Photo: Super Formula Lights

Yuto Nomura won all four races in Super Formula Lights’ fourth round of 2025 at Sportsland Sugo to build a gap at the top of the standings.

The Honda junior was the driver to beat throughout last weekend, starting with practice in which he led Kaylen Frederick by 0.248 seconds and the same gap covered second to sixth.

Next up was qualifying, and in Q1 took race one pole by 0.301s over Zachary David. He was just 0.024s faster than Yuki Sano, who had a 0.019s gap to Frederick.

Nomura had a 0.3s advantage again in Q2 for race two pole, with Sano denying David second by 0.002s. Esteban Masson was a further 0.059s behind, and quicker than Frederick by 0.001s.

Race one was bland, with Nomura making a great start and winning unopposed. Sano and Rikuto Kobayashi, from fifth, got up to second and third in the first corners but only Sano was near the leader’s pace. Masson overtook Frederick for fifth on lap two and the top 10 was settled.

Nomura had to cover the inside line at the start of race two, and exiting the opening corner David and Masson collided. Masson then went off at turn four, and David did one lap before retiring.

Thr safety car appeared on lap two, then released the field on lap seven. Nomura led home Sano again, and Yuga Furutani was promoted onto the podium by the lap one chaos while Kobayashi jumped to fourth.

Frederick lost two spots in the first two laps, and the only overtakes after that were outside the points positions.

Nomura also started from pole in race three, in which he built a 2.58s lead in the first six laps before Sano closed back in. It was down to 0.8s on lap 16 before Nomura responded, going a second clear before last-lap traffic meant Sano finished 0.5s behind.

Kobayashi had a slow start from third yet kept the position, and Yusuke Mitsui spun into the path of Kazuhisa Urabe exiting turn two yet both could continue and Mitsui came 0.135s shy of taking eighth from Reimei Ito.

Race four was a rescheduling of the Autopolis’s cancelled race three, and the front row was the same.

Sano jumped the start slightly and got on the inside of Nomura down the pit straight, and tried keeping his nose there into turn one. Nomura cut off the line though to stay ahead.

A five-second penalty ended Sano’s victory hopes, but by finishing 0.94s behind Nomura on-the-road he did enough to maintain second. They were 0.342s apart mid-race.

Furutani started and finished third, ahead of Mitsui.

Results round-up
Race 1 (26 laps)
1 Yuto Nomura B-MAX Racing 32m21.980s
2 Yuki Sano TOM’S +1.814s
3 Rikuto Kobayashi TOM’S +13.181s
4 Zachary David B-MAX Racing +14.202s
5 Esteban Masson TOM’S +14.962s
6 Kaylen Frederick B-MAX Racing +15.979s
7 Yusuke Mitsui Delightworks Racing +16.423s
8 Kazuhisa Urabe B-MAX Racing +21.837s
9 Yuga Furutani TOM’S +29.044s
10 Reimei Ito LM Corsa +31.092s
Pole: Nomura, 1m12.568s
Fastest lap: Nomura, 1m14.088s

Race 2 (19 laps)
1 Nomura 28m11.612s
2 Sano +1.173s
3 Furutani +7.168s
4 Kobayashi +8.195s
5 Mitsui +8.513s
6 Urabe +12.200s
7 Frederick +13.344s
8 Ito +18.637s
9 Nobuhiro Imada B-MAX Racing +42.918s
10 “Dragon” B-MAX Racing +52.369s
P: Nomura, 1m12.554s
FL: Sano, 1m14.016s

Race 3 (19 laps)
1 Nomura 23m33.080s
2 Sano +0.504s
3 Kobayashi +5.675s
4 Masson +10.553s
5 David +13.021s
6 Frederick +13.603s
7 Furutani +14.369s
8 Ito +26.138s
9 Mitsui +26.273s
10 Imada +53.055s
FL: Nomura, 1m13.789s

Race 4 (19 laps)
1 Nomura 23m34.444s
2 Sano +5.940s
3 Furutani +6.882s
4 Mitsui +11.546s
5 Kobayashi +12.377s
6 Urabe +17.568s
7 Masson +18.100s
8 David +18.945s
9 Ito +20.745s
10 Frederick +21.624s
FL: Sano, 1m13.903s

Championship standings
1 Nomura 95   2 Sano 81   3 Kobayashi 48   4 Frederick 34   5 David 22   6 Masson 21   7 Furutani 21   8 Mitsui 14   9 Urabe 5   10 Ito 1

The post Nomura breaks clear in SF Lights title fight with four Sugo wins appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: FRJC

Kiyoshi Umegaki took the Formula Regional Japanese Championship lead by winning twice at Sportsland Sugo last weekend.

Ponos Racing’s Kento Omiya was quickest in practice, leading TOM’S title contenders Tokiya Suzuki and Umegaki by 0.1 and 0.189 seconds respectively.

Erstwhile points leader Suzuki topped qualifying, beating Umegaki to race one pole by 0.189s and race three pole by 0.139s (with his second-best laptime) in Q1. In Q2 he became the only driver to break into the 1m16s, with Umegaki 0.272s behind and securing second by just 0.004s over Omiya.

