2023 Super Formula Lights

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Iori Kimura (pictured in 2022) took the Drivers' Championship title driving for B-Max Racing Team. SFL FUJI.jpg
Iori Kimura (pictured in 2022) took the Drivers' Championship title driving for B-Max Racing Team.

The 2023 Super Formula Lights Championship was the fourth Super Formula Lights Championship season, after the Japanese Formula 3 Championship was rebranded following the end of the 2019 season. It featured drivers competing in Dallara 320 chassis and with engines made by three different manufacturers, a similar regulation format to the Euroformula Open Championship.

Contents

Honda junior Iori Kimura won the Drivers' Championship, while his team, B-Max Racing, won the Teams' Championship. His teammate Nobuhiro Imada won the Masters' Class title, while Spiess won the Engine Manufacturer's Championship.

Teams and drivers

TeamEngineNo.DriverStatusRounds
TOM'S TOM'S TAZ31 1 Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira [1] All
35 Flag of Japan.svg Seita Nonaka [1] All
36 Flag of Japan.svg Yuga Furutani [2] All
37 Flag of Italy.svg Enzo Trulli All
Toda Racing Spiess A41 2 Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide All
B-Max Racing Team Spiess A41 4 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada [3] M1–2, 4–6
Flag of Japan.svg Togo Suganami 3
50 Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura [4] All
51 Flag of Spain.svg David Vidales All
52 Flag of Brazil.svg Igor Omura Fraga All
53 Flag of Japan.svg Takashi HataM1–3, 5
Flag of Japan.svg Togo Suganami 4, 6
ThreeBond Tomei TB14F330 Flag of Japan.svg "Dragon" [3] M1–2, 4–6
3
Rn-sports Spiess A41 10 Flag of Japan.svg Yuui Tsutsumi 1–4
Flag of Japan.svg Sota Ogawa 6
IconClass
MMasters' Cup.

Team changes

HELM Motorsports, who made their debut in the championship in 2022, left Super Formula Lights after already missing the final two rounds of 2022.

B-Max Racing's owner "Dragon" switched from using Spiess engines like the rest of his team to using a TOMEI engine for his car.

Driver changes

TOM'S saw the reigning champion Kazuto Kotaka graduated to Super Formula with Kondō Racing. [1] The team signed 2021 Formula 4 UAE champion Enzo Trulli. [2]

Kakunoshin Ohta was promoted to Super Formula to race with Dandelion Racing. Toda Racing promoted reigning Japanese F4 champion Syun Koide to replace Ohta. [4]

B-Max Racing will have a new line up as Togo Suganami left the series to focus on his Super GT GT300 season with Tsuchiya Engineering. [5] The team signed two international drivers in David Vidales and Igor Fraga, both graduating from Formula 3, where the former came 16th in 2022 and the latter returned to racing after two years. [6] [6] 2021 Formula Regional Japanese Masters champion Takashi Hata joins the team. [7]

HELM Motorsports' owners and drivers, Yuya and Reiji Hiraki, left the series where both teams and drivers focus on their Super Taikyu ST-X program.

Rn-sports saw all three of their drivers, gentleman driver Masayuki Ueda, as well as Kohta Kawaai and Seiya Motojima, who shared a cockpit in 2022, leave the series. The team signed Super GT GT300 race winner Yuui Tsutsumi. [7]

Mid-season changes

Togo Suganami replaced Nobuhiro Imada in the No. 4 B-Max car for the Suzuka weekend. [8]

Imada was back for the round at Fuji, with Suganami switching to the No. 53 car of the same team to replace Takashi Hata.

Yuui Tsutsumi and his team, Rn-sports, did not attend round five.

Rn-sports returned to competition for the final round, albeit with Formula Regional Japanese champion Sota Ogawa piloting the No. 10 car. [9]

Suganami returned to replace Hata for the final round. [10]

Race calendar

The calendar for the 2023 season was announced on 30 November 2022. With the first event being in late May, the season started six weeks later than usual. [11] Only three events were held supporting the parent Super Formula Championship, a significant reduction from previous years.

RoundCircuitDateSupportingMap of circuit locations
1R1 Autopolis, Hita 20 May Super Formula Championship
Honda N-One Owner's Cup
R221 May
R3
2R4 Sportsland Sugo, Murata 17 June Super Formula Championship
Legend Cars Japan
R518 June
R6
3R7 Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka 1 July Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
VITA Race Suzuka
Suzuka - Okayama Challenge Cup
R82 July
R9
4R10 Fuji Speedway, Oyama 15 July Super Formula Championship
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia
R1116 July
R12
5R13 Okayama International Circuit, Mimasaka 9 SeptemberTGR 86/BRZ Race
SuperKart Okayama International Series
Yaris Cup West Japan Series
R1410 September
R15
6R16 Mobility Resort Motegi, Motegi 18 NovemberMotegi Champion Cup
Mini Joy Endurance
Super FJ
R1719 November
R18

