MUGEN

2015.9.16

TEAM MUGEN finished in 7th place, scoring points, and identified the direction for the “car that is strong in the final race” that will lead to future success.

Series name: 2015 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Round 5
Event: AUTOPOLIS SUPER 2&4 RACE 2015
Course: 4.674km × 54 laps (252.396km)
Qualifying: September 12 (Sat) / Fine / Attendance 6,980 (Announcement from the organizer)
Race: September 13 (Sun) / Fine after cloudy / Attendance 15,010 (Announcement from the organizer)

Round 5 of the 2015 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series was held on September 12 (Sat) and 13 (Sun) at the Autopolis International Racing Course in Oita Prefecture.

Last year, the operator of the race, Japan Race Promotion (JRP) decided that last year's race should have been a “no refueling race” and held on the shorter distance of 46 laps, totaling 215.004 km. This was because Autopolis was a counterclockwise course, fueling would have to be done from the left side of the vehicle, while new SF14 vehicle did not have the necessary equipment.

However this year, equipment for fueling from the left side was added to the SF14, and the race has returned to its usual format. The course was 54 laps - 8 laps longer than last year, for a total distance of 252.396 km, and the mandatory pit stop was reinstated. In the same way as last year, the fuel restrictor specification was set to a maximum instantaneous flow of 90 kg/h. (The overtake system was increased to a maximum flow of 100 kg/h and was limited to 5 uses during the race.)

September 12 (Sat)

■  Free practice first round
#16 Naoki Yamamoto, 11th position (00:01:28.851)

We conducted an exclusive drive for 1 hour beginning from 10:00 on the morning of Saturday the 12th. The sky was covered with a layer of thin clouds, with some faint sunlight shining through. Course conditions were dry. During Round 5 of the series last year on this course, #16 Naoki Yamamoto expertly obtained the pole position. Based on this data, the team set up the machine before the race with consideration for this year's conditions and with some additional adjustments. However when he began driving, #16 Naoki Yamamoto was not satisfied with the feel of the vehicle, and although he recorded a time of somewhat over 00:01:29 seconds, he returned to the pit and repeated fine adjustments to the settings were made.

During the second half of the session, one of the nearby rival vehicles reduced its time to a little over 00:01:28 seconds, and #16 Naoki Yamamoto focused on making fine adjustments to the settings and verifying the feeling, and recorded 23 laps with a best time of 00:01.28.851.

■  Official qualifying
#16 Naoki Yamamoto (Q1:10th position, 00:01:28.209, Q2: 10th position, 00:01:27.790, Q3: DNS)

The three knockout formula qualifying sessions started at 13:15. The conditions were dry, the same as during the morning. The clouds gradually thinned and from time to time were pierced by bright sunshine.

Not satisfied with the feeling during the exclusive drive, #16 Naoki Yamamoto and the team decided to make large changes to the settings in preparation for time attack during the qualifying session. However the machine conditions did not improve as expected, and after the 20 minute Q1 session, #16 Naoki Yamamoto and the team made further setting adjustments before the time attack at the end of the session. Although he did not shorten his time, he recorded a best lap time of 00:01:28.209 and advanced to Q2 in 10th place.

During the Q2 interval, the team further tweaked the settings, however the conditions were not to #16 Naoki Yamamoto's satisfaction, and the Q2 session ended with him at 00:01.27.790, 0.708 seconds behind the top time and in 10th position. As a result, he did not advance to Q3 and #16 Naoki Yamamoto's position in the staring grid was set at No. 10.

September 13 (Sun)

■   Free practice, second session
#16 Naoki Yamamot, 18th position (00:01:31.496)

The second exclusive drive was conducted for 30 minutes starting from 09:30 on Sunday morning in preparation for the final race. The sky was covered with thin clouds, and the course was bathed in gentle autumn sunlight. The air was cool, at only 27°C compared with 32°C on the previous day.

