Mikami Kazumi
Date of Birth: 27 August 1976
Place of Birth: Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Based in: Japan and France
About Me
While still at high school, Kazumi Mikami discovered her passion for driving through motorcycles. After gaining experience in drifting and grassroots motorsport, she made her official motorsport debut in 1999. Since then, she has competed successfully in numerous racing series, including single-seater racing and the Porsche Carrera Cup.
Throughout her career, she has achieved a number of significant milestones. In the Super Taikyu Series, she became the first female driver in the series’ history to stand on the podium. She also competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup as its first female driver worldwide, achieving strong results and setting several records along the way.
Her racing career has extended well beyond Japan. In Malaysia, she competed for two consecutive years in the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race, one of the country’s major motorsport events. She was invited from Japan to join Red Bull X1-R Racing, an all-female team formed with the support of Red Bull to promote and symbolise the advancement of women in motorsport across the region.
She also competed in the historic category of the prestigious Rallye Monte-Carlo as a member of a team led by former Formula One driver Érik Comas.
Beyond motorsport, Mikami has appeared extensively on television and in magazines and newspapers as a racing driver, motoring journalist, model and television personality. She has also appeared in television commercials for brands including Red Bull and X1-R, which were broadcast across several Asian countries.
Mikami has also worked as a driving instructor and has been invited to numerous automotive events as both a guest and an instructor. Among these experiences, she had the opportunity to appear alongside former England football star David Beckham. She has also worked professionally as a model.
In 2008, following her participation in the Rallye Monte-Carlo, Mikami relocated her base to Paris. Having experienced considerable difficulty learning French herself, she became determined to create a high-quality French language school. In February 2010, she founded Ensemble en Français, an online French language school, at a time when online education was still relatively uncommon.
She subsequently took a break from racing and focused on running her online French language school and international trading businesses, while travelling frequently between Japan and other countries.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mikami witnessed the arrival of large numbers of Ukrainian refugees in France. Wanting to find a meaningful way to help, she launched a humanitarian initiative through her online school, providing free French lessons to Ukrainian refugees.
In April 2023, Mikami returned to competitive motorsport after a long absence. She currently competes in the Super Taikyu Series and, in 2025, received the Best Female Driver Award in recognition of her performance.
Lectures and Speaking Engagements
She shares messages about the importance
of safe and eco-friendly driving,
as well as the importance of having dreams
and goals in life.
Selected Events & Organisations
Japan Football Association (JFA) – Yume Sensei Project, Special Instructor
Volvo
Toyota
Porsche Exciting Meeting
Oguri Hangan Festival
West Nippon Expressway
Events organised by local governments and municipalities
Management Agency
