Super Formula Championship

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Super Formula Championship

Category	Single seaters
Country	Japan
Inaugural season	1973
Drivers	20
Teams	11
Chassis suppliers	Dallara
Engine manufacturers	Honda Toyota
Tire suppliers	Yokohama
Drivers' champion	Tomoki Nojiri
Teams' champion	carenex Team Impul
Official website	superformula.net
Current season

The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series, and the top level of single-seater racing in Japan. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and managed by Japan Race Promotion (JRP).

The first Japanese Top Formula championship was held in 1973 as the All-Japan Formula 2000 Championship. In 1978, the series transformed into the All-Japan Formula Two Championship, and again in 1987, into the All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship. For the most part, these Japanese racing series closely followed their European counterparts in terms of technical regulations. The JRP was established in 1995, and began managing the series in 1996, under its new name, the Formula Nippon Championship. The series' name was changed again in 2013, to Super Formula (officially Japanese Championship Super Formula until 2016).

History[]

Background[]

In Japan, touring and sports car racing was very popular throughout the 1960s. The Japanese Grand Prix was originally held as an event for touring and sports cars, and was immediately established as the largest motor racing event in the country during its original run between 1963 to 1969. On the other hand, formula car racing had a more difficult time being established in the nation's motorsport landscape. The inaugural JAF Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in 1969 was Japan's first major single-seater race. And in 1971, the Japanese Grand Prix was reformatted into an event centered around formula car racing. Neither event managed to be as popular with spectators as the Japanese Grand Prix was during its time as a sports car race.

All-Japan Formula 2000 (1973–1977)[]

In 1973, the Japan Automobile Federation established the All-Japan Formula 2000 Championship as the first top-level formula racing series in Japan, to promote the sport of formula car racing in the country.

The series was based on the European Formula Two Championship. But unlike European F2, which only allowed the use of racing engines based on mass production models, the JAF approved the use of purpose-built racing engines from manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Motors.

All-Japan Formula Two (1978–1986)[]

March 86J of Satoru Nakajima, the 1986 championship winner

In 1976, the FIA modified the Formula Two regulations to allow the use of purpose-built racing engines. With this change, the reasoning behind the name "Formula 2000" had disappeared, which led to the series being renamed the All-Japan Formula Two Championship from 1978.

These early years of formula racing in Japan were led by drivers such as Kunimitsu Takahashi, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Masahiro Hasemi, Keiji Matsumoto, and Satoru Nakajima, who would go on to become the first Japanese driver to compete full-time in the Formula One World Championship. During the transition from Formula 2000 to Formula 2, a number of foreign drivers from the European F2 circuit began competing in and winning races in the Japanese series. 1981 European F2 champion Geoff Lees became the series' first non-Japanese champion when he won the All-Japan F2 title in 1983.

The Suzuka Formula Two Championship (established in 1977 as the Suzuka Formula 2000 Championship) was held concurrently at all events staged at Suzuka Circuit, to compete against the Fuji Grand Champion Series. During its run from 1977 to 1986, it was considered to be of equal prestige to the All-Japan Formula 2 Championship.

1987 championship[]

When European Formula Two ended in 1984, its Japanese counterpart did not follow suit immediately. The JAF considered starting a new Formula Two series from 1988. However, all entrants ran Formula 3000 cars in 1987. So, the 1987 Formula Two Championship was cancelled due to no entry of any cars for that format.

All-Japan Formula 3000 (1987–1995)[]

Switching to the open Formula 3000 standard in 1987, the All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship officially started in 1988.

During the late 1980s, a number of factors contributed to a surge in popularity for Japanese Top Formula racing. Honda-powered Formula One teams began winning multiple championships. The Japanese Grand Prix was reintroduced to the Formula One calendar in 1987, and that same year, Satoru Nakajima began competing full-time in F1. Fans began following the series through Fuji Television's broadcasts of Formula One, resulting in an increased interest in all forms formula racing. Combined with the asset-driven bubble economy of the 1980s, the All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship attracted several entrants and investors.

Veteran drivers such as Hoshino, Hasemi, Takahashi, and Matsumoto were succeeded by a new generation of Japanese talents, led by 1988 champion Aguri Suzuki, and 1991 champion Ukyo Katayama - who would each go on to enjoy significant tenures in Formula One. The prosperous conditions within All-Japan F3000 also attracted many promising young drivers outside of Japan to compete in the series. Among those drivers included future Formula One Grand Prix winners Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert, Eddie Irvine, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The most notable of these young drivers from outside Japan, however, was future seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, who made a one-off appearance at Sportsland Sugo in 1991.

The eventual burst of the bubble economy led to a decline in the series' popularity during the early to mid 1990s. Japanese and European regulations paralleled one another until 1996, when the International Formula 3000 series became a one-make format to lower costs.

