Igor Fraga has achieved his first complete victory in the Super Formula this Saturday at the Fuji circuit, while Kakunoshin Ohta took the opportunity to further consolidate his position as championship leader, finishing in second place.
From pole, the Nakajima Racing driver controlled the race for 41 laps, with only a temporary loss of advantage during the pit stops. This victory marks the third triumph of his career, after having achieved two victories in shorter distance races, including one earlier at Fuji this same year.
Kakunoshin Ohta, for his part, has extended his championship lead to 48 points, with Fraga as his closest pursuer. If the Dandelion Racing driver manages to maintain a margin of at least 46 points over Fraga in the next two races, he could clinch the title with two races still to be held, including the grand final at Fuji on Sunday.
Ohta closely followed Fraga for most of the race, but had to face a moment of tension when a sudden steering problem caused him to lose time, allowing Zak O’Sullivan of Team Impul to close in on the battle for second place.
O’Sullivan, who had started from sixth position, fought and climbed to fourth place after passing both Tomoki Nojiri and Yuto Nomura in the opening laps. He managed to overtake Ayumu Iwasa for third position on lap 12, but was then unmasked during the pit stops. Nevertheless, he regained his position over Iwasa on lap 26.
O’Sullivan tried to cut the margin with Ohta for second place, gaining ground on the penultimate lap, but he was unable to push through on the final lap to secure second place. Iwasa finished fourth, marking a new setback for his title defense.
The battle for fifth place was intense, with Sho Tsuboi overcoming Nirei Fukuzumi in a hard-fought duel. In the standings, Nobuharu Matsushita delivered a notable performance for Delightworks Racing, finishing seventh, while Toshiki Oyu rounded out the top eight in eighth place.
Among the drivers who did not have a satisfactory race was Luke Browning, reserve driver for Williams Formula 1, who had to settle for 15th place after struggling to advance from his starting position of 16th. Tomoki Nojiri also suffered a disappointing performance, finishing in 16th place, while Yuto Nomura retired following a second pit stop.
Finally, the performance of debutant Kazuhisa Urabe stands out, who was urgently called up to replace Sena Sakaguchi and managed to reach Q2 in his first participation but finished the race in 21st position.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_afa7a704796d9e97abd052e422c3cd4b23da294a