Ohta’s back-to-back wins decide the team title Yamamoto bowing out from the series at the season end achieved yet another points finish
Suzuka Circuit
November 9 (Sat) - 10 (Sun) — The final event of the 2024 Super Formula series (R8 & R9) was held at Suzuka Circuit (Mie Pref.) and a total of 10 drivers from six teams using the Honda/M-TEC engine participated as follows:
- Tadasuke Makino #5 & Kakunoshin Ohta #6 (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING)
- Atsushi Miyake #12 (ThreeBond Racing)
- Ayumu Iwasa #15 & Tomoki Nojiri #16 (TEAM MUGEN)
- Iori Kimura #50 (San-Ei Gen with B-Max)
- Juju #53 & Hiroki Otsu #55 (TGM Grand Prix)
- Naoki Yamamoto #64 & Ren Sato #65 (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING).
Following the format from the previous event at Fuji, the Suzuka weekend featured a “one-event two-race” format staging a set of qualifying sessions and a race each on Saturday (Round 8) and Sunday (Round 9). The ninth round of the series represented the final race of the season, traditionally dubbed as the "JAF Suzuka Grand Prix", and was the 23rd meeting held since its inauguration in 1974.
Although bad weather was forecast on Sunday, it was cloudy in the morning and R9 qualifying sessions began under dry conditions from 9:15 a.m. In Q1 A-group, #64 Yamamoto marked the best time, followed by #5 Makino and #15 Iwasa, all proceeding to Q2. In Q1 B-group, #6 Ohta, #16 Nojiri and #65 Sato each advanced to Q2.
#36 Tsuboi had the chance to seal the series title by setting the 2nd best time or better in Q2, owing to the extra 2-points available for the qualifying results. However, #16 Nojiri secured pole position with #6 Ohta coming in 2nd, as two Honda/M-TEC users locked out the front row. #36 Tsuboi eventually got 3rd on the grid which meant the championship title (barely) remained open headed into the final race. #65 Sato sat in 4th grid, #64 Yamamoto 9th, and #5 Makino, who still mathematically had a chance for the title, came in 10th, with #15 Iwasa following in 11th.
On Sunday 10 November, thick clouds hung low over Suzuka Circuit in the afternoon. The ninth round of the 2024 Super Formula series, also named as JAF Grand Prix, began with the formation lap at 2:40 p.m. with ambient and road surface temperatures reported at 20℃ and 25℃ respectively.
The moment the start signal was given, #6 Ohta made a lightning start from the 2nd on the grid, got ahead of #16 Nojiri straightaway, and thrust into the lead into turn one. Behind them, #65 Sato was overtaken by #8 Fukuzumi, and #64 Yamamoto jumped up from 9th to 7th after passing two cars together.
#16 Nojiri, now running 2nd, had some difficulties in keeping pace and got passed by #36 Tsuboi at turn one on lap two, then by #8 Fukuzumi at Chicane, dropping back to 4th, and later on lap six, allowed #65 Sato to get ahead, falling further backward.
At the lap 10 point while a number of cars made their stop, #6 Ohta stayed out until lap 12 and got back on track before #36 Tsuboi, who had made his stop a lap earlier, and the pair arrived at the main straight together. Although maintaining the top position, Ohta came under a fierce attack from Tsuboi now running on warm tires. A tail-to-nose battle was imminent at Spoon Curve, however, Ohta could narrowly defend his position and then pulled away again as his tires duly came up to temperature.
#6 Ohta comfortably ran ahead of #36 Tsuboi thereafter, and went on to win the race for back-to-back victories after the eighth round held yesterday. #16 Nojiri captured a hard-earned fourth place after regaining his pace in the closing laps. Sixth place went to #64 Yamamoto who had just completed his glorious career in the Super Formula category. #5 Makino fought for the title through to the final race but struggled with his pace, letting #15 Iwasa go by on the final lap, and finished 8th in the end. As the results, #36 Tsuboi won the championship title, and #16 Nojiri ranked 2nd overall with #5 Makino following 3rd in the point ranking of the 2024 Super Formula series. #50 Kimura recorded the fastest lap of the race for the first time in his rookie year.
My car was no less than perfect in R8 which inspired me not only to win the race but also to widen the gap (from second) as big as possible. Unfortunately, a couple of SC periods took away the margin I had built until then. I was pissed off with that a little bit, but I tried to pull myself together, changed the target to the fastest lap and pushed hard all through to the end. It’s good to know that I had nothing to worry about in the race.
I started the next race (R9) with resolute determination to make another victory. My acceleration was good, I entered into turn one side-by-side with Nojiri, and things went my way thereafter. I didn’t see myself losing because the car felt as good as in the previous race. After the tire change, I struggled just a little bit on out lap. I knew Tsuboi was the toughest driver to overtake if I’d ever allowed him to get ahead of me. So, I did my utmost to defend my position. I’ll go to Daytona next week for the IMSA test. I’m glad that I can bring the good news with me there. Saying I’d just made back-to-back wins in SF feels great, doesn’t it?
My car was no less than perfect in R8 which inspired me not only to win the race but also to widen the gap (from second) as big as possible. Unfortunately, a couple of SC periods took away the margin I had built until then. I was pissed off with that a little bit, but I tried to pull myself together, changed the target to the fastest lap and pushed hard all through to the end. It’s good to know that I had nothing to worry about in the race.
I started the next race (R9) with resolute determination to make another victory. My acceleration was good, I entered into turn one side-by-side with Nojiri, and things went my way thereafter. I didn’t see myself losing because the car felt as good as in the previous race. After the tire change, I struggled just a little bit on out lap. I knew Tsuboi was the toughest driver to overtake if I’d ever allowed him to get ahead of me. So, I did my utmost to defend my position. I’ll go to Daytona next week for the IMSA test. I’m glad that I can bring the good news with me there. Saying I’d just made back-to-back wins in SF feels great, doesn’t it?
I've been running at the very top of the Japanese formula category for fifteen long years since it was called “Formula Japan” thanks to the tremendous support from all the people I’ve ever come across in the sport. I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart for every one of those people. I’ve had a firm resolution at every year’s start that this would be my last season. So, I have nothing at all to regret. But, the truth to be said, I can’t help but feel sad. After I made the announcement about my retirement, I received, and still receive, great many messages from fans on SNS, and I renewed my gratitude for their support over and over again. I only had a negative feeling about the retirement before, but now, I can accept it gracefully and positively, and that is, to my surprise, a huge reward for me. I’m really happy now, and I owe this to you all.
Oh, yes! I’m still running in the Super GT series, and looking forward to your continuous support. Thank you very much indeed!
I've been running at the very top of the Japanese formula category for fifteen long years since it was called “Formula Japan” thanks to the tremendous support from all the people I’ve ever come across in the sport. I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart for every one of those people. I’ve had a firm resolution at every year’s start that this would be my last season. So, I have nothing at all to regret. But, the truth to be said, I can’t help but feel sad. After I made the announcement about my retirement, I received, and still receive, great many messages from fans on SNS, and I renewed my gratitude for their support over and over again. I only had a negative feeling about the retirement before, but now, I can accept it gracefully and positively, and that is, to my surprise, a huge reward for me. I’m really happy now, and I owe this to you all.
Oh, yes! I’m still running in the Super GT series, and looking forward to your continuous support. Thank you very much indeed!