B-MAX Racing’s Zhanbin Jia qualified fourth for all three races, and “Yugo” was a non-qualifier due to being over 7.7s off the pace but still raced.

Suzuki built a lead so quickly in race one that he was able to spend a considerable portion of the first two laps weaving to warm his tyres.

Omiya passed Umegaki, and on lap four the trio bunched up as Yu Oda got beached in a gravel trap and the safety car appeared.

Suzuki weaved again after racing resumed on lap seven, and Omiya went deep at turn one and almost conceded second.

The next moment of drama was on lap 11, as Yutaka Toriba went slightly off at turn one and dropped from fifth to seventh before spinning at turn three as he tried reclaiming a position. He spun again on the penultimate lap.

Suzuki won by 7.62s, while Umegaki stuck with Omiya who had a slight off on lap 15 but was still able to finish the 22-lap race 0.563s ahead.

Suzuki was late to launch in race two, and Umegaki was alongside him on the inside before the opening corner. He got fully ahead by turn two.

Umegaki had to defend down the pit straight as lap two began, and Suzuki had a look down the inside at turn one. He could not do the same next time by due to Omiya being close behind, and he then made a mistake at turn two.

The top two began gapping Omiya on lap seven, and Suzuki remained in Umegaki’s slipstream. On lap 11 he dived past at Horseback corner, but went too deep and Umegaki immediately reclaimed the lead.

Umegaki was defensive as lap 12 began, and into Horseback on lap 16 but locked up. Suzuki made a failed turn one lunge on lap 18, and did not attack again.

Omiya finished 3.6s behind, and Jia soaked up pressure from Toriba before he had to defend from Oda late on.

Umegaki earned his fifth win and the points lead in race three. Suzuki had a big gap on the formation lap so his tyres had cooled by the time the other drivers lined up for the start, and with an awful start he dropped behind Umegaki and Omiya.

They ran as a trio until Umegaki pulled away slightly in the race’s second half, while Oda passed Inotsume into turn one on lap four then hunted down Jia before taking fourth from him at turn one on lap 14.

Inotsume held off Irie from lap nine until the final lap when he got past despite going off before turn three.

Results round-up
Race 1 (22 laps)
1 Tokiya Suzuki TOM’S 30m52.645s
2 Kento Omiya Ponos Racing +7.620s
3 Kiyoshi Umegaki TOM’S +8.183s
4 Zhanbin Jia B-MAX Racing +26.455s
5 Anna Inotsume Hitotsuyama Racing +27.065s
6 Hideaki Irie Fujita Pharmacy Racing +32.516s
7 Yutaka Toriba Aiwin +1m26.174s
8 “Yugo” N-Speed +1 lap
Ret Yu Oda Rn-sports
Pole: Suzuki, 1m17.231s
Fastest lap: Suzuki, 1m17.693s

Race 2 (22 laps)
1 Umegaki 28m42.983s
2 Suzuki +1.191s
3 Omiya +3.648s
4 Jia +30.948s
5 Toriba +31.666s
6 Oda +32.024s
7 Irie +36.518s
9 Inotsume +52.976s
9 “Yugo” +1 lap
P: Suzuki, 1m16.802s
FL: Suzuki, 1m17.677s

Race 3 (22 laps)
1 Umegaki 28m37.706s
2 Omiya +1.769s
3 Suzuki +2.224s
4 Oda +27.599s
5 Jia +38.070s
6 Irie +42.571s
7 Inotsume +43.017s
8 Toriba +43.261s
9 “Yugo” +1 lap
P: Suzuki, 1m17.439s
FL: Suzuki, 1m17.574s

Championship standings
1 Umegaki 185   2 Suzuki 178.5   3 Omiya 145.5   4 Kazuhisa Urabe 86   5 Toriba 60   6 Oda 59.5   7 Jia 55   8 Inotsume 51   9 Chenghua Lin 44   10 Irie 43

The post Umegaki takes FRegional Japan points lead by winning twice at Sugo appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Japanese F4

Toyota junior Yuki Sano won two Japanese Formula 4 races at Sportsland SUGO, although only got points for one of his victories.

It marked a return to form for Sano, who won the season opener from pole then went two rounds without a top-five finish. Last weekend he stepped up to Formula Regional Japan at Fuji Speedway and made an immediate impact by taking pole and victory in both races. He hoped that would provide momentum for his F4 campaign, and it proved to be the case.

OTG Motor Sports’ Kenta Kumagai was the surprise pacesetter in the first set of practice sessions by 0.007 seconds over Honda junior Yuto Nomura, then in the wet conditions of the second group of sessions Nomura led Toyota junior Tokiya Suzuki by 0.546s.

Sano came to the fore in qualifying, which was also wet, setting a 1m42.135s to take race one pole by 0.274s. Ponos Racing’s Kento Omiya was second fastest, with team-mate Rintaro Sato and Bionic Jack Racing’s Ryo Shirasaki the only others within a second of pole.

