Nobuharu Matsushita takes P2 podium, Kakunoshin Ohta finishes P7 in the points
Suzuka CircuitOn Saturday 23 May 2026, Round 4 of the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship (SF) was held at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture. In changing weather conditions, Nobuharu Matsushita (DELiGHTWORKS RACING) claimed a P2 podium for the Honda/M-TEC runners, while Kakunoshin Ohta (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) finished P7.
Round 4 race
The 31-lap race got underway in dry conditions, with strong winds, dark clouds overhead, an air temperature of 20°C and a track temperature of 24°C. Pole-sitter Ayumu Iwasa held the lead into Turn 1, followed by Tomoki Nojiri in P2. Yuto Nomura, starting P3, lost ground at the start, while Syun Koide, who had started P8, also dropped down the order after an engine stall. Meanwhile, points leader Kakunoshin Ohta made a strong start from P12 and began gaining positions in the early stages.
When the pit window opened on lap 8, seven cars, including Ohta, made their pit stops. Ohta aimed to undercut the leading group that had stayed out, trying to gain positions by setting strong lap times before they came in.
However, rain began to fall midway through the race, and the situation changed significantly when a wet track was declared on lap 11. At this point, 12 cars stayed out and 11 cars changed tyres, while Ren Sato (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) returned to the garage with a gearshift issue and retired.
The first safety car was deployed on lap 18 following an accident at the high-speed 130R corner. Many of the leading cars that had yet to change tyres came into the pits and opted for dry tyres. However, while they waited for the safety car period to end, the track gradually became more slippery. When the race restarted on lap 23, Igor Omura Fraga lost balance at the exit of Turn 2 and crashed, while Nojiri also spun and became stranded in the gravel, bringing out a second safety car.
Many teams switched to wet tyres, while some stayed out on dry tyres, a decision that ultimately proved decisive. As the recovery of the two stranded cars took time and the safety car period was extended, the rain stopped and the track quickly began to dry.
The race restarted on lap 28 with four laps remaining. By this point, track conditions had already shifted back in favour of dry tyres.
Nobuharu Matsushita, who had stayed out on dry tyres, moved up to P3 at Turn 1 immediately after the restart, then climbed to P2 at 130R. He held that position until the final lap, delivering a podium finish for the team in its first year of competition.
Ohta, who had switched to wet tyres, finished P7, with Tadasuke Makino P11 and Iwasa P13.
The first pit stop took longer than expected, and I thought, “Maybe that’s it for us.” But I reset my mindset and told myself that, as a new team, there would still be something to gain even if we were running P15. Maybe that helped bring some luck our way.
As for staying out, I was told “box!” just before the pit entry, but it was too late to come in. It wasn’t really a strategy; we simply had no choice but to stay out on dry tyres. But that is racing. For me personally, this is my first podium in three years, and it will also give the team a big boost in motivation. I think the fans who support me are happy too, so it was a really good race.
The first pit stop took longer than expected, and I thought, “Maybe that’s it for us.” But I reset my mindset and told myself that, as a new team, there would still be something to gain even if we were running P15. Maybe that helped bring some luck our way.
As for staying out, I was told “box!” just before the pit entry, but it was too late to come in. It wasn’t really a strategy; we simply had no choice but to stay out on dry tyres. But that is racing. For me personally, this is my first podium in three years, and it will also give the team a big boost in motivation. I think the fans who support me are happy too, so it was a really good race.
.That is racing. I am not feeling pessimistic. We struggled in qualifying, but in the race I was able to finish ahead of Iwasa, who is likely to be my biggest rival in the championship, and I did everything I could. It would have been better if I had been able to stay out in the rain, but in reality I couldn’t. The track was slippery and the car was moving around, so I made the decision myself to pit. The result wasn’t there, but I think the content was very good, and it feels almost like a win. I have every confidence that if we can run normally, we can definitely win, so I will reset and move on.
.That is racing. I am not feeling pessimistic. We struggled in qualifying, but in the race I was able to finish ahead of Iwasa, who is likely to be my biggest rival in the championship, and I did everything I could. It would have been better if I had been able to stay out in the rain, but in reality I couldn’t. The track was slippery and the car was moving around, so I made the decision myself to pit. The result wasn’t there, but I think the content was very good, and it feels almost like a win. I have every confidence that if we can run normally, we can definitely win, so I will reset and move on.
