Asian Motor Sports

Formula Nippon Round 5 Suzuka was an inaugural event of the two-race system. Each race was considered separately, given points, and reverse grid system, which the standings of the first race from first to 8th place was reversed and used as the starting grid for the second race, was utilized.

The first race was held under a mid summer condition that had continued from the day before, and it was a sprint race that severely influenced the drivers as well as the tires. In the second race, the major accident occurred, but fortunately, none of the drivers were injured. In this Round 5, first race, Tsugio Matsuda (LAWSON IMPUL), and second race, Kohei Hirate (TP Checker IMPUL) won the races respectively, showing the strength of TEAM IMPUL.

On Sunday, July 13th, continued from the day before, the races at Suzuka was held under a mid summer condition. Free run started at 8 a.m, and after each team finalized the set-up for the final round, they prepared for the first race that begun in the afternoon. At 1 p.m, the formation lap started under the temperature of 33 degree Celsius, and the track temperature of 48 degree Celsius. After all 20 machines lined up at the starting grid, the race started at 1:04 p.m.

The driver who made the hole-shot was second place starter, Benoit Treluyer (LAWSON IMPUL). Matsuda from the pole position fell behind because of the engine stall, but still kept second place. Takashi Kogure (PIAA NAKAJIMA) from the third grid also fell behind due to the same problem as Matsuda, and in exchange, Toshihiro Kaneishi (SG 5ZIGEN) from 4th and Andre Lotterer (PETRONAS TOM’S) from 5th grid gained their positions.

The opening lap was led by Treluyer, but his machine faced a trouble on lap 2. The wheel-nut of the left rear tire began to loose up, preventing him from speeding up the pace. He protected his position, but finally, surrendered to Matsuda at the first corner on lap 5. In the same lap, his machine faced a dangerous condition at the exit of Hairpin Curve, to let the other machines pass by, and forcing him to return to the pit.

As a consequence, Matsuda led the race and increased his lead with behind. He started to dominate the race by increasing nearly a second each lap. In the mean time, the battle for second began to heat up, closely competed by Kaneishi, Lotterer, Kogure, J.P. de Oliveira (KONDO RACING), Hirate, and Loic Duval (PIAA NAKAJIMA). But after few laps with this battle, all machines started to grip down at the rear tire, forcing them to battle on their own rather than the other competitors.

In such, another machine retired from this group. On lap 14, Kaneishi began to decelerate at the Degner Curve and slowly headed back to the pit. It was caused by the loose wheel-nut at the right front wheel. The result was so regrettable since he was running in the top group in a while.

After all, Matsuda dominantly finished first place, and without any standings change, the runner-up was Lotterer, third place, Kogure, followed by Oliveira, Hirate, Duval. 7th place was Naoki Yokomizo (KONDO RACING), and 8th Satoshi Motoyama (Team LeMans), and as a consequence, they will be the front row starter in the second race.

Winner:
Tsugio Matsuda (LAWSON IMPUL)
I am so happy to win for a second time in this local race, and thankful to the team staffs and all the local fans who supported me in this hot weather. The condition of the machine was very well, and it was perfect except for my failure when I almost stalled the engine at the start. Since it was so hot during the race, in nearly lap 15, I started to feel how soon the race finishes, and was battling with the oversteer of the rear tire for the remaining 13 laps. I will be careful with the start and try to gain much position as possible in the second race.

Runner up:
Andre Lotterer (PETRONAS TOM’S)
First of all, I made a good start and was able to retain good position. I had a chance to overtake Kaneishi, but never happened. It was a survival race overall. The machine was really hard to control, and started to slide severely around lap 2 or 3. It was a really tough race since I had to control a machine which was sliding and tolerating the heat, and also, drive while saving the tire. Considering the condition of the machine and heat, it was my toughest race ever. But I am so fortunate that the result came. Due to both Benoit (Treluyer) and Kaneishi’s retirement, I was able to finish second even I felt the pressure from Kogure at the Hairpin Curve. I will do my best in the second race, but seems to be much tougher.

3rd Place:
Takashi Kogure (PIAA NAKAJIMA)
I almost stalled at the start, but after when the engine successfully began to work, that momentum enabled me to keep 5th place after all. The consumption of the tires was very severe, therefore, I did my best to control the machine. There seemed to be understeer because of the downforce even I approached Andre (Lotterer) who was driving ahead. I wouldn’t be able to overtake him when left behind, and the downforce decreasing when approached. I could only approach closer such as the Hairpin Curve when there was no downforce. Usually, the race is easy when chasing, but this time, it was so tough physically.

Winning team manager:
Kazuyoshi Hoshino (LAWSON IMPUL)
When Matsuda was delayed at the start, I couldn’t make a decision whether to call the team order since he had the highest pace. Consequently, I didn’t have to since the race was basically competed as the professional drivers. The only regret is the winning prize, three million Yen. I didn’t carefully read the regulation, so I thought the overall winner of the first and second race would receive five million Yen.

Technorati Tags: Tsugio Matsuda, Japan, Formula Nippon