Drivers’ second-best laptimes set race two’s grid, and Sano claimed pole again. A 1m42.433s put him 0.222s ahead of Omiya and 0.833s clear of fellow Toyota junior Kazuhisa Urabe. Honda’s points-leading junior Ryota Horachi qualified seventh and fifth for the two races.

The track was still sodden and visibility was poor when race one began, so the safety car led the field for four laps. “Yugo” retired in the pits at the end of lap one.

When green flag action began, Sano was brave enough to brake late into turn one despite not knowing how much grip he would have at racing speeds. Shirasaki spun a few corners later, then lost another place to a great around-the-outside move by Kumagai.

The top three of Sano, Omiya and Sato pulled away from the rest of the field, and on lap six Makio Saito spun but got going again so no yellow flags were required. At the final corner Sato swept past Omiya for second.

On lap eight their battle was paused by the safety car returning so spinner “Kentaro” could have his car cleared. The field was released again on the final lap, and Sano kept Sato at bay to win.

Omiya was gapped in third, Urabe had to hold off Suzuki and Toyota junior Kiyoshi Umegaki took sixth from Nomura after an agressive side-by-side battle. Horachi only had two points taken out of his lead by finishing eighth. Shouma Arimura was a few places behind before spinning out.

The 34-car field was split into two on Sunday, as it remained wet, with the drivers usually fighting to top the independent classification getting their own race. They got to lap five of running behind the safety car before red flags waved and the race ended with worsening rain and half-points being awarded.

The Championship class fared even worse, with just one-and-a-half laps behind the safety car before red flags terminated proceedings and made it a points-free race.

Results round-up
Race 1 (12 laps)
1 Yuki Sano TGR-DC RS 30m04.086s
2 Rintaro Sato Ponos Racing +0.575s
3 Kento Omiya Ponos Racing +2.826s
4 Kazuhisa Urabe TGR-DC RS +5.237s
5 Tokiya Suzuki TGR-DC RS +5.543s
6 Kiyoshi Umegaki TGR-DC RS +6.775s
7 Yuto Nomura HFDP +9.467s
8 Ryota Horachi HFDP +10.396s
9 Kotaro Shimbara Kageyama Racing +10.980s
10 Tosei Moriyama Helm Motorsports +12.129s
Pole: Sano, 1m42.135s
Fastest lap: Omiya, 1m43.282s

Race 2 [Independents only] (3 laps)
1 Nobuhiro Imada B-MAX Racing 9m09.698s
2 “Dragon” B-MAX Racing +1.331s
3 Ken Alex Buzz Racing +4.208s
4 Isao Nakashima Rn-sports +5.618s
5 Masayuki Ueda Rn-sports +7.619s
6 Makio Saito Akiland Racing +10.285s
7 Shoichiro Akamatsu Eagle Sports +11.402s
8 Masayoshi Oyama Akiland Racing +13.326s
9 “Kentaro” Field Motorsports +15.903s
10 Hachiro Osaka Dr. Dry Racing Team +17.241s
P: Imada, 1m48.553s
FL: Yutaka Toriba, 2m46.347s

Race 3 [Championship class entrants only] (1 lap)
1 Sano 3m03.408s
2 Omiya +0.720s
3 Urabe +1.735s
4 Nomura +3.004s
5 Horachi +4.029s
6 Sato +5.003s
7 Suzuki +6.189s
8 Shimbara +7.641s
9 Moriyama +8.430s
10 Umegaki +9.981s
P: Sano, 1m42.433s

Championship standings
1 Horachi 95   2 Nomura 93   3 Shimizu 87   4 Moriyama 74   5 Sano 65   6 Shimbara 59   7 Omiya 40   8 Umegaki 34   9 Sato 36   10 Urabe 27

The post Toyota junior Yuki Sano hits winning form on wet Japanese F4 return appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Super Formula Lights

There were three different winners in round two of Super Formula Lights’ season at Sportsland SUGO.

The 15-car field had four hours-and-48 minute of practice running over Thursday and Friday, although Togo Suganami, Daiki Sasaki and Masami Kageyama left after Thursday’s session.

Toda Racing’s Souta Arao was fastest, setting a 1m13.378s to lead TOM’S driver Jin Nakamura by 0.139 seconds and B-MAX Racing’s Syun Koide by 0.291s. The top eight were covered by 0.812s.

Two 10-minute qualifying sessions followed on Saturday morning, and it was super close at the top in both.

Koide led B-MAX’s Kaylen Frederick and Rin Arakawa by 0.072s and 0.076s respectively in Q1, with Nakamura 0.18s behind in fourth and just 0.49s between pole and eighth place. Frederick topped Q2 by 0.012s over Nakamura, and Arao was 0.126s off pole in third.

Later on Saturday was race one, which Koide won. He leapt away at the start while Frederick came under immediate pressure. Nakamura passed Arakawa for third, and Seita Nonaka cleared Arao and Rikuto Kobayashi.

Nonaka overtook Yuga Furutani for fifth on lap two, and Koide grew his lead to a second on lap three. By lap 16 it stood at 8.9s, but over the remaining 10 laps he backed off and his gap was 4.094s at the finish.

