Igor Fraga: From Gran Turismo To Super Formula Rookie

Of all the rookies in this year’s Super Formula field, arguably none faces a tougher task filling the shoes of the driver whose seat they have taken than Igor Fraga.

Born in Japan to Brazilian parents, Fraga returned to the country in 2022 after his ‘first’ career on the European single-seater ladder hit the rocks. Having spent last year as a reserve driver for PONOS Nakajima Racing, he has stepped up to a race drive following Naoki Yamamoto’s decision to step away from Super Formula at the end of last season.

Having impressed in off-season testing, expectations are high for Fraga as he embarks on his maiden Super Formula campaign with one of the category’s most famous teams.

“I’m definitely really happy to be on the Super Formula grid,” says Fraga. “It’s been something I’ve been working hard on for the past few years. But at the same time, it’s only the beginning so I have to make sure I am prepared to deliver the results. 

“It’s a big opportunity and I believe it can lead to other chances if I have a good season. It’s a turning point for me and I have to focus on using this opportunity that I have.”

Almost as well-known for his exploits in the virtual racing world as the real one, Gran Turismo esports star Fraga has taken an unconventional route to a Super Formula drive, but his CV is far from lacking. In early 2020, he beat a trio of future Formula 1 racers – Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto – to title glory in the Toyota Racing Series.

That momentum was lost with a difficult season in FIA F3 with an uncompetitive team, and while he had secured a more competitive berth for 2021, the withdrawal of a sponsor amid the COVID-19 pandemic forced Fraga on to the sidelines.

Until he tested for B-Max Racing in late 2022 ahead of the 2023 Super Formula Lights season, Fraga went 18 months driving only on Gran Turismo, the platform that had propelled him to esports fame when he won the inaugural Nations Cup title in 2018.

“I had been looking at Japan for some time,” reflects Fraga, who speaks fluent Japanese on top of English, Portuguese and some Spanish. “And with Gran Turismo being based in Japan, we knew we might be able to figure something out there, so we made the decision to move once the borders reopened [after the pandemic], which took a long time!

“Even though I was born in Japan and I lived there for 12 years, my mother, who is a Nikkei Brazilian, never became a full Japanese citizen so I had to start the process from zero, basically. Everything was a lot different because I used to live in Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture, which is on the opposite side of Japan to Tokyo. 

“I started completely afresh in Tokyo and it was a big challenge. But at least the language helped a lot, so I was able to communicate and that made things easier to sort out.” 

Fraga endured a season of mixed fortunes in Super Formula Lights as he finished fourth in the standings with a single win at Sugo. “The beginning of the season was difficult because a lot of the testing was wet, so we couldn’t play much with the set-up and it took us until the final two rounds of the season to get the car in the sweet spot,” summarises Fraga.

But instead of staying for a second season of Lights in 2024, Fraga made the unusual decision to join Nakajima as a reserve driver, with the opportunity having come up to test a Super Formula car in place at Suzuka of an injured Yamamoto at the end of 2023.

“From my side, spending a year as a reserve driver, even though it was not something I was keen to do at the beginning, I learned a lot – especially being able to speak to the engineers and the mechanics,” says Fraga of his decision, noting that it made his life much easier when he tested again for Nakajima at Suzuka at the end of last season.

If that second Suzuka run for Nakajima was a final audition to replace Yamamoto, he passed it with flying colours, setting the fifth-fastest time of the test overall and topping the final day for rookies only. February’s snow-impacted pre-season test at the same track was tougher, ending with an off at Turn 2, but that setback doesn’t appear to have dented his confidence.

“Of course I always believed in my capabilities. I’ve been in many championships in difficult situations and I’ve delivered results in many of them,” says Fraga. “If everything is right I know I can be up there, but then I still have to get the experience to ensure that the car is in the right operating window in any conditions.”

On his targets for the upcoming season, Fraga adds: “I’m not thinking too much in terms of the championship overall. But my personal goal is to be always consistently in the top 10 and scoring points, and perhaps if we have one or two race weekends when the car is more competitive, when that chance comes, I really want to make use of it.”

In any case, Fraga will have a useful benchmark in the other side of the Nakajima garage in the form of Ren Sato, who is going into his third season with the team. As reserve driver, Fraga was able to study Sato up close last year, so he knows exactly what he’s up against.

“ It was amazing to see how Ren drives – he uses very little brake, he just throws in the car into the corner and maintains the speed,” explains Fraga. “A lot of the time it works; in qualifying runs he always fully sends it, and it’s amazing to see it.

“Definitely the goal is to be close to him. Both cars were competitive in qualifying last year, so I know that if I am close to him, I will have chances to score points most of the time.”

Fraga is aware of the scale of the opportunity he has been handed, and his determination to make the most of it is clear. He’ll face tough competition for Rookie of the Year honours, but both his past success and his testing speed suggests that he’s more than up to the task.