Photo: Japanese F4
Toyota junior Rikuto Kobayashi reclaimed the Japanese Formula 4 points lead with a win and a third place at Autopolis.
Qualifying was split into two groups due to the large size of the entry list, and Kobayashi took pole for race one by topping Group B with a 1m53.178s laptime.
Bionic Jack Racing’s Kazuhisa Urabe earned the spot alongside him on the front row by topping Group A with a 1m54.402s, although he was only the ninth fastest driver in qualifying. Five drivers across the two groups did not lap within 110% of their group’s pace so required permission to start the race.
Urabe tucked in behind Kobayashi at the start of race one but when they got to turn one he exited the leader’s tow and trie to go for a move around the outide. He ended up running wide and losing second place to Toyota junior Jin Nakamura, then after the corner put two wheels onto the grass and dropped down the order.
Shunji Okumoto and points leader Yusuke Mitsui moved into third and fourth, with Urabe halting his decline in 10th place.
A spin for ‘Dragon’ meant yellow flags waved and stopped any battling for some part of lap two, then Masayuki Ueda crashed out and so the safety car was summoned for lap three.
Yuki Sano and Yuto Nomura ran in fifth and sixth, with Tosei Moriyama seventh and Ryota Horachi after he passed Kento Omiya for position just before the safety car period began.
Racing resumed on lap six and Okumoto and Mitsui went side-by-side for third. Okumoto ran deep into turn one and lost the position, and Mitsui spent the rest of the race chasing the top two.
On lap eight he began attacking Nakamura, and attempted a pass the lap after but failed. His pressuring enabled Kobayashi to keep a gap up front, and he won by a second. Mitsui’s championship lead was reduced to 12 points by finishing third.
The second-best laptimes of each driver from qualifying set the race two grid, and Nakamura earned pole while Okumoto joined him on the front row and Kobayashi qualified third.
There was pre-race drama as Makio Saito had to be wheeled off the grid, and when racing began Kobayashi dropped to fifth behind Sano and Nomura.
He gained back one of those places during lap one, as Honda junior Mitsui climbed 10 places from 29th on the grid. He gained another four spots on lap two, and got into 12th on lap six.
By that point Nakamura was several seconds clear at the front, with Okumoto, Sano and Kobayashi battling for second while Horachi went from ninth to seventh on lap one, passed Moriyama on lap three and then Nomura on lap four.
The safety car appeared on lap nine due to Omiya spinning off, and the race was red flagged moments after the lap 11 restart. Okumoto tucked out of Nakamura’s tow on the run to the timing line, and Sano tucked out of Okumoto’s tow but had no room to make a move so tucked back in.
However he hit the rear of Okumoto’s car, sending him at high speed into the barriers and requiring extensive medical attention. The race was stopped and the results taken from the end of lap nine, with Okumoto reinstated in second while Sano was penalised 40s and dropped to 40th place.
That promoted Kobayashi to the podium and Mitsui to 10th, meaning Kobayashi reclaimed the championship lead by two points. Okumoto later confirmed his body was fine after the medical attention.
Results round-up
Race 1 (13 laps)
1 Rikuto Kobayashi TGR-DC RS 28m01.586s
2 Jin Nakamura TGR-DC RS +1.044s
3 Yusuke Mitsui HFDP +1.416s
4 Shunji Okumoto TGR-DC RS +3.370s
5 Yuki Sano TGR-DC RS +4.763s
6 Yuto Nomura HFDP +5.362s
7 Tosei Moriyama HFDP +6.408s
8 Ryota Horachi Akiland Racing +6.815s
9 Kento Omiya Ponos Racing +7.801s
10 Kazuhisa Urabe Bionic Jack Racing +8.626s
Pole: Kobayashi, 1m53.178s
Fastest lap: Mitsui, 1m53.352s
Race 2 (9 laps)
1 Nakamura 18m09.065s
2 Okumoto +0.806s
3 Kobayashi +2.000s
4 Horachi +2.573s
5 Nomura +3.301s
6 Moriyama +3.788s
7 Urabe +4.752s
8 Rin Arakawa Zap Speed +5.811s
9 Ryoma Henzan Buzz Racing +6.267s
10 Mitsui +6.862s
P: Nakamura, 1m53.276s
FL: Nakamura, 1m53.025s
Championship standings
1 Kobayashi 178 2 Mitsui 176 3 Nakamura 166 4 Nomura 157 5 Moriyama 101 6 Sano 74 7 Okumoto 63 8 Arakawa 60 9 Horachi 55 10 Urabe 54