Written by Tarun Suresh, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
It is very rare to find a couple where both partners are racing drivers, yet rarer to find one where both are champions in their respective series in the same year.
Well, you’d be surprised to hear how this remarkable feat occurred in 2024, with Sho Tsuboi and Aimi Saito being the couple in question.
Tsuboi has been the best driver in Japanese motorsports this year, and by some distance. He won both Super Formula and Super GT this year, becoming only the sixth driver to do so.
The Saitama native won both championships with a comfortable margin, considering how close title fights have gotten in the past.
If that wasn’t enough, he won the trio of races at Fuji, becoming the first driver to win three races at a circuit in the same year, and the second to win two races in the same weekend, after endurance racing legend André Lotterer.
In a season of several drivers struggling for consistency, Tsuboi finished in the top five in every race but one, and in the top three in all but two races.
His partner Aimi Saito, meanwhile, raced in the Kyojo Cup in 2024. The Kyojo Cup is a Japanese racing series started in 2017, where “women compete against each other on equal footing.”
Consider it to be a like-for-like to the global F1 Academy championship, but staged around Japanese circuits featuring Japanese drivers.
Saito had a tremendous season, finishing in the top two in five of the six races, and winning four of them.
Her qualifying pace stood out too, as Saito never qualified outside the top six, while three pole positions stood as firm evidence of the same.
Despite the minor pace differences on the grid, Saito strung together some stellar performances, made it count whenever it mattered, and trounced the field to win the title by a comfortable 38.5-points.
On the contrary, her partner Tsuboi’s season started on the back foot. In the season opener at Suzuka, he qualified 10th and finished the race 11th, despite suffering from an engine issue.
Elsewhere, Saito found more success in her season opener. She secured pole position by a fine margin of 0.037s.
Saito traded blows with rival Miki Onaga for the lead in an exciting race, but lost the lead on the straight in the final lap, crossing the chequered flag second in a battle to the finish.
Tsuboi was brought in to replace the reigning champion Ritomo Miyata, who left to race with Rodin Motorsport in Formula Two, and ELMS.
In his next race at Autopolis, though, Tsuboi showed he was a worthy replacement. He qualified sixth, climbing up to third by the time the chequered flag was flown.
A rain-soaked round 3 at Sugo ended early, and the drivers were rewarded half points. Tsuboi qualified third and kept it clean to finish third as well.
Rounds 2 and 3 of the Kyojo Cup and Round 4 of Super Formula was a special weekend for the couple.
Kyojo Cup acted as a support race for Super Formula that weekend, meaning both drivers raced at the same circuit in the same weekend.
Round 2 of the Kyojo Cup took place on Saturday, and Round 3 on Sunday, the latter a few hours before the Super Formula race.
Saito found qualifying a touch difficult for round 2, but managed to string together a good lap to qualify third, around two-tenths off pole.
After a hard-fought race, Saito took the lead of the race on lap 8. Soon after that, the safety car was brought out, with the race eventually ending under the safety car.
This gave Saito her first win of the season. Just after the race finished, the couple celebrated together, and the both of them cried tears of happiness.
"I never expected my husband to cry, so I ended up crying too," an emotional Saito recalled after the race.
Saito qualified second for the subsequent Sunday race. After yet another hard-fought battle, she took the lead in the final lap, and crossed the chequered flag for her second win.
This was not the end of the story for the couple, for Tsuboi showed the peak of his abilities around Fuji.
The joys of witnessing his wife win motivated Tsuboi’s charge on Sunday too. “I had a strong feeling that I had to win here” he remarked.
Having qualified fourth, he was in contention for the win since the start of the race. An overcut on the drivers ahead saw him exit the pits behind the drivers who pit early, but Tsuboi dispatched them on fresh rubber.
He overtook Nojiri and Oyu with ease and won the race comfortably. This race put Tsuboi second in the standings, only 9.5 points behind the leader Tomoki Nojiri.
The weekend ended with both husband and wife getting their first wins of the season in their respective series, and at the same venue on the same day, just separated for a few hours.
It was extremely wholesome and heartwarming to see Saito and Tsuboi celebrating together soon after Tsuboi crossed the chequered flag on Sunday.
Round 4 of the Kyojo Cup took place on Saito’s birthday. On the eve of her birthday, she took pole position comfortably by almost two-tenths. The race was yet another competitive one.
Despite pressure from Onaga and Rio Shirono, she managed to win yet another race, marking a special birthday gift.
“I'm relieved that my efforts have paid off. I'm happy to have won on my birthday!" an excited Saito said after the race. This also gave her a comfortable 24-point cushion over Onaga in the championship
Round 5 of Super Formula at Motegi was slightly underwhelming, considering Tsuboi’s performance at Fuji and Autopolis. He qualified eighth and finished fifth.
His title rivals Makino and Nojiri both finished ahead of him. He dropped down to third in the standings.
Round 5 of the Kyojo Cup was Saito’s worst performance of the season. A wet weather qualifying saw her qualify sixth, her worst of the season.
Despite a good start, she seemed to have lost a lot of pace by the halfway mark of the race and dropped down to eighth.
Later in the race, she spun trying to avoid a collision with Hana Burton and rejoined the race in 14th.
She finished outside the points in 12th, while the battle for the championship was back on as Onaga closed the gap to just four points.
Round 5 might have been Tsuboi’s worst performance since the season opener, but he followed it up with what was probably the best performance of his career.
He started seventh in Round 6 at Fuji, but beat Nojiri to victory comfortably and followed it up by winning round 7 from pole. The back-to-back wins put him comfortably in the lead by 14.5 points.
The Kyojo Cup’s season finale saw Aimi Saito take pole by a dominant two-and-a-half tenths despite getting caught up in traffic.
Her title rival Miki Onaga qualified second, and intended to take the win. The race started with Onaga locking up at turn one and dropping down to sixth, and then in an attempt to recover, spun around and put herself at the back of the pack.
Saito led the race from start to finish, winning out. This gave her her first Kyojo Cup Championship, as she took the title by 38.5 points.
Despite the Suzuka circuit being a favourite for the Honda-powered teams, Tsuboi’s lead did not shrink during the season finale there.
He finished both races second, ahead of both Nojiri and Makino, comfortably winning the title by a 30.5-point lead over Nojiri.
Tsuboi also won the Super GT title by 34 points, finishing in the top five in all but two races, and winning three races.
A great season from both Saito and Tsuboi saw the couple seal championships in their respective series in the same year, becoming the first couple to do so.
Their phenomenal achievements shouldn’t be ignored, for it is a rare achievement that will stand the test of time.
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