Race results

RoundCircuitPole positionFastest lapWinning driverWinning teamMasters winner
1R1 Autopolis Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R2 Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg "Dragon"
R3 Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg "Dragon"
2R4 Sportsland Sugo Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira TOM'S Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R5 Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira TOM'S Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R6 Flag of Japan.svg Seita Nonaka Flag of Brazil.svg Igor Omura Fraga B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg "Dragon"
3R7 Suzuka International Racing Course Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Brazil.svg Igor Omura Fraga Flag of Japan.svg Togo Suganami B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg Takashi Hata
R8 Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg Takashi Hata
R9 Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira TOM'S Flag of Japan.svg Takashi Hata
4R10 Fuji Speedway Flag of Italy.svg Enzo Trulli Flag of Italy.svg Enzo Trulli Flag of Italy.svg Enzo Trulli TOM'S Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R11 Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide Toda Racing Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R12 Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Italy.svg Enzo Trulli TOM'S Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
5R13 Okayama International Circuit Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide Toda Racing Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R14 Flag of Brazil.svg Igor Omura Fraga Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide Toda Racing Flag of Japan.svg "Dragon"
R15 Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide Toda Racing Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
6R16 Mobility Resort Motegi Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R17 Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada
R18 Flag of Japan.svg Togo Suganami Flag of Japan.svg Togo Suganami B-Max Racing Team Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada

Season report

The fourth Super Formula Lights Championship began at Autopolis in late May with B-Max Racing's Iori Kimura taking two pole positions. His teammate Igor Fraga qualified second, but started his campaign with a stall and retired a few laps later. This promoted the TOM'S pair of Hibiki Taira and Yuga Furutani onto the podium, where they stayed until the end of the race. Race two began with Toda Racing's Syun Koide challenging Kimura for the lead, but the latter prevailed and the former had to settle for second. Furutani completed the podium once again. The third race was another calm affair for Kimura to complete his clean sweep of the weekend, while Taira and Furutani battled out the podium places behind him. Taira would established himself in second. The field left the first round with Kimura as the points leader, already 20 points ahead of Taira and Furutani. [12]

Sportsland Sugo played host for the second round, and this time Taira was the one to claim both pole positions. Multiple stalls and accidents at the start of the first race meant a lengthy safety car with Fraga and Kimura following Taira home when it was finally retracted. Race two saw another controlled effort by Taira to claim his second win. Kimura behind him stayed close, but was unable to mount an attack for the lead. Koide had a quiet race to finish third. The final race of the weekend looked set to grant Taira a triple win, before his car got stuck in fourth gear three laps from the end. This saw him drop down, before he spun around. Fraga inherited the lead and took the win, with his teammate Enzo Trulli and Koide completing the podium. Kimura did not score either in the third race, allowing Taira to shorten the points gap to ten points. [13]

Championship leaders Taira and Kimura shared pole positions for round three at Suzuka. The first race began in foggy conditions with Fraga running himself and two other cars off the road, before hitting Kimura when he rejoined. More chaos ensued when rain then started to fall, with B-Max Racing's Togo Suganami coming through to win the race ahead of Taira and his teammate Seita Nonaka. The second race was more straightforward: Kimura won from pole position, while Taira took second from Nonaka on the final straight to come home 0.185 seconds ahead. Suganami had pole position for the final race, but Taira was quicker off the line to take the lead. Nonaka started third and also finished there to make it three straight podiums. Taira won race three, taking the championship lead in the process as Kimura's non-score in the first race saw him drop two points behind. [14]

Fuji Speedway kicked off the second half of the championship with Trulli and Taira sharing pole positions. The Italian was unopposed at the start of the first race and managed his pace from then on to take his maiden win. Rn-sports driver Yuui Tsutsumi held second, until Taira started closing up to him late in the race, but he was unable to get past. Kimura and Taira had a heated battle all throughout the second race, with both drivers earning five-second penalties. This would have allowed Trulli to inherit the win, but he was disqualified for an underweight car and Koide claimed the win. Trulli bounced back from his disqualification to win race three lights-to-flag. Taira finished second after keeping Kimura behind, thereby extending his championship lead to six points. By now, the top pair had distanced themselves by over thirty points from the rest of the field. [15]

Okayama hosted the penultimate round of the season, where Koide and Fraga shared pole positions. The pair started the first race alongside each other, and Koide kept ahead of Fraga as both led Nonaka home. Kimura had a disastrous race and came home last. The second race began with Koide taking the lead from Fraga into the first turn, but panned out much the same afterwards, albeit with Kimura in third this time. The front row for the third race was the same once again, with Koide coming out ahead for the third time. Once again the leading pair remained the same until the end of the race, but third was hotly disputed before B-Max Racing's David Vidales came through to take his maiden podium. Taira had an anonymous weekend, but still grew his advantage to ten points after Kimuras race one non-score. Koide was now only six points further back. [16]

The season final at Motegi began with championship chaser Kimura taking two pole positions. He seemed to be on a mission from the get-go, winning the first race and claiming the fastest lap ahead of Suganami and Fraga. Taira came fourth, now only a single point ahead of Kimura. Race two was much the same, with Kimura again taking the maximum of twelve points. Taira, now relegated to second in the standings, could once again only manage fifth place. This time, Fraga came second and Koide rounded up the podium. Kimura's run slowed in the third race where he had to relinquish the victory to Suganami after the latter made a strong start. But with Taira once again finishing behind him in third, Kimura secured his title eleven points in the lead. [17]