Formula Nippon (1996–2012)[]

The previous Formula Nippon logo

In the mid-1990s, the Japanese Formula broke away, changing the form of the series to "Formula Nippon". The new , formed by Fuji Television, became the promoter with the recognition of the series by the JAF as the Authority Sport Nationale (ASN) of Japan.

In the 2000s, sports car racing became more popular in Japan, and many Formula Nippon drivers doubled-up in the Japanese Super GT championship.

The 2006 season got off to one of the strangest starts in motorsport history. Because of heavy rain, the opener at Fuji was called off after two safety car laps, and Benoît Tréluyer was awarded the win with half points awarded.

Cars[]

The previous Formula Nippon chassis, the Swift FN09 (also known as the Swift 017.n), was introduced in the 2009 season and raced until the end of the 2013 season.

Until 2002, Formula Nippon was an open formula, where a variety of chassis builders and engine manufacturers could compete. Chassis were supplied by Lola, Reynard, and G-Force, while Mugen-Honda supplied the vast majority of the engines (though Cosworth engines were found in the Formula 3000 era).

However, with the bankruptcy of Reynard in 2002, and the withdrawal of G-Force a year earlier, Formula Nippon once again followed F3000's lead in becoming a one-make series for the 2003 season. Formula Nippon cars were now all Lola B03/50 chassis powered by Mugen-Honda engines; however, unlike F3000, engines in Formula Nippon are open-tuned by private companies.

In 2006 Formula Nippon underwent a drastic revision of its regulations. A new Lola FN06 chassis was introduced, while the engine formula underwent drastic revision. Engine blocks were provided by Toyota and Honda, using the same engine block specifications as found in the 2005 Indy Racing League, with open-tuning still permitted.

American racecar manufacturer Swift Engineering produced the FN09 chassis that was used from 2009 through 2013.

Scoring System[]

• Points are awarded in line with the standard FIA system used from 2003 to 2009, but with a bonus point given for pole position.

Super Formula (2013–present)[]

Start of the race at the 2014 Motegi round

Cars[]

The base chassis for the series is the Dallara SF19, which was unveiled at Suzuka Circuit in October 2017. The SF19 was regulated to weigh 670 kilograms (including driver), and is powered by two-litre single turbo-charged engines from Honda and Toyota. While sharing the same base architecture as the NRE engines used in Super GT GT500 cars, the engines are detuned relative to their GT counterparts. It features a 'push to pass' style overtake system which allows for additional 5 kg/h of fuel flow to be used when active – increasing power.

The previous generation of the car, the Dallara SF14, was used between the 2014 to 2018 season, which featured at least 30% components manufactured in Japan.^[1]

Comparable to a contemporary Formula One, the pole position lap in a Super-Formula Dallara SF14 at Suzuka Circuit in 2017, 1:35.907, is 8.588 seconds or 9.0% slower than the pole position time for the 2017 Japanese Formula One Grand Prix.

Specifications (2014–2018)^[2][]

• Engine displacement: 2.0 L (122 cu in) DOHC inline-4
• Gearbox: 6-speed paddle shift gearbox
• Weight: 660 kg (1,455 lb)
• Power output: 543 hp (405 kW)
• Fuel: 102 RON unleaded gasoline
• Fuel delivery: Direct fuel injection
• Aspiration: Single-turbocharged
• Length: 5,268 mm (207 in)
• Width: 1,900 mm (75 in)
• Wheelbase: 3,165 mm (125 in)
• Steering: Electric power-assisted rack and pinion
• Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza (2014–2015) later Yokohama ADVAN (2016–2018) radial dry slicks and treaded rain tyres

Specifications (2019–present)[]

• Engine displacement: 2.0 L (122 cu in) DOHC inline-4
• Gearbox: 6-speed paddle shift gearbox
• Weight: 670 kg (1,477 lb)
• Power output: 543 hp (405 kW)
• Fuel: 102 RON unleaded gasoline
• Fuel delivery: Direct fuel injection
• Aspiration: Single-turbocharged
• Length: 5,233 mm (206 in)
• Width: 1,910 mm (75 in)
• Wheelbase: 3,115 mm (123 in)
• Steering: Electric power-assisted rack and pinion
• Tyres: Yokohama ADVAN radial dry slicks and treaded rain tyres

Drivers[]

However, despite the more technically demanding regulations, the Japanese top-level formula series remains a national series, with second tier status compared to the FIA Formula 2 and its predecessor GP2. Foreign drivers have always been regular participants in the Japanese championships, and there have been several drivers to come from a Japanese Formula 3000 or Formula Nippon drive to a prominent Formula One role; the best-known of these are Eddie Irvine, Ralf Schumacher, the 1996 Formula Nippon champion, and Pedro de la Rosa, the 1997 Formula Nippon champion.

