Iwasa claims first win of the season in eventful race, title fight goes down to the final round
Fuji SpeedwayA drama-filled 41-lap race at Fuji Speedway saw the Safety Car (SC) deployed three times, Ayumu Iwasa (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS) take his first win of the season, and Kakunoshin Ohta (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING), who had a chance to clinch the drivers’ title, retiring following an incident, meaning the championship will be decided at the final round.
Round 10 Race
The race got under way shortly after 3:00pm. Pole-sitter Igor Omura Fraga (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) did not get the acceleration he wanted off the line, allowing P2 starter Iwasa to close in and overtake him at Turn 2. Ohta, who passed Zak O’Sullivan (Toyota) at the start to move into P3, caught Omura Fraga at Turn 1 on Lap 4 and took P2.
On Lap 5, Yuto Nomura (San-Ei Gen with B-Max), running in the midfield, was hit by another car at Turn 2 and went off the track, prompting the first SC deployment. Nomura retired from the race.
Racing resumed on Lap 9, and when the pit window opened on Lap 11, the cars running P12 and lower began making their stops. Among the leading group, Ohta pitted from P2 on Lap 17, followed one lap later by Omura Fraga, who had been running P3. A quick stop allowed Omura Fraga to rejoin ahead of Ohta and effectively reclaim P2. However, later that lap in the final sector, Ohta, whose tyres were already up to temperature, attempted to overtake Omura Fraga and the pair made contact. Both went off the track, with Ohta’s car coming to a stop and forcing him to retire. Omura Fraga also sustained significant damage and dropped well down the order after returning to the pits.
The incident brought out the SC for a second time. In the crowded pit lane, where several cars that had yet to make their mandatory stops came in, a four-car incident occurred. Syun Koide (ThreeBond Racing), who was caught up in the accident, retired. Meanwhile, Nobuharu Matsushita, who had completed his pit stop after 16 laps, moved rapidly up the order to P2 behind Iwasa, who had pitted just before the SC was deployed and retained the lead.
When the SC came in on Lap 24, Matsushita saw the restart as an opportunity and drew alongside leader Iwasa at Turn 1, but Iwasa held on to P1. Moments later, two cars further back made heavy contact, bringing out the SC for a third time.
Racing resumed on Lap 32, with Iwasa pulling clear of Matsushita at Turn 1. Behind Iwasa, Matsushita became embroiled in an intense battle for P2 with Oyu, Makino and O’Sullivan.
Matsushita had defended P2 until the final lap, when O’Sullivan made light contact with him while taking the position. Matsushita finished P3 to claim his second podium of the season. Iwasa took the chequered flag for his first win of the season, keeping his hopes of a second consecutive championship title alive.
Ohta leads the drivers’ standings with 122 points, followed by Iwasa on 89.5 and Omura Fraga on 77, giving Honda/M-TEC drivers the top three positions. The championship will therefore be decided at the final round.
Rounds 11 and 12 are scheduled to take place at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November.
We’ve had the speed this season, but haven’t been able to turn it into wins. However, the team made a big step forward from Round 9 through to today, and I was able to give everything I had as a driver. Having said that, towards the end of the race, Matsushita and O’Sullivan looked to have very good pace from what I could see in my mirrors, so I think there’s still more we can do. I want to take that into account going into the final round. My only focus is on taking pole position and winning the final races to make it two victories in a row. As for the championship, we’ve closed the points gap and kept our hopes alive, but the gap is still significant. Rather than thinking about the points, I’m just going to focus on winning the final races.
We’ve had the speed this season, but haven’t been able to turn it into wins. However, the team made a big step forward from Round 9 through to today, and I was able to give everything I had as a driver. Having said that, towards the end of the race, Matsushita and O’Sullivan looked to have very good pace from what I could see in my mirrors, so I think there’s still more we can do. I want to take that into account going into the final round. My only focus is on taking pole position and winning the final races to make it two victories in a row. As for the championship, we’ve closed the points gap and kept our hopes alive, but the gap is still significant. Rather than thinking about the points, I’m just going to focus on winning the final races.
Our race pace was very good in Round 9, so we didn’t make any major changes to the car for today. Once the race got under way, there were several incidents ahead of me, but I managed to stay out of trouble and steadily work my way up the order. Our pace in the second stint was really strong, and I was saving the Overtake System to make a move towards the end. However, the Safety Car kept coming out, so I didn’t get the opportunity. I think we could have made better use of our strong race pace if we’d had a few more laps of racing. Towards the end, I made contact with Zak at the penultimate corner and dropped to P3. That was frustrating, but we’ll analyse everything and prepare for the next race.
Our race pace was very good in Round 9, so we didn’t make any major changes to the car for today. Once the race got under way, there were several incidents ahead of me, but I managed to stay out of trouble and steadily work my way up the order. Our pace in the second stint was really strong, and I was saving the Overtake System to make a move towards the end. However, the Safety Car kept coming out, so I didn’t get the opportunity. I think we could have made better use of our strong race pace if we’d had a few more laps of racing. Towards the end, I made contact with Zak at the penultimate corner and dropped to P3. That was frustrating, but we’ll analyse everything and prepare for the next race.
