018 ! Car Guy Racing ! Honda NSX GT3 ! GT300 |bgcolor='#CFCFFF'|OKA15 |bgcolor='#CFCFFF'|FUJ26 |bgcolor='#CFCFFF'|SUZ21 |bgcolor=|CHA |bgcolor='#CFCFFF'|FUJ17 |bgcolor=|SUG |bgcolor='#EFCFFF'|AUTRet |bgcolor='#CFCFFF'|MOT23 ! NC ! 0 |- | 2020 ! X Works ! Audi R8 LMS EVO ! GT300 |style="background:#;"| FUJ |style="background:#;"| FUJ |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SUZ |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MOT |style="background:#;"| FUJ |style="background:#;"| SUZ |style="background:#;"| MOT |style="background:#;"| FUJ ! NC ! 0 |- | 2021 ! Pacific - Car Guy Racing !Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO 2020 !GT300 |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| OKA |style="background:#cfcfff;"| FUJ1 |style="background:#;"| SUZ |style="background:#;"| MOT1 |style="background:#cfcfff;"|SUG |style="background:#dfffdf;"|AUT |style="background:#;"|MOT2 |style="background:#cfcfff;"| FUJ2 !27th !2 |- | 2022 ! Pacific Car Guy Racing !Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO 2020 ! GT300 |bgcolor="#FFFFFF"|OKA |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"|FUJ23 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"|SUZ17 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"|FUJ12 |bgcolor="#FFFFFF"|SUZ |bgcolor="#efcfff"|SUGRet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"|AUT13 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"|MOT15 ! NC ! 0

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) + Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pos. Points 2018–19 Car Guy Racing GT Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SHA FUJ CHA SEP1st101 2019–20 Car Guy Racing GT Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SHA BEN CHA SEP2nd64 2021 Car Guy Racing GT Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 DUB1 DUB2 ABU1 ABU2 6th 31.5 2023 Car Guy Racing GT Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 DUB1 DUB2 ABU1 ABU2 19th 1 2024–25 CarGuy Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6 SEP1 SEP2 DUB1 DUB2 ABU1 ABU2 20th 9

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2019-20 MR Racing LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SIL FUJ SHA BHR COASPA LMSBHR NC 0 2021 Kessel Racing LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9L Turbo V8 SPA POR MON LMS BHR BHR NC† 0† 2022 Team Project 1 LMGTE Am Porsche 911 RSR-19 Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 SEB SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 25th 4 2023 Kessel Racing LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SEB PRT SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 7th 58 2024 Akkodis ASP Team LMGT3 Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8 QAT IMO SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ BHR 27th 8

† As Kimura was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2019 Car Guy Racing Kei Cozzolino Côme Ledogar Ferrari 488 GTE GTEAm 332 35th 5th 2020 MR Racing Vincent Abril Kei CozzolinoFerrari 488 GTE Evo GTEAm 172 DNF DNF 2021 Kessel Racing Scott Andrews Mikkel Jensen Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEAm 128 DNF DNF 2022 Kessel Racing Mikkel Jensen Frederik Schandorff Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEAm 336 45th 12th 2023 Kessel Racing Scott Huffaker Daniel Serra Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEAm 254 DNF DNF 2024 Akkodis ASP Team Jack Hawksworth Esteban Masson Lexus RC F GT3 LMGT3 279 37th 10th 2025 Kessel Racing Daniel Serra Casper Stevenson Ferrari 296 GT3 LMGT3 339 40th 8th 2026 Kessel Racing Conrad Laursen Daniel Serra Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo LMGT3 334 42nd 10thSource:

Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2022 Car Guy Racing by Kessel Racing LMGTE Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 LEC IMO MNZ CAT SPA ALG 6th 52 2023 Kessel Racing LMGTE Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 BAR LEC ARA SPA POR ALG 4th 65 2024 Kessel Racing LMGT3 Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6 CAT LEC IMO SPA MUG ALG 2nd 74 2025 Kessel Racing LMGT3 Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 5th 53 2026 Kessel Racing LMGT3 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 1st* 40*Source: * Season still in progress.

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References

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