Igor Fraga

Igor Omura Fraga (born September 26, 1998 in Kanazawa) is a Japanese-born Brazilian racing driver, esports player, and member of the Red Bull Junior Team.[1] He is the incumbent Toyota Racing Series champion, winning the 2020 title by six points ahead of Liam Lawson.[2] He recently competed in the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship with Charouz Racing System.[3]

Igor Fraga
Nationality	Brazilian
Born	September 26, 1998 Kanazawa, Japan
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season	2020
Current team	Charouz Racing System
Car number	24
Starts	16 (16 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	24th in 2020
Previous series
2020 2019 2018 2017–18 2015–17	Toyota Racing Series FR European Championship U.S. F2000 National Championship NACAM Formula 4 Championship Formula 3 Brasil
Championship titles
2020 2019 2018 2017	Toyota Racing Series FIA GTC Manufacturer Series FIA GTC Nations Cup Formula 3 Brasil Academy Class

Fraga has achieved success in esports as well, winning the inaugural FIA Gran Turismo Nations Cup and McLaren Shadow Project racing series in 2018.[4] He has also competed in the 2017 Formula One eSports Series but without much success.

Career

In motorsport

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. In 2019, Fraga made his European debut in the inaugural Formula Regional European Championship, winning four races and finishing 3rd and therefore best of the non-Prema drivers.[5]

Fraga competed in the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship with Charouz Racing System, alongside Roman Staněk, David Schumacher, and Michael Belov.[6] 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.[7] He would finish the season in 24th, scoring his only point in Silverstone with Charouz. In March of that year, Fraga was named as a new signing to the Red Bull Junior Team, after winning the 2020 Toyota Racing Series beating out fellow Red Bull Junior Liam Lawson.[1] Fraga is set to drive for Hitech in the 2021 season.

In esports

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.[8][9]

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.[10] 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.[11] Fraga would win that year's Manufacturer Series championship for Toyota with teammates Rayan Derrouiche and Tomoaki Yamanaka. He would qualify for the rebooted 2020 season in the Nations Cup, and is set to participate in the Americas regional final event.[12]

Personal life

Fraga was born in Kanazawa, Japan to Brazilian parents.[13] He currently resides in Ipatinga, Brazil.[8] Fraga is a multilinguist, capable of speaking Portuguese, English, Japanese, and Spanish.[14]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2015	Fórmula 3 Brasil - Class B	Prop Car Racing	16	4	2	4	9	117	3rd
2016	Fórmula 3 Brasil		4	0	0	0	1	19	11th
2017	Fórmula 3 Brasil - Academy Class		16	10	7	7	13	190	1st
2017-18	NACAM Formula 4 Championship		18	6	5	7	12	280	2nd
2018	U.S. F2000 National Championship	Exclusive Autosport	14	0	0	0	3	213	4th
2019	Formula Regional European Championship	DR Formula by RP Motorsport	24	4	4	3	11	300	3rd
2020	Toyota Racing Series	M2 Competition	15	4	3	3	9	362	1st
	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Charouz Racing System	16					1	24th

^* Season still in progress.

Complete U.S. F2000 National Championship results

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
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	4th	213

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	DC	Points
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	24th	1

References

1. Hensby, Paul (2020-03-23). "Igor Fraga Joins Red Bull Junior Team Programme For 2020". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
2. "Igor Fraga Wins 2020 Toyota Racing Series Title in Final Race Decider". GTPlanet. 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
3. "F1 Esports finalist Igor Fraga becomes first sim racer to join FIA F3 grid | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
4. "The First Nations Cup Champion is Crowned! - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
5. "Can an Esports star end Brazil's F1 drought?". The Race. 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
6. "F1 Esports finalist Igor Fraga becomes first sim racer to join FIA F3 grid | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
7. "Red Bull junior misses F3 finale amid contract saga". Motorsport Week. 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
8. "McLaren Racing - Igor Fraga wins McLaren Shadow Project 2018". www.mclaren.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
9. "Igor Fraga earns spot on McLaren Shadow F1 Esports team". F1Esports News. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
10. Lumb, Tim. "Brazil's Igor Fraga wins GT Sport Nations Cup World Final in Monaco". Autosport.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
11. "Reigning champ Fraga in shock exit from Gran Turismo Finals". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
12. "Competitors - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
13. "McLaren Racing - Getting to know: Igor Fraga". www.mclaren.com. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
14. "Igor Fraga - USF2000.com". USF2000. Retrieved 2019-06-22.

External links

• Igor Fraga career summary at DriverDB.com