Photo: ACI Sport
Taito Kato will warm up for his rookie FIA Formula 3 Championship campaign with ART Grand Prix by racing for the team in Formula Regional Middle East.
The 18-year-old Japanese racer will contest three rounds out of four in the FIA regional trophy, missing the season finale at Losail on February 11-13 due to it clashing with F3’s sole pre-season test at Barcelona.
It will be Kato’s second time racing in FRME, having also been part of ART GP’s line-up in the Middle East last year. After winning the 2024 French Formula 4 title as a rookie, Kato stepped up to FRegional for a double programme. He came 12th in FRME with one podium, and finished in the top three twice en route to seventh in the FRegional European Championship.
“I’m so excited to be competing in the FRME with ART GP. A new challenge awaits me, but I will give my best performance together with my team,” said Kato.
His last FRegional mileage came two months ago when he contested the FIA FRegional World Cup-awarding Macau Grand Prix with ART GP. In the opening free practice session he was fastest, but could not quite maintain that frontrunning pace. He was eighth in the first qualifying session, fourth in FP2 and Q2, and finished fifth in both the qualification and main race.
ART GP’s team principal Sebastien Philippe said returning to FRME “allows Taito to start his 2026 season in a competitive environment before moving on to his FIA F3 commitments”.
Kato is a Honda junior, and the Japanese automobile manufacturer has announced the 2026 programmes of the other drivers it supports in junior single-seaters.
Kotato Shimbara, who came fourth in Japanese F4 last year with two wins and three poles, will step up to the F3-level Super Formula Lights with B-MAX Racing. The team will run Sho Momose and Kazuma Kurosawa in Japanese F4, with Momose having come sixth in 2025 with two podiums while Kurosawa graduates from the Honda Racing School to Honda junior status.
Kota Tsuchihashi is the latest winner of the HRS scholarship, but will not be a Honda junior as he is sent to race in French F4.