On lap eight Kobayashi passed Arao down the pit straight but then went off at turn one and returned to the eighth place he had been occupying, and Nakamura thought about passing Frederick around turn one on lap 14 as a queue formed behind them.

A lap later he cleared Frederick before reaching the corner, and Arakawa and Nonaka did the same to Frederick down the pit straight next time by. It turned out Frederick had a rear-left puncture, and he was soon headed to the pits to retire.

After that the main action was Arao attacking Furutani for fifth, and even though the latter locked up under pressure he did not lose position.

Sunday was very wet, and race two started behind the safety car. A lap three spin for Makoto Fujiwara meant green flags did not wave until lap six, and Frederick lost the lead to Nakamura at turn three by running very wide. Nakamura sprinted away in the spray, winning the 18-lap encounter by 12.107s, with Frederick soaking up pressure from Arao until the latter went off on lap 16 and dropped behind Koide.

On the final lap Koide tried passing Frederick at Horseback Corner but was run off the track by the American, losing 20s and finishing eighth. Arao passed Frederick at the next corner to finish second, and a five-second penalty demoted Frederick to fifth.

Race one’s results set race three’s grid. Nakamura made a slow start from second and Koide then had wheelspin, so Nonaka passed both and Arakawa around the outside to lead. Furutani went for third at turn three but slid off and returned to fifth. Kobayashi passed him on lap two, then the order went unchanged and on lap seven the safety car appeared due to foggy conditions. It stayed out until the finish.

Results round-up
Race 1 (26 laps)
1 Syun Koide B-MAX Racing 33m13.506s
2 Jin Nakamura TOM’S +4.094s
3 Rin Arakawa B-MAX Racing +5.931s
4 Seita Nonaka TOM’S +6.801s
5 Yuga Furutani TOM’S +7.236s
6 Souta Arao Toda Racing +7.932s
7 Rikuto Kobayashi TOM’S +8.272s
8 Nobuhiro Imada B-MAX Racing +44.275s
9 “Dragon” B-MAX Racing +57.149s
10 Makoto Fujiwara B-MAX Racing +1m13.846s
Pole: Koide, 1m13.260s
Fastest lap: Koide, 1m14.466s

Race 2 (18 laps)
1 Nakamura 31m16.226s
2 Arao +12.107s
3 Kobayashi +13.328s
4 Arakawa +14.735s
5 Kaylen Frederick B-MAX Racing +17.893s
6 Furutani +18.377s
7 Nonaka +20.254s
8 Koide +33.195s
9 “Dragon” +51.361s
10 Imada +1m00.359s
P: Frederick, 1m13.025s
FL: Nakamura, 1m32.093s

Race 3 (16 laps)
1 Nonaka 30m27.157s
2 Koide +2.619s
3 Nakamura +3.939s
4 Arakawa +5.474s
5 Kobayashi +6.680s
6 Furutani +7.456s
7 Arao +8.024s
8 Frederick +8.368s
9 “Dragon” +17.261s
10 Imada +17.936s
FL: Nakamura, 1m32.454s

Championship standings
1 Nonaka 38   2 Koide 31   3 Nakamura 30   4 Kobayashi 20   5 Arakawa 19   6 Frederick 16   7 Furutani 10   8 Arao 8   9 Imada 0   10 “Dragon” 0

The post Koide, Nakamura and Nonaka win at Sugo in Super Formula Lights appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Super Formula Lights

Hibiki Taira will make his Super Formula debut at Sportsland SUGO next weekend for Team Impul.

The 23-year-old raced in single-seaters from 2018 to 2023, starting off with three years in Formula 4 and then three seasons in Super Formula Lights.

He started off with two rounds in F4 South East Asia, with three second places being his best results and putting him sixth in the standings. For 2019 he joined TOM’S Spirit in Japanese F4, and came seventh in the championship with one podium.

Toyota signed Taira as one of its junior drivers for 2020, and he romped to the Japanese F4 title with 10 victories from 12 races. He finished second and third in the two races he failed to win.

That earned him a step up to SF Lights with TOM’S, where he gradually built up his level of success. As a rookie he made the podium four times and came fifth in the points, in his second season he did not improve his championship position but did win two races and take four other podiums, then last year he was title runner-up with three wins, eight other podiums and four poles.

Taira has also been racing in Super GT’s GT300 class since 2021. He did three races that year and in 2022, with a first podium coming in the latter, then was championship runner-up last season with three second places and a pole.

Despite coming second in SF’s primary feeder series and in the second tier of Super GT competition, Taira failed to secure a step up the Japanese motorsport ladder for 2024. He has continued in Super GT300, and is currently points leader, while his SF opportunity has only emerged due to Impul having no permanent driver signed for its #19 car.

The team had signed reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire for this season, but he then got poached by McLaren’s IndyCar squad after just one race. Ben Barnicoat was called up to drive the car for round two, and Impul has said no decision has been made on who will drive the car in the remaining four rounds after Taira makes his debut at Sugo.

The post Hibiki Taira to make Super Formula debut with Team Impul at Sugo appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: FRJC

Sutekina Racing Team’s Fuma Horio won both races on his Formula Regional Japanese Championship debut at Sportsland SUGO.

