Iwasa takes pole, but race cancelled in wet conditions
AUTOPOLISOn 25–26 April, Round 3 of the All-Japan SUPER FORMULA Championship took place at AUTOPOLIS International Racing Course in Oita Prefecture. In qualifying on Saturday, Ayumu Iwasa (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS) set the fastest time in every session, but the race on Sunday was cancelled due to the wet conditions. The qualifying results from Round 3 will be carried over to the rescheduled race, which will be held at a later date.
Qualifying
This season, when a round is held as a single-race event, official qualifying is run as a three-stage knockout format from Q1 to Q3, with prize money awarded to the driver who secures pole position. Round 3 marked the first time this format was used this season.
AUTOPOLIS is known for a track surface that makes it extremely difficult to keep extracting performance from the tyres throughout the lap. Many drivers struggled to master the circuit, setting strong times through the middle part of the lap only to lose pace later on after taking too much out of the tyres. Iwasa, however, put together a smooth sequence of laps, topping the 12-car Q1 Group B, then narrowly setting the fastest time again in Q2, contested by the top six drivers from each of Groups A and B. He then went fastest once more in Q3, which was contested by the top five drivers from Q2.
Kakunoshin Ohta (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING), who won both races at the previous event, Rounds 1 and 2, produced a time attack in the closing stages of Q3 that looked set to match Iwasa. However, he ran slightly wide at the final corner and had to settle for P2. Tomoki Nojiri (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS) followed in P3, completing a 1-2-3 for Honda/M-TEC users. Ren Sato (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) was P7, with Tadasuke Makino (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) P8 and Igor Omura Fraga (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) P9
Race
On Sunday 26, light rain in the morning intensified to steady rainfall just before the start of the race, worsening track conditions. Following a delayed start, the race got underway at 14:48 behind the Safety Car, but before the completion of the opening lap a red flag was shown due to the deteriorating conditions. With no prospect of improvement in the weather, Round 3 was subsequently cancelled. The date and venue for the replacement race will be determined at a later stage. In accordance with this season’s regulations, the starting grid for the replacement race will be based on the qualifying results from this event.
Please refer to the link for the qualifying results and points standings.
The next event, Rounds 4 and 5 of the third meeting, is scheduled to take place at Suzuka Circuit from 22–24 May.
The most satisfying part was that the car felt good from the very first laps on Saturday morning, and we were able to refine it further into qualifying. I’d like to thank the engineers, mechanics and everyone in the team for helping extract that performance.
I was confident in the wet, and the feeling in the morning’s Free Practice on race day was also quite positive, so to be honest I really wanted to run the full race and secure solid points. When we first went out on track before the race, the conditions were still manageable and I felt it might be possible to go racing. However, with the newly resurfaced track, there was standing water in sections where you’d normally be flat out, so although it’s disappointing, I think the cancellation of the race was unavoidable.
The most satisfying part was that the car felt good from the very first laps on Saturday morning, and we were able to refine it further into qualifying. I’d like to thank the engineers, mechanics and everyone in the team for helping extract that performance.
I was confident in the wet, and the feeling in the morning’s Free Practice on race day was also quite positive, so to be honest I really wanted to run the full race and secure solid points. When we first went out on track before the race, the conditions were still manageable and I felt it might be possible to go racing. However, with the newly resurfaced track, there was standing water in sections where you’d normally be flat out, so although it’s disappointing, I think the cancellation of the race was unavoidable.
