João Paulo de Oliveira
João Paulo Lima de Oliveira is a Brazilian professional racing driver currently competing in the Japanese Super GT series. He is regarded as one of the most successful racing drivers to race in Japan in the last decade. JP, as he is known, has won in every category he competed in. After becoming German F3 champion in 2003 in convincing form winning 13 out of 16 races, he arrived in Japan in 2004 and took the Japanese F3 title in 2005 with another impressive 7 wins. From there, JP joined Nissan as their official factory driver for the next 13 years in Super GT and also Super Formula, where he became champion in 2010. Constantly winning and battling for titles in both Japan’s top categories, he is known for his speed and very in-depth ability for car development.
Racing career
Born in São Paulo, de Oliveira competed kart racing for only one year in 1997, then he moved to Formula Ford and Formula Chevrolet Brazilian national championships in 1998.After 1999, he competed in several Formula Three championships, and won the 1999 South American Formula Three, 2003 German Formula Three, and 2005 Japanese Formula Three championships.
In 2006, De Oliveira debuted in the Super GT with a Hasemi Nissan Z GT500. He also entered the last round of the Formula Nippon with 5Zigen.
The Brazilian continued as a Nissan Super GT driver with Kondo and Impul. He claimed nine wins and 19 podiums, finishing runner-up in the 2015 season and fourth in 2012.
He also drove in Formula Nippon for Kondo in 2007 and 2008. After skipping 2009, he returned in 2010 with Impul, which also used Toyota engines. He won ten races and earned 23 podiums, winning one title in 2010 and finishing runner-up in 2014. He retired from formula racing after the 2016 season.
He made his World Touring Car Championship debut at the 2009 FIA WTCC Race of Japan for SUNRED Engineering.
Paulo de Oliveira drove as a wildcard entry in the finale round of the 2019 World Touring Car Cup at Sepang International Circuit in a Honda Civic Type R TCR run by KCMG. He qualified 13th with a time of 2:14.746. In race one, de Oliveira's experience of the track allowed him to fire his way through the field and eventually into 5th overall, eventually setting the fastest lap while even assisting championship contender Esteban Guerrieri. He dropped to 18th in race two which was followed by a retirement in race 3 on lap 10, from 25th on the grid. His fifth place is the best position a wildcard driver had finished in 2019.
Racing record
Career summary
† As de Oliveira was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. As de Oliveira was a wildcard entry in the WTCR, he was not eligible for points.* Season still in progress.
Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
| 2006 | Team 5Zigen | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | SUZ | AUT | FUJ | SUG | MOT | SUZ 8 | NC | 0 | ||
| 2007 | Kondō Racing | FUJ Ret | SUZ 14 | MOT 8 | OKA 4 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 6 | SUG Ret | MOT 8 | SUZ 3 | 8th | 18 | ||
| 2008 | Kondō Racing | FUJ Ret | SUZ Ret | MOT 9 | OKA 11 | SUZ 4 | SUZ 5 | MOT 3 | MOT 3 | FUJ 1 | FUJ 8 | SUG 6 | 6th | 33 |
| 2010 | Team Impul | SUZ 2 | MOT 1 | FUJ 3 | MOT 6 | SUG 11 | AUT 2 | SUZ 4 | SUZ 1 | 1st | 47.5 | |||
| 2011 | Team Impul | SUZ 6 | AUT 4 | FUJ 4 | MOT 1 | SUZ C | SUG DSQ | MOT 9 | MOT 3 | 3rd | 28 | |||
| 2012 | Team Impul | SUZ 3 | MOT 2 | AUT Ret | FUJ 6 | MOT 1 | SUG 6 | SUZ 4 | SUZ Ret | 5th | 34.5 | |||
| 2013 | Lenovo Team Impul | SUZ 6 | AUT 4 | FUJ 6 | MOT 4 | SUG Ret | SUZ 3 | SUZ 17 | 5th | 19 | ||||
| 2014 | Lenovo Team Impul | SUZ 7 | FUJ 1 | FUJ 2 | FUJ 14 | MOT 1 | AUT 3 | SUG Ret | SUZ 1 | SUZ 4 | 2nd | 39.5 | ||