The eight-car field had two practice sessions, and Bionic Jack Racing’s debutant Alfie Briggs set the pace in the first with a 1m20.022s lap to lead Birth Racing Project’s Sebastian Manson by 0.807 seconds. Manson’s team-mate Michael Sauter lowered the pace to 1m19.470s in FP2, with Manson 0.258s behind in second place. Briggs and his team-mate Jesse Lacey were both within a second of Sauter in third and fourth.

Laptimes were even quicker in qualifying, and Horio took pole for his debut race by setting a 1m19.255s in Q1. He was fastest by just 0.039s over Sauter, with a gap of 0.193s to Lacey, 0.32s to Briggs, 0.324s to Manson and 0.694s to TOM’S driver Yoshiaki Nakamura.

Manson claimed race two pole in Q2, lowering the pace further to 1m18.396s and edging Horio by 0.06s. Sauter was third fastest, 0.329s behind, and 0.003s split Nakamura and Lacey in fourth and fifth with both 0.8s slower than the poleman. “Yugo” failed to set a representative laptime in either session, but was allowed to race.

Several drivers suffered with wheelspin at the start of race one including Horio, but they managed to keep the lead into turn one and were a second ahead of Sauter by the end of the first lap. That gap had grown to 2.115s after three laps, but it took another four for it get any larger.

By lap 15 there was four seconds between the pair, but a lap later the gap was 6.125s and it then ballooned through the rest of the 22-lap race and Horio won by 12.586s. Lacey lost touch with the top two after lap five and finished 17.545s behind in third, and junior karting champion Briggs was fourth.

Nakamura passed Manson for fifth on lap 13, but then dropped behind him and Anna Inotsume on lap 17 and soon retired. “Yugo” therefore finished seventh, but was a lap down by lap nine and then lapped a second time on lap 18 as he sorely lacked pace.

Horio made a stronger start than poleman Manson in race two, and with the inside line he was able to take the lead before turn one. It took him three laps to pull a second clear this time, and he was unable to drop Manson who finished 1.715s behind. Sauter just about kept with them and took the points lead by finishing 3.149s back in third.

Briggs jumped to fourth on lap one and resisted overtake attempts from Nakamura on laps 11, 15 and 18. Lacey dropped back from the pair late on, while “Yugo” got lapped twice again.

Results round-up
Race 1 (22 laps)
1 Fuma Horio Sutekina Racing Team 29m55.940s
2 Michael Sauter Birth Racing Project +12.586s
3 Jesse Lacey Bionic Jack Racing +17.545s
4 Alfie Briggs Bionic Jack Racing +19.474s
5 Sebastian Manson Birth Racing Project +31.049s
6 Anna Inotsume Helm Motorsports +31.705s
7 “Yugo” N-Speed +2 laps
Ret Yoshiaki Nakamura TOM’S
Pole: Horio, 1m19.255s
Fastest lap: Sauter, 1m20.916s

Race 2 (22 laps)
1 Horio 29m45.747s
2 Manson +1.715s
3 Sauter +3.149s
4 Briggs +20.797s
5 Nakamura +21.317s
6 Lacey +27.569s
7 Inotsume +44.347s
8 “Yugo” +2 laps
P: Manson, 1m18.396s
FL: Sauter, 1m19.983s

Championship standings
1 Sauter 83   2 Jiei Okuzumi 61   3 Manson 53   4 Horio 50   5 Lacey 44   6 Nakamura 40   7 Inotsume 30   8 “Motoki” 26   9 Kizuki Hirota 25   10 Briggs 24

The post Fuma Horio wins twice on debut FRegional Japan weekend at Sugo appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: FRegional Japan

The Formula Regional Japan season concluded at Sportsland SUGO with victories for Jiei Okuzumi and Michael Sauter, and title success for Sota Ogawa.

Enzo Trulli earned pole for race one when the nine-car field tackled qualifying, setting a 1m18.515s on his final lap to pip Sauter by 0.065s. Okuzumi was 0.39s behind in third, Kazuki Oki was 0.946s off the pace in fourth and Ogawa was 1.206s back in fifth. Neither Yoshitsugu Kondo or Sky Chen got within 110% of the pole pace and both missed race one.

Sauter had a lap good enough for pole, a 1m18.357s, deleted and Liam Sceats had his fastest lap deleted too although it had no impact on his sixth place.

There was redemption for Sauter as a 1m18.167s lap earned him race two pole by 1.439s over Okuzumi, and a 1m18.799s put him on pole for race three over Okuzumi by 0.143s. Trulli was the only other driver within a second of Sauter in that classification, 0.32s slower in third.

After several formation laps, Trulli made a bad start to race one and immediately lost the lead to Sauter. It was a four-wide battle for second going into turn one, and  Okuzumi prevailed while Trulli had a race-ending off at turn two.

The safety car came out later in the lap, with Sceats and Ogawa in third and fourth. Racing did not resume until lap five, and Sauter came under immediate pressure. He resisted several overtake attempts from Okuzumi to finish the lap 0.653s ahead.

