The third round of the Super Formula season in Autopolis has been canceled due to adverse weather conditions. The organization, JRP, reported the decision at 15:20 local time, less than an hour after the race was stopped due to water accumulated on the track, just after a lap behind the safety car.
With less than two laps completed, the race was declared null and no points were awarded. JRP has indicated that it is possible to schedule a replacement race later in the year, as happened last season when the tenth round at Fuji Speedway was canceled due to fog, and a third race was added to the calendar for the end of the season in Suzuka.
In the morning practices, the session was stopped due to an accident involving Luke Browning at Turn 3, although the support races of Super Formula Lights were held as planned. Light rain intensified after the reconnaissance laps, accompanied by fog on the circuit, and it was decided to delay the start of the race by just under 20 minutes from the initially scheduled time of 14:30.
When the peloton left the grid behind the safety car, the fog had lifted significantly, but the rain became noticeably heavier and did not cease until a meeting of entrants was called just before the cancellation was made official.
In Saturday’s qualifying session, Ayumu Iwasa achieved pole position ahead of championship leader Kakunoshin Ohta. Additionally, he did it in a Q3 round with five vehicles, a situation that had not occurred since the 2021 season, earning a prize pool of 1 million yen (approximately 4,600 euros).
The three extra points obtained by Iwasa of Team Mugen elevate him to second place in the standings, reducing Ohta’s point advantage from Dandelion Racing to 19.5 points. Should a replacement race take place later, the same grid order will be used, with Iwasa leading Ohta, Tomoki Nojiri (Mugen), Sacha Fenestraz (TOM’S) and Sena Sakaguchi (Inging).
After Browning’s accident, his car from Kondo Racing was repaired in time for the reconnaissance laps, and the Brit began the race from seventeenth position.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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