MUGEN

2014.9.17

The first pole position of the season for TEAM MUGEN! Yamamoto finished 7th in the race to add points!

Series name: 2014 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Round 5
Event: AUTOPOLIS SUPER 2 & 4 Race
Course: 4.674km × 46 laps (215.004km)
Qualifying: 2014-09-13 Sat / Fine / Attendance 6,680 (Announcement from the organizer)
Race: 2014-09-14 Sun / Fine / Attendance 14,100 (Announcement from the organizer)

Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Round 5 was held at AUTOPOLIS in Oita Prefecture. TEAM MUGEN competed in this race with two cars, #1 Naoki Yamamoto and #2 Yuhki Nakayama. For SF14, a new type of car, it was the first time to race at AUTOPOLIS.

Though the direction of AUTOPOLIS circuit is clockwise, it has a unique circuit layout with the pits located outside the course. Therefore, the left side of a car faces a pit garage for a pit stop. However, the new SF14, which was newly introduced this year, has a quick-release fuel cap for refueling is located only on the right side of the body. Considering the positional relationship with a refueling system located on the pit garage side, this makes it difficult to refuel during pit stops at AUTOPOLIS. For this reason, JRP decided “not to refuel” during the races of the Round 5.

Accordingly, the setting for instantaneous maximum flow rate of the fuel restrictors was changed from 100 kg/h for races until the Round 3 to 90 kg/h as it was for the Round 4. (For the overtaking systems, the maximum flow rate was increased five times up to 95 kg/h during the race.)

Though the final race distance of the Round 5 was 215 km, and it was slightly shorter than the usual race distance of 250 km, the race was expected to be difficult in terms of strategies on fuel consumption to run the distance with full tank of gas 90 litters, (approximately 67.5 kg).

September 13th (Sat)

■  Qualifying
#1 Naoki Yamamoto Q1: 3rd position 00:01:27.371, Q2: 1st position 00:01:26.646, Q3: 1st position 00:01:26.469
#2 Yuhki Nakayama Q1: 15th position 00:01:28.574

The qualifying race features a knockout format with three sessions. The top 14 out of all drivers in Q1 will run Q2, and for the rest, the starting grid will be determined based on their results in Q1. The top 8 in Q2 will run Q3, and the starting grid will be determined for drivers who come in the 9th through 13th positions based on their results. Eventually, the starting grid for the top 8 drivers will be determined based on their results in Q3 as per usual SUPER FORMULA rules.

Q1 session started at 14:40, and by that time, the sun came out and the temperature increased. An accident occurred right after the course was opened, and the session was interrupted with a red flag. Both #1 Yamamoto and #2 Nakayama drove one lap and safely returned to the pit. The time attack was resumed during the session restarted at 15:00. #1 Yamamoto finished 3rd in Q1, and made it to Q2. However, #2 Nakayama could not fully make use of the settings for the track surface conditions. He drove slower than the free practice in the morning and finished 15th in Q1, so he could not make it to Q2.

#1 Yamamoto entered Q2, which started at 15:30. Competitors took the strategy of warming up cars on the lap 1 before making a time attack, however, he used the first two laps for a warm-up. He made it to Q3 with the fastest time in the qualifying.

Also for Q3, which started at 15:47, #1 Yamamoto took the same strategy of warming up the car on the first two laps. His time was 00:01:26.469, which was the course record, and he got the first pole position of the season among Honda drivers.

September 14th, (Sun)

■   Final Race
#1 Naoki Yamamoto 7th position (46 laps 01:10:35.896 / Best lap 00:01:31.363)
#2 Yuhki Nakayama 14th position (46 laps 01:11:31.135 / Best lap 00:01:31.822)

Because of the delay in an event which was held at the venue, drivers started warm-ups for the final race at 14:10. It lasted for eight minutes before they got ready for the start. It was overcast in the morning, but the sky cleared up by the start time.

At the moment that the signal to black out, #1 Yamamoto, who was in the pole position, took some time for clutch-meet, and moved down at once. He was in the 7th position when he passed through the curve 1. On the other hand, #2 Nakayama successfully avoid confusion and accelerated the car as he planned to move up to the 12th position.

#1 Yamamoto kept almost the same distance to cars ahead and behind, and drove at similar lap time. But he could not move closer to and overtake them, and he had to be patient for a while. #2 Nakayama was also in the same situation.

In the first curve on the lap 31, #2 Nakayama applied the brakes. This caused tires' lock-ups and overrun, and he moved down. #1 Yamamoto was chased aggressively by cars behind, but he kept his position, recorded his best time as 00:01:31.461 on the lap 39, and pulled away. #1 Yamamoto drove faster as fuel decreased, and he further recorded his best time as 00:01:31.363 on the lap 46. However, he could not overtake cars ahead and finished 7th in the race, which was the same position as he was at the start of the race.

When #2 Nakayama overran, flat spots were generated on tires, and he could not increase his pace. He managed to finish the 14th in the race. As a result, #1 Yamamoto got three points including one point for pole position. He now has nine cumulative points, and he is ranked 9th. TEAM MUGEN added two points and was ranked 7th with eight cumulative points.

■ Comments from the team director, Nagataka Tezuka

Since it was the first time for the new cars to compete at the track here, we tried various measures on them when they started. We did not have any trouble, all the settings went well, and we could get the pole position. I give Yamamoto in the qualifying full marks.

We were first worrying about fuel consumption for the final race. However, when it was started, we could say it was not that bad. Honestly, I expected good results of the final race, but without refueling and tire replacement, it may have been stressful for Yamamoto to try to keep the position right after the start since overtaking cars ahead was not easy with this car. After the race, I now have various thoughts about vehicle balance, and others. We will progress step by step to get to the top not only in the qualifying but also the final race in the next round at SUGO.

We can finally participate in races thanks to your supports and Honda staff. All we need to do is to work together seamlessly as a team and do our best for a victory.

♦ Photo Gallery (Round5)