The gaps between the six drivers on track opened up after that, and Sauter finished the 20-lapper 4.264s clear of Okuzumi. However a 10s penalty for jumping the start dropped him to fourth. Oki also got a 10s penalty, but with no impact on his fifth place.

Race two featured six cars as Trulli skipped it, and that reduced to five once Sauter retired in the pits on lap six. He had fallen from from first to fourth at the start, behind Okuzumi, Oki and Sceats, then to a lonely last on lap two some 15s behind the rest of the field.

On lap nine 2.4s covered the top four, with Oki getting within 0.42s of Okuzumi by the lap’s end. But he also had to watch Sceats in his mirrors, which prevented him from going for the lead. The gaps remained stable until lap 16 when 0.343s seperated first and second and Sceats set his personal best lap.

Okuzumi set his personal best next time by and won by 0.479s after 20 laps, with Sceats 0.96s behind.

Sauter again lost the lead at the start of race three, ending lap one 0.154s behind Okuzumi. More significantly Ogawa in fourth was ahead of sole title rival Sceats.

On lap five Sauter got back past Okuzumi, and Trulli tried following through but ended up spinning and retiring. That enabled Sauter to break three seconds clear, and he grew his gap further for a big win.

Ogawa became champion in fourth. In the race’s second half, Oki passed Sceats then hunted down Ogawa to pass him too for third.

Results
Race 1 (20 laps)
1 Jiei Okuzumi Sutekina Racing Team 29m23.061s
2 Liam Sceats Sutekina Racing Team +1.938s
3 Sota Ogawa Bionic Jack Racing +3.861s
4 Michael Sauter Bionic Jack Racing +5.736s
5 Kazuki Oki Ponos Racing +16.862s
6 Kizuku Hirota +17.515s
Ret Enzo Trulli TOM’S
DNS Yoshitsugu Kondo Rn-sports
Pole: Trulli, 1m18.515s
Fastest lap: Sauter, 1m18.842s

Race 2 (20 laps)
1 Okuzumi 26m47.300s
2 Oki +0.479s
3 Sceats +0.960s
4 Ogawa +1.927s
5 Hirota +19.561s
Ret Sauter
DNS Trulli
P: Sauter, 1m18.167s
FL: Ogawa, 1m19.643s

Race 3 (20 laps)
1 Sauter 26m45.819s
2 Okuzumi +14.675s
3 Oki +15.727s
4 Ogawa +18.069s
5 Sceats +22.786s
6 Hirota +33.558s
Ret Trulli
P: Sauter, 1m18.799s
FL: Sauter, 1m19.272s

Championship standings
1 Ogawa 243.5   2 Sceats 219.5   3 Okuzumi 145   4 Ryunosuke Sawa 98   5 Yugo Iwasawa 84.5   6 Oki 80   7 Sauter 71   8 Yuya Hiraki 55   9 Yu Kanamaru 55   10 Enzo Trulli 51

The post Ogawa becomes FRegional Japan champion as Okuzumi wins at Sugo appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: fiaf4.jp

Honda junior Yusuke Mitsui took the Japanese Formula 4 points lead at Sportsland SUGO.

The 44-car field was split into two groups for qualifying, and Group A headed out on a damp track with grooved tyres. Mitsui was fastest by 0.479 seconds over Toyota junior Yuki Sano, with Honda junior Tosei Moriyama the only other driver within a second of Mitsui.

But Mitsui started second for race one, as track conditions improved considerably for Group B who ran on slick tyres. In a far quicker and more competitive session, Honda junior Yuto Nomura took pole with a 1m26.113s lap that was 7.818s faster than Mitsui’s benchmark.

Bionic Jack Racing’s Jiei Okuzumi and Kazuhia Urabe were second and third fastest in Group B, 0.12s and 0.267s behind Nomura respectively, putting them third and fifth on the grid. Points leader Rikuto Kobayashi qualified 10th.

It remained dry for race one, and at the start Nomura and Mitsui broke away. The top five maintained positions, while Toyota junior Jin Nakamura passed Moriyama for sixth at turn one on lap two and Kobayashi got into eighth.

A spin into the gravel for Yoshiaki Nakamura then led to the safety car being required, with racing resuming on lap six.

Sano attacked Okuzumi for third through the first corners of the lap, with both easing each other off the track before Sano got ahead. That battle enabled the top two to break away again. Urabe also got edged off the asphalt and fell to seventh.

Okuzumi was relegated to fifth by Jin Nakamura on lap eight, and soon had Moriyama, Kobayashi and Urabe attacking him.

Nomura won, always keeping Mitsui out of attacking distance, and Sano resisted pressure from Nakamura for his second podium.

On lap 10 of 17, Moriyama passed Okuzumi around the outside at turn one, with Kobayashi and Urabe following through a few corners later. Rin Arakawa also got past Okuzumi before the lap’s end, who late in the race fell to 10th. Kobayashi’s sixth place dropped him to third in the standings behind Mitsui and Nomura.

The difference in track conditions during qualifying also impacted race two’s grid, since drivers’ second-best laptimes were used, and Urabe took pole by 7.548s over Mitsui with a 1m26.391s. He topped his own group by 0.194s over Okuzumi.

