Japanese driver Keiko Ihara will join the Mazda Prototype team for the 12 Hours of Sebring, March 17 – 19. Ihara will team with drivers Tom Long, Joel Miller and Ben Devlin in the No. 70 car. The No. 55 Mazda will be driven by full-season drivers Tristan Nunez and Jonathan Bomarito, along with Indy Lights champion and IndyCar rookie Spencer Pigot.

Sebring is the second race of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Ihara, 42, has a long history in motorsports, including being the first Asian woman to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also the first woman to earn a podium finish in a World Endurance Championship (WEC) event. (She teamed with co-drivers Gustavo Yacaman and Alex Brundle to finish third at the 6 Hours of Fuji in 2014.) Ihara has competed in three 24 Hours of Le Mans races, with a best finish of 14th overall in 2014. She has raced in a diverse number of series, including the British and French Formula 3 categories and a number of GT and Prototype categories around the world.

Ihara, a native of Tokyo, completed a private test session with the Mazda Prototype team in December at the Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla., and has also spent time with the Prototype “driver in the loop” simulator at Multimatic Motorsports in Ontario, Canada.

With Mazda, Ihara heads a comprehensive Women in Motorsports program to support and train women in the industry. Worldwide, she also plays a key role in the FIA Women in Motorsports Commission and FIA Drivers Council. Ihara teaches English to local children, and teaches university classes on media innovation.