Both Kimura and Taira looked on course to win the title during different stages of the season, with Taira the strongest during the middle part and Kimura clearly the fastest at the start and at the end. This led to an enjoyable battle throughout the season that could have been a three-way fight had Koide's sudden surge of pace come a bit earlier and held on for a bit longer. Three drivers switching from racing in Europe to Japan made for a renewed international spotlight on the series. Sadly, this did not translate into more cars competing, with the field still consisting of around twelve regular entries, as it did in years past. The series will cease to be a multi-engine championship in 2024. It remains to be seen if this will prove effective in bringing down costs and thereby attracting more entries.

Championship standings

The points were awarded as follows:

123456 PP FL
107532111

Drivers' championships

Overall

PosDriver AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT Points
R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18
1 Flag of Japan.svg Iori Kimura 11132811156231136112113
2 Flag of Japan.svg Hibiki Taira 26211122213325 4 4453102
3 Flag of Japan.svg Syun Koide 52543345641711 1 73881
4 Flag of Brazil.svg Igor Omura Fraga Ret47261Ret9784822232462
5 Flag of Italy.svg Enzo Trulli 7765425741DSQ17Ret586644
6 Flag of Japan.svg Togo Suganami 182575211139
7 Flag of Japan.svg Seita Nonaka 651069433376935Ret54736
8 Flag of Japan.svg Yuga Furutani 333Ret877489Ret666768524
9 Flag of Spain.svg David Vidales 4Ret411566610Ret1010473DNSWDWD19
10 Flag of Japan.svg Yuui Tsutsumi 888775910925414
11 Flag of Japan.svg Sota Ogawa 9790
12 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada910118101110811898109100
13 Flag of Japan.svg "Dragon" 10999119101212119129891110110
14 Flag of Japan.svg Takashi Hata11DNSDNS10Ret10811111010100
PosDriverR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18Points
AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT
Key
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenOther points position
BlueOther classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
PurpleNot classified, retired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Did not enter (cell empty)
Text formattingMeaning
Bold Pole position
Italics Fastest lap

Masters' Class

PosDriver AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT Points
R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18
1 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Imada122113111121111150
2 Flag of Japan.svg "Dragon" [a] 211221222212222127
3 Flag of Japan.svg Takashi Hata3DNSDNS3Ret211133368
PosDriverR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18Points
AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT

Teams' standings

Only a teams' best finishing driver was eligible for points.

PosDriver AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT Points
R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18
1 B-Max Racing Team 111221112533222111146
2 TOM'S 232112221131344443117
3 Toda Racing 52543345641711173878
4Rn-sports8887759101025497914
PosDriverR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18Points
AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT

Engine manufacturer standings

Only an engine manufacturers' best finishing driver was eligible for points.

PosDriver AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT Points
R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18
1 Siegfried Spiess Motorenbau 111221112213111111163
2 TOM'S 232112221131344443117
3Tomei Engine1099911991212119129891111110
PosDriverR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18Points
AUT SUG SUZ FUJ OKA MOT

Notes

  1. "Dragon" entered round 3 as a normal competitor, but all other rounds as a Masters' Class competitor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing announced its 2023 motorsport team setups". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Enzo Trulli lands TOM'S Super Formula Lights drive". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  3. 1 2 "Igor Fraga completes B-Max Super Formula Lights line-up". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  4. 1 2 "Honda 2023 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  5. "Tsuchiya SUPER GT team reveals refreshed 2023 line-up". motorsport.com. 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. 1 2 "F3 winner Vidales secures B-Max Super Formula Lights drive". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Round1_2_3 | 2023年 SFL シリーズカレンダー | superformula lights en". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  8. "Suzuka | 2023年 SFL シリーズカレンダー | superformula lights". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  9. "Round16_17_18 | 2023年 SFL シリーズカレンダー | superformula lights en". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  10. "FUJI | 2023年 SFL シリーズカレンダー | superformula lights". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  11. Wood, Ida (2022-11-30). "Super Formula Lights revamps calendar for 2023". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  12. Wood, Ida (2023-05-21). "Honda junior Kimura proves unbeatable in Super Formula Lights opener". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  13. Wood, Ida (2023-06-18). "Gear issue denies Taira triple win in Super Formula Lights at Sugo". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  14. Wood, Ida (2023-07-02). "Toyota junior Taira takes Super Formula Lights lead at Suzuka". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  15. Wood, Ida (2023-07-16). "Enzo Trulli becomes a Super Formula Lights race-winner at Fuji". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  16. Wood, Ida (2023-09-10). "Honda junior Koide takes three Super Formula Lights wins at Okayama". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  17. Wood, Ida (2023-11-19). "Honda junior Iori Kimura wins Super Formula Lights title in Motegi finale". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-11-28.