Urabe converted pole into victory, resisting pressure from Mitsui until he went wide at turn one on lap eight and dropped back. He was back on Urabe’s gearbox on lap 15 as they tried lapping  Tadakazu Kojima, but the safety car then led the field to the finish after Reijiro Yamazaki spun off.

Sano took third from Okuzumi at the end of lap two, but then Moriyama passed both into turn one to make the podium.

Jin Nakamura took less than five laps to go from 14th to seventh, passed Sano and Arakawa in a double move for fifth and finished fourth while Okuzumi sank to 13th.

Ryoma Henzan was eighth despite stalling at the start, and an off for Kobayashi left him 22nd.

Results round-up
Race 1 (17 laps)
1 Yuto Nomura HFDP 27m06.594s
2 Yusuke Mitsui HFDP +0.619s
3 Yuki Sano TGR-DC RS +4.702s
4 Jin Nakamura TGR-DC RS +5.277s
5 Tosei Moriyama HFDP +8.316s
6 Rikuto Kobayashi TGR-DC RS +9.312s
7 Kazuhisa Urabe Bionic Jack Racing +12.261s
8 Rin Arakawa Zap Speed +16.762s
9 Itsuki Sato Helm Motorsports +17.284s
10 Jiei Okuzumi Bionic Jack Racing +18.285s
Pole: Nomura, 1m33.931s
Fastest lap: Nakamura, 1m24.438s

Race 2 (17 laps)
1 Urabe 26m11.166s
2 Mitsui +0.129s
3 Moriyama +0.307s
4 Nakamura +1.723s
5 Sano +2.016s
6 Yuta Fujiwara Akiland Racing +2.616s
7 Arakawa +4.343s
8 Ryoma Henzan Buzz Racing +5.075s
9 Kento Omiya PONOS Racing +6.178s
10 Ryota Horachi Akiland Racing +6.868s
P: Urabe, 1m26.391s
FL: Nomura, 1m24.827s

Championship standings
1 Mitsui 160   2 Nomura 139   3 Kobayashi 138   4 Nakamura 123   5 Moriyama 87   6 Sano 64   7 Arakawa 56   8 Urabe 47   9 Horachi 39   10 Shunji Okumoto 33

The post Nomura and Urabe win but Mitsui takes Japanese F4 lead at Sugo appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Super Formula Lights

Hibiki Taira won twice in the second Super Formula Lights round at Sportsland SUGO, with only a technical issue denying him triple success.

took pole for race one by 0.117 seconds over Igor Fraga, and held on to the lead at the start while drama occurred behind.

Yuui Tsutsumi moved a metre then stalled from fifth place on the grid, and avoided being hit, while Yuga Furutani spun around David Vidales at the fourth corner and ended up beached in the gravel himself while Vidales was able to return to the pits.

Taira had several car lengths in hand before race control decided to put the race behind the safety car, which stayed out until the end of lap eight of 26.

There was little action following that, with Iori Kimura pressuring front-row starter Igor Fraga for second on lap 10, thinking about attempting a pass at turn one a lap later then sitting behind him for the rest of the race.

On lap 18 Syun Koide started to fill Kimura’s mirrors, but could not actually get close enough to join the fight, and then the gaps between them opened up in the remaining laps.

Taira won by 3.367s, with the top four finishing in the order they started in. Enzo Trulli finished fifth, and further back DRAGON held off Takashi Hata for ninth after Hata almost barrelled into the back of him at turn one on lap 20.

Vidales finished a distant 11th, getting a drive-through penalty for ignoring the pit exit light during the safety car period.

Taira took pole again for the shorter race two, this time by 0.070s over Kimura, and converted it into victory again.

This time he did not even have to defend on lap one, while Fraga made a very slow start from fourth but only lost one place before turn one and dropped to sixth later in the lap.

The gaps quickly opened up between the top three, although Kimura suddenly closed back in on Taira on lap five before dropping back again. By lap eight he was in a position to pressure, but the slipstream effect was never strong enough to make a lunging pass possible.

On lap nine Hata lost his front wing and went off at the final corner, and although he made it to the pits the safety car was required to collect the debris.

Taira went as early as possible on the restart and the top three split again, while there was lots of squabbling for fourth downwards. Trulli ended up taking that position, then had to resist many laps of pressure from Vidales to hold it to the finish while Taira won by 0.764s ahead of Kimura and Koide.

Race three’s front row was occupied by Taira and Fraga, and Taira led until lap 17 of 19 when his car got stuck in fourth gear.

Fraga, Trulli and Seita Nonaka went by, then Nonaka spun at the start of lap 18. Fraga won, Nonaka only lost one spot to Koide while Taira fell to 12th and last. Kimura finished eighth despite an early pitstop.