Starting in 2022, Honda Performance Development, the United States division of Honda's motorsport operations, will offer a "win and you're in" format where the 2021 Formula Regional Americas Championship series champion will be given a stipend for sponsorship towards a Super Formula ride with a Honda team. The 2022 Super Formula scholarship was officially declined by Formula Regional Americas Championship 2021 champion Kyffin Simpson, citing the logistical challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing immigration restrictions imposed by the Japanese government for foreign nationals and non-citizens.^[3] Similar "win and you're in" concepts are used in the North American single-seater ladder that includes former Super Formula driver Alex Palou driving for Chip Ganassi Racing with Honda support in the IndyCar Series. Road To Indy support series champions are typically awarded a funded drive to the next tier up to Indy Lights, where the series champion is then awarded a scholarship for 3 races in the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500.^[4]

Champions[]

Season	Drivers' Champion					Team Champion	Rookie of the Year
	Driver	Team	Chassis*	Engine*	Tyre*
All-Japan Formula 2000 Championship (1973-1977)
	Motoharu Kurosawa	Heros Racing	March 722	BMW M12/6	B	Not awarded	Not awarded
	Noritake Takahara	Takahara Racing	March 842	BMW M12/6	B
	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Victory Circle Racing	March 742	BMW M12/6	B
	Noritake Takahara	Heros Racing	Nova 512	BMW M12/7	B
	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Heros Racing	Nova 512B Nova 532P	BMW M12/7	B
All-Japan Formula Two Championship (1978-1986)
	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Heros Racing	Nova 532P Nova 522	BMW M12/7	B	Not awarded	Not awarded
	Keiji Matsumoto	Team LeMans	March 782 March 792	BMW M12/7	D
	Masahiro Hasemi	Tomica Racing Team	March 802	BMW M12/7	B
	Satoru Nakajima	i&i Racing	Ralt RH6/80 March 812	Honda RA261E	B
	Satoru Nakajima	Team Ikuzawa	March 812 March 822	Honda RA262E	B
	Geoff Lees	John Player Special Team Ikuzawa	Spirit 201 March 832	Honda RA263E	D
	Satoru Nakajima	Heros Racing	March 842	Honda RA264E	B
	Satoru Nakajima	Heros Racing with Nakajima	March 85J	Honda RA264E Honda RA265E	B
1986	Satoru Nakajima	Heros Racing with Nakajima	March 86J	Honda RA266E	B
All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship (1987-1995)
1987	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Hoshino Racing	March 87B Lola T87/50	Honda RA387E	B	Not awarded	Not awarded
1988	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork Sports Racing Team	March 87B Reynard 88D	Yamaha OX77	B
1989	Hitoshi Ogawa	Auto Beaurex Motor Sport	Lola T88/50 Lola T89/50	Mugen MF308	D
1990	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Cabin Racing Team with Impul	Lola T90/50	Mugen MF308	B
1991	Ukyo Katayama	Cabin Racing Team with Heros	Lola T90/50 Lola T91/50	Cosworth DFV	B
1992	Mauro Martini	Acom Evolution Team Nova	Lola T91/50 Lola T92/50	Mugen MF308	B
1993	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Nisseki Impul Racing Team	Lola T92/50	Cosworth DFV	B
1994	Marco Apicella	Dome	Dome F104	Mugen MF308	D
1995	Toshio Suzuki	Hoshino Racing	Lola T94/50	Mugen MF308	B
Japanese Championship Formula Nippon (1996-2012)
1996	Ralf Schumacher	X-Japan Racing Team LeMans	Reynard 96D	Mugen MF308	B	X-Japan Racing Team LeMans	Not awarded
1997	Pedro de la Rosa	Shionogi Team Nova	Lola T97/51	Mugen MF308	(B)	Shionogi Team Nova
1998	Satoshi Motoyama	LEMONed Racing Team LeMans	Reynard 97D	(Mugen MF308)	(B)	LEMONed Racing Team LeMans
1999	Tom Coronel	PIAA Nakajima Racing	Reynard 99L	(Mugen MF308)	(B)	PIAA Nakajima Racing
2000	Toranosuke Takagi	PIAA Nakajima Racing	Reynard 2KL	(Mugen MF308)	(B)	PIAA Nakajima Racing
2001	Satoshi Motoyama	Team Impul	Reynard 99L	(Mugen MF308)	(B)
2002	Ralph Firman	PIAA Nakajima Racing	Reynard 01L	(Mugen MF308)	(B)	PIAA Nakajima Racing
2003	Satoshi Motoyama	Team Impul	(Lola B3/51)	(Mugen MF308)	(B)	Team Impul
2004	Richard Lyons	DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing	(Lola B3/51)	(Mugen MF308)	(B)	Team Impul
2005	Satoshi Motoyama	Mobilecast Team Impul arting Racing Team with Impul	(Lola B3/51)	(Mugen MF308)	(B)	Mobilecast Team Impul arting Racing Team with Impul
2006	Benoît Tréluyer	Mobilecast Team Impul	(Lola B06/51 (FN06))	Toyota RV8J	(B)	Mobilecast Team Impul
2007	Tsugio Matsuda	Mobilecast Team Impul	(Lola B06/51 (FN06))	Toyota RV8J	(B)	Mobilecast Team Impul
2008	Tsugio Matsuda	Lawson Team Impul	(Lola B06/51 (FN06))	Toyota RV8J	(B)	Lawson Team Impul	Kohei Hirate
2009	Loïc Duval	Nakajima Racing	(Swift 017.n (FN09))	Honda HR09E	(B)	Nakajima Racing	Koudai Tsukakoshi
2010	João Paulo de Oliveira	Mobil 1 Team Impul	(Swift 017.n (FN09))	Toyota RV8K	(B)	Mobil 1 Team Impul	Naoki Yamamoto
2011	André Lotterer	Petronas Team TOM'S	(Swift 017.n (FN09))	Toyota RV8K	(B)	Petronas Team TOM'S	Kazuki Nakajima
2012	Kazuki Nakajima	Petronas Team TOM'S	(Swift 017.n (FN09))	Toyota RV8K	(B)	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing	Not awarded
Japanese Super Formula Championship (2013-present)
2013	Naoki Yamamoto	Team Mugen	(Swift 017.n (SF13))	Honda HR12E	(B)	Petronas Team TOM'S	Not awarded
2014	Kazuki Nakajima	Petronas Team TOM'S	(Dallara SF14)	Toyota RI4A	(B)	Petronas Team TOM'S	Tomoki Nojiri
2015	Hiroaki Ishiura		(Dallara SF14)	Toyota RI4A	(B)	Petronas Team TOM'S	Kamui Kobayashi
2016	Yuji Kunimoto		(Dallara SF14)	Toyota RI4A	(Y)		Not awarded
2017	Hiroaki Ishiura		(Dallara SF14)	Toyota RI4A	(Y)		Pierre Gasly
2018	Naoki Yamamoto	Team Mugen	(Dallara SF14)	Honda HR-417E	(Y)	Kondō Racing	Nobuharu Matsushita
2019	Nick Cassidy	Vantelin Team TOM'S	(Dallara SF19)	Toyota Biz-01F	(Y)	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing	Álex Palou
2020	Naoki Yamamoto	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing	(Dallara SF19)	Honda HR-417E	(Y)	Vantelin Team TOM'S	Toshiki Oyu
2021	Tomoki Nojiri	Team Mugen	(Dallara SF19)	Honda HR-417E	(Y)	carenex Team Impul	Hiroki Otsu

