Honda drivers dominate P2 to P6
Sportsland SUGOOn Sunday 9 August, Round 8 of the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship (SF) was held at Sportsland SUGO in Miyagi Prefecture.
Round 8 Race
With temperatures significantly lower than in the previous day’s qualifying and rain threatening under overcast skies, the Honda/M-TEC runners occupied the front two rows of the starting grid. At the start, Igor Omura Fraga (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING), starting P3, made an excellent getaway and almost took P2, but with his tyres not yet up to temperature and lacking grip, he ran wide. He managed to rejoin while holding P3. Meanwhile, Kakunoshin Ohta (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING), who started P2, challenged race leader Tomoki Nojiri (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS). The pair used the Overtake System (OTS) as they battled in the opening stages, but Nojiri held the lead and the top four positions remained unchanged.
Ayumu Iwasa (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS), starting P9, moved up to P7 by the end of Lap 2 and looked for an opportunity to make further progress. When the pit window opened after Lap 13, there was movement among the midfield runners, while the leading four Honda/M-TEC runners stayed out. Ohta was the first of them to pit at the end of Lap 19, followed by Nojiri one lap later. A quick pit stop enabled Nojiri to retain the effective lead. With the leading two having pitted, Omura Fraga took over the effective lead and pushed on using OTS in an attempt to overcut them, working to extend the notional gap to Nojiri and Ohta.
On Lap 27, several cars went off the track in quick succession. Anticipating the deployment of the Safety Car (SC), Omura Fraga pitted, completed a quick tyre change and rejoined ahead of Nojiri, successfully completing the overcut. However, the SC was deployed just as Omura Fraga began his pit stop. Having completed 27 laps, he rejoined behind the SC on Lap 28. Meanwhile, Nirei Fukuzumi (Toyota) and Iwasa, who had stayed out, were already running ahead of the SC on Lap 28 when it was deployed. After making their pit stops, they crossed the control line at the end of Lap 28 ahead of the leading group, including Omura Fraga, who were circulating slowly behind the SC. As a result, Fukuzumi and Iwasa emerged from the pits in the top two positions overall.
After the SC period ended, racing resumed on Lap 36. Ohta attacked Nojiri for P4 and moved ahead on the straight on Lap 37. At the front, Fukuzumi and Iwasa engaged in an intense battle for the lead, both making use of OTS. Behind them, Omura Fraga stayed with the leading pair while conserving his OTS and waiting for an opportunity. The three continued their fierce battle, eventually using up their OTS, all the way to the final corner of the final lap. However, the order remained unchanged, with Fukuzumi taking the chequered flag ahead of Iwasa and Omura Fraga.
Among the other Honda/M-TEC runners, Ohta finished P4, Nojiri P5, Tadasuke Makino (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) P6 and Ren Sato (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) P10, with all four scoring championship points.
Rounds 9 and 10 are scheduled to take place at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture on 10–11 October.
I feel our performance varies quite significantly depending on the conditions, whether it is hot or cold, so that is something we need to work on. In the current SUPER FORMULA, conditions can change considerably from one round to another and even over the course of a single weekend, which makes it difficult to consistently fight at the front. Today, I made a good start from P9, made overtakes on track and we did everything we could with the strategy. I’m very happy with P2. I think it was a result that the whole team worked hard to achieve.
I feel our performance varies quite significantly depending on the conditions, whether it is hot or cold, so that is something we need to work on. In the current SUPER FORMULA, conditions can change considerably from one round to another and even over the course of a single weekend, which makes it difficult to consistently fight at the front. Today, I made a good start from P9, made overtakes on track and we did everything we could with the strategy. I’m very happy with P2. I think it was a result that the whole team worked hard to achieve.
To be honest, I’m frustrated because I don’t really understand why I finished P3. I felt I was having a perfect race. Ohta and Nojiri ahead of me seemed to be struggling with tyre degradation and pitted, while my pace was very strong, and the team also did a great job with the tyre change. It was very close, but I managed to rejoin ahead of Nojiri, so I thought I would be restarting from the lead. But before I knew it, I was in P3. From there, it was difficult to increase the pace while running behind other cars. I was able to stay with the top two until the end and finish very close behind them, so I think our performance was still quite good.
To be honest, I’m frustrated because I don’t really understand why I finished P3. I felt I was having a perfect race. Ohta and Nojiri ahead of me seemed to be struggling with tyre degradation and pitted, while my pace was very strong, and the team also did a great job with the tyre change. It was very close, but I managed to rejoin ahead of Nojiri, so I thought I would be restarting from the lead. But before I knew it, I was in P3. From there, it was difficult to increase the pace while running behind other cars. I was able to stay with the top two until the end and finish very close behind them, so I think our performance was still quite good.