Results round-up
Race 1 (26 laps)
1 Hibiki Taira TOM’S 38m12.542s
2 Igor Fraga B-MAX Racing +3.367s
3 Iori Kimura B-MAX Racing +4.065s
4 Syun Koide Toda Racing +5.675s
5 Enzo Trulli TOM’S +6.501s
6 Seita Nonaka TOM’S +8.222s
7 Yuui Tsutsumi Rn-sports +11.748s
8 Nobuhiro Imada B-MAX Racing +47.436s
9 DRAGON B-MAX Racing +48.996s
10 Takashi Hata B-MAX Racing +51.956s
Pole: Taira, 1m14.680s
Fastest lap: Taira, 1m15.511s

Race 2 (19 laps)
1 Taira 26m00.659s
2 Kimura +0.764s
3 Koide +2.393s
4 Trulli +7.301s
5 David Vidales B-MAX Racing +8.127s
6 Fraga +10.076s
7 Tsutsumi +10.895s
8 Yuga Furutani TOM’S +11.389s
9 Nonaka +13.774s
10 Imada +17.882s
P: Taira, 1m14.418s
FL: Kimura, 1m15.762s

Race 3 (19 laps)
1 Fraga 24m34.771s
2 Trulli +1.265s
3 Koide +5.597s
4 Nonaka +6.765s
5 Tsutumi +10.878s
6 Vidales +11.983s
7 Furutani +12.593s
8 Kimura +30.390s
9 DRAGON +33.740s
10 Hata +51.035s
FL: Nonaka, 1m16.411s

Championship standings
1 Kimura 48   2 Taira 38   3 Koide 24   4 Fraga 21   5 Furutani 15   6 Trulli 13   7 Vidales 9   8 Nonaka 8   9 Tsutsumi 2   10 Imada 0

The post Gear issue denies Taira triple win in Super Formula Lights at Sugo appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Japanese F4

Toyota junior Jin Nakamura almost doubled his season points haul by finishing second and first in Japanese Formula 4’s two races at Sportsland SUGO.

Nakamura qualified third for race one, behind title battlers Syun Koide and Yusuke Mitsui, and by picking the outside line for turn one he then had the inside line for turn three and was able to move into second place behind Honda junior Koide.

The gap between the top two started to grow until lap seven of 17, when the safety car was called out as Wataru Yoshimura spun out. Racing resumed on lap 11, and a lap later Toyota’s Rikuto Kobayashi made his way past Mitsui for third after several corners of hustling.

Pre-race points leader Mitsui was struggling for pace and he fell into the clutches of Fuma Horio after that, while rival Koide comfortably claimed the win and moved to the top of the standings.

Koide was rapid again on Sunday for race two, but the points lead returned to Mitsui due to a costly error.

Nakamura claimed pole ahead of Kobayashi, Koide and Mitsui, and at the start of race two he immediately swept to the inside to defend. It was not enough to stop Kobayashi taking the lead exiting turn two, but then the safety car was out as “Syuji” spun, Makio Saito immediately crashed into him, Hachiro Osaka did the same and then finally “Yugo” did too.

The restart could not take place until lap seven, but Koide was not patient enough and he passed Nakamura for second just before completing lap six. As a result he was handed a drive-through penalty, but he was soon in the lead as Kobayashi locked up several times entering Horseback Corner, bounced over the grass and dropped to seventh.

Koide served his penalty at the end of lap 13, and it promoted Nakamura into the lead by two seconds ahead of Mitsui. Rin Arakawa was third, but he had severe pressure through the race’s second half from Horio for the position. That meant he could not challenge the top two, and Nakamura followed his first podium of 2022 on Saturday with his first win on Sunday, while Mitsui reclaimed the championship lead by six points. With two rounds to go, there are now only three title contenders left.

Results round-up
Race 1 (17 laps)
1 Syun Koide HFDP 27m53.692s
2 Jin Nakamura TGR-DC RS +1.327s
3 Rikuto Kobayashi TGR-DC RS +2.488s
4 Yusuke Mitsui HFDP +4.425s
5 Fuma Horio Helm Motorsports +4.773s
6 Teppei Tsuruta Buzz Racing +6.014s
7 Gento Miyashita Skill Speed +6.542s
8 Rin Arakawa TGR-DC RS +6.930s
9 Kazuma Nishimura HFDP +7.604s
10 Reimei Ito OTG Motor Sports +8.314s
Pole: Koide, 1m24.378s
Fastest lap: Nakamura, 1m25.277s

Race 2 (17 laps)
1 Nakamura 30m21.511s
2 Mitsui +2.373s
3 Arakawa +4.028s
4 Horio +4.304s
5 Yugo Iwasawa Bionic Jack Racing +5.791s
6 Daiki Fujiwara Hitotsuyama Racing +6.471s
7 Kobayashi +6.850s
8 Nishimura +9.988s
9 Tsuruta +10.546s
10 Ito +10.970s
P: Nakamura, 1m24.522s
FL: Nakamura, 1m25.066s

Championship standings
1 Mitsui 192   2 Koide 186   3 Arakawa 106   4 Iwasawa 91   5 Nakamura 90   6 Kobayashi 77   7 Ito 59   8 Nishimura 46   9 Miyashita 35   10 Horio 31

The post Toyota’s Jin Nakamura stars at Sugo in Japanese F4 appeared first on Formula Scout.