* The ( ) indicates the tyre (since 1997), chassis (since 2003), or engine (1998–2005) was a spec part that all competitors used for that season.

Statistics[]

Championships by driver[]

  Indicates active driver.

Driver	Total	Seasons
Kazuyoshi Hoshino	6	1975, 1977, 1978, 1987, 1990, 1993
Satoru Nakajima	5	1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986
Satoshi Motoyama	4	1998, 2001, 2003, 2005
Naoki Yamamoto	3	2013, 2018, 2020
Noritake Takahara	2	1974, 1976
Tsugio Matsuda		2007, 2008
Kazuki Nakajima		2012, 2014
Hiroaki Ishiura		2015, 2017
Motoharu Kurosawa	1	1973
Keiji Matsumoto		1979
Masahiro Hasemi		1980
Geoff Lees		1983
Aguri Suzuki		1988
Hitoshi Ogawa		1989
Ukyo Katayama		1991
Mauro Martini		1992
Marco Apicella		1994
Toshio Suzuki		1995
Ralf Schumacher		1996
Pedro de la Rosa		1997
Tom Coronel		1999
Toranosuke Takagi		2000
Ralph Firman		2002
Richard Lyons		2004
Benoît Tréluyer		2006
Loïc Duval		2009
João Paulo de Oliveira		2010
André Lotterer		2011
Yuji Kunimoto		2016
Nick Cassidy		2019
Tomoki Nojiri		2021

List of all Circuits (2013-present)[]

• Bold denotes a circuit used in the 2021 Super Formula season.

• Italic denotes a formerly used circuit.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Super Formula.

• Super Formula official website (in English)