| 2015 | Lenovo Team Impul | SUZ 4 | OKA 5 | FUJ 1 | MOT 3 | AUT 5 | SUG 7 | SUZ Ret | SUZ 3 | 4th | 34 | |||
| 2016 | ITOCHU ENEX Team Impul | SUZ 10 | OKA 19 | FUJ 1 | MOT Ret | OKA 8 | OKA 5 | SUG Ret | SUZ 8 | SUZ 4 | 7th | 15.5 | ||
| 2018 | Vantelin Team TOM'S | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT 18 | OKA | SUZ | 23rd | 0 |
Complete Super GT results
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
| 2006 | Hasemi Motorsport | Nissan Z | GT500 | SUZ 9 | OKA 4 | FUJ 12 | SEP 7 | SUG 13 | SUZ 8 | MOT 11 | AUT 8 | FUJ 8 | 15th | 32 |
| 2007 | Kondō Racing | Nissan Z | GT500 | SUZ Ret | OKA 15 | FUJ Ret | SEP 1 | SUG 10 | SUZ 10 | MOT 5 | AUT Ret | FUJ 5 | 10th | 34 |
| 2008 | Kondō Racing | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | SUZ 5 | OKA 8 | FUJ 11 | SEP 1 | SUG 8 | SUZ 7 | MOT 14 | AUT 16 | FUJ 15 | 14th | 34 |
| 2009 | Kondō Racing | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 1 | SUZ 8 | FUJ 4 | SEP 5 | SUG 13 | SUZ 11 | FUJ 13 | AUT 3 | MOT 11 | 8th | 48 |
| 2010 | Kondō Racing | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | SUZ 1 | OKA 12 | FUJ 8 | SEP 9 | SUG 5 | SUZ Ret | FUJ C | MOT 10 | 10th | 32 | |
| 2011 | Impul | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 1 | FUJ 14 | SEP 15 | SUG 13 | SUZ 3 | FUJ 2 | AUT 10 | MOT 9 | 5th | 49 | |
| 2012 | Impul | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 10 | FUJ 5 | SEP 5 | SUG Ret | SUZ 4 | FUJ 1 | AUT 10 | MOT 10 | 4th | 45 | |
| 2013 | Calsonic Team Impul | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 6 | FUJ 5 | SEP 1 | SUG Ret | SUZ 4 | FUJ 6 | AUT Ret | MOT 13 | 9th | 46 | |
| 2014 | Calsonic Team Impul | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 3 | FUJ 1 | AUT 3 | SUG 9 | FUJ 8 | SUZ 10 | BUR 3 | MOT 13 | 6th | 60 | |
| 2015 | Calsonic Team Impul | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 7 | FUJ 2 | CHA 4 | FUJ 3 | SUZ 3 | SUG 11 | AUT 2 | MOT 4 | 2nd | 74 | |
| 2016 | Calsonic Team Impul | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 5 | FUJ 11 | SUG Ret | FUJ 1 | SUZ Ret | CHA 4 | MOT 7 | MOT 8 | 8th | 43 | |
| 2017 | Kondō Racing | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 10 | FUJ 12 | AUT 9 | SUG Ret | FUJ 13 | SUZ 5 | CHA Ret | MOT 12 | 16th | 12 | |
| 2018 | Kondō Racing | Nissan GT-R | GT500 | OKA 6 | FUJ 13 | SUZ 9 | CHA Ret | FUJ 6 | SUG 6 | AUT 7 | MOT 10 | 14th | 23 | |
| 2019 | D'station Racing AMR | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | GT300 | OKA Ret | FUJ 27 | SUZ Ret | CHA 19 | FUJ 11 | AUT 18 | SUG 24 | MOT 17 | NC | 0 | |
| 2020 | Kondo Racing | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 | GT300 | FUJ 4 | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | 4th* | 8* |
* Season still in progress.
Complete World Touring Car Championship results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
| 2009 | SUNRED Engineering | SEAT León 2.0 TFSI | BRA 1 | BRA 2 | MEX 1 | MEX 2 | MAR 1 | MAR 2 | FRA 1 | FRA 2 | ESP 1 | ESP 2 | CZE 1 | CZE 2 | POR 1 | POR 2 | GBR 1 | GBR 2 | GER 1 | GER 2 | ITA 1 | ITA 2 | JPN 1 23 | JPN 2 19 | MAC 1 | MAC 2 | NC | 0 |
American open–wheel racing results
IndyCar Series
Complete World Touring Car Cup results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | DC | Points |
| 2019 | KCMG | Honda Civic Type R TCR | MAR 1 | MAR 2 | MAR 3 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | HUN 3 | SVK 1 | SVK 2 | SVK 3 | NED 1 | NED 2 | NED 3 | GER 1 | GER 2 | GER 3 | POR 1 | POR 2 | POR 3 | CHN 1 | CHN 2 | CHN 3 | JPN 1 | JPN 2 | JPN 3 | MAC 1 | MAC 2 | MAC 3 | MAL 1 5 | MAL 2 18 | MAL 3 Ret | NC‡ | 0‡ |
‡ As de Oliveira was a Wildcard entry, he was ineligible to score points.