Test and Reserve Driver Ryō Hirakawa will get an opportunity to drive in front of his home crowd when he participates in Free Practice 1 for BWT Alpine Formula One Team in Suzuka this weekend.

The Japanese driver’s appearance with Alpine was announced in January and his practice laps on Friday will be the second time he’s driven an F1 car during a Formula 1 race weekend.

Taking to the track in front of his home fans will be an emotional moment for the man from Hiroshima. Ryō has extensive knowledge of the Suzuka Circuit, and his experience will be invaluable for the Alpine team as they work on their setup for the weekend, alongside completing other tests in their usual Friday morning programme.

Since the beginning of the year, Ryō has spent time in the team’s simulator in Enstone while also participating in our Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme. His run at Suzuka follows the 19 laps he completed in FP1 for McLaren in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year, as well as his first race outing of this season - securing a fifth-place finish for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar in February.

Ryō, who turned 31 in early March, joins the BWT Alpine Formula One Team as a Le Mans 24 Hours winner - one of motorsport’s prestigious ‘triple crown’ events. The Japanese driver clinched this iconic victory on his way to securing the World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2022.

Born in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture in 1994, Ryō began his motorsport journey by winning a national karting championship before progressing to single-seaters through the Formula Toyota Racing School. He initially competed in Formula Challenge Japan before stepping up to Japanese Formula 3 in 2012. Impressively, he became champion in his debut season, taking multiple victories en route to the title.

Ryō soon established himself as a top competitor in his homeland, racing in both the Super Formula and Super GT series. At just 23 years old, he became the youngest-ever champion in the GT500 class, driving a Team Keeper TOM’S Lexus to the title in 2017.

His experience in sportscars led to a part-time switch to European competition and he made his debut at Le Mans in the same year. Over the following seasons, he balanced his Super Formula commitments with sportscar outings, ultimately securing back-to-back World Endurance Championship titles with Toyota’s GR010 Hybrid in the Hypercar class.

With over a decade of experience at the forefront of professional motorsport in Japan and Europe, the 31-year-old brings a wealth of expertise across multiple disciplines to Alpine and we look forward to his on-track running in Suzuka.