#16 Naoki Yamamoto ended the qualifying session in a disappointing position, and he used the exclusive drive to check the driving feel of the machine with its settings changed for the final race. However although the necessary direction became visible, the final settings could not be identified. After entering the pit and further adjusting the settings, he continued driving to the end of the session. He produced a best lap time of 00:01:31.496 and ended the session after 13 laps - the fewest of any of the driving vehicles.

■   Final Race
#16 Naoki Yamamoto, 7th position (54 laps / 01:23:14.726 / Best lap 00:01:30.708)

The rainclouds that had been a concern did not appear, and instead the clouds parted and the autumn sunshine was breaking through when the racing vehicles began entering the course at 14:20 to warm up for the race. #16 Naoki Yamamoto also drove 5 laps and checked the settings that had been made for the final race. His lap time was 00:01:32.135, putting him in only 16th position, however he felt that the feeling of the car had improved.

Subsequently all cars returned to the pit, and then began entering the course again to form up in the dummy grid. The final race then started at 15:00.

From 10th position in the middle of the pack, #16 Naoki Yamamoto accelerated after a nicely timed clutch meet, and began the race by moving up to 7th place before the first corner. He finally felt that the settings which had been selected for the final race had paid off, and completed several laps on approximately the same pace as the leading cars. However due to the SF14 characteristics, when he approached the machine ahead, he lost downforce and found himself unable to get any closer.

On the 6th lap, one car in the top group collected a drive-through penalty and lost its position, moving #16 Naoki Yamamoto up to 6th place. Although he continued driving 1 - 2 seconds behind the car ahead, he was not able to reverse their positions.

After the mid-point of the race was passed, #16 Naoki Yamamoto entered the pit at the end of lap 30. After the car was refueled and all 4 tires changed, he returned to the race. The loss time at this point was extremely short: a little over 10 seconds as measured by TEAM MUGEN, and a little over 11 seconds according to the official clock. The 5th place vehicle then entered the pit, starting an out-lap duel. With a brilliant attack, #16 Naoki Yamamoto gained a real 5th place position. The excellent pit work and the driver's hard work on the in- and out-laps resulted in a powerful attack on the other driver.

#16 Naoki Yamamoto's position rose each time a higher position car entered the pit, and when the shuffling had settled he was in 5th place, aiming for 4th. Although he had changed all 4 tires, the car ahead had changed only its 2 rear tires, giving #16 Naoki Yamamoto the advantage in vehicle conditions.

Although #16 Naoki Yamamoto continued to press the attack in an attempt to reverse their positions, the characteristics of the Autopolis course make overtaking difficult. In lap 47 as the race was nearing the end, #16 Naoki Yamamoto pressed the attack too hard and locked the front brake on the second hairpin curve, resulting in overrun. Although he managed to return to the course, he had been passed by the vehicles behind and dropped to 7th place.

Finally, #16 Naoki Yamamoto finished lap 54 to take the checkered flag in 7th place, the highest of any of the Honda teams. This result added 2 points to #16 Naoki Yamamoto's series points, giving him a total of 9 points. However he dropped to No. 8 in the drivers' point ranking. TEAM MUGEN also gained 2 series points, and this raised their position to No. 6 in the team point ranking. Round 6 of the series will be held on October 17 - 18 at Miyagi Sports Land Sugo.

■ Comments from driver, Naoki Yamamoto

At the start, the feeling of the car was poor. Although we tried many different changes, the conditions were not good up through the exclusive drive on Sunday morning before the final race. However the results from the setting changes that we made before the final race were good, and the balance during the final race was the best it has been in any of the sessions. However with a car in front of me I was not able to improve my pace no matter what I tried. However I was able to drive in the leading pack, and I think the strategy before and after the pit stop, and the push approach worked extremely well.

(At the end of the race) because I knew that the car ahead had changed only 2 tires and because my own pace was good, I made a push as I tried to pull ahead somehow. However I ended up dropping in position instead. I really apologize to all the staff who worked so hard on this. As expected, we need to be positioned near the front in the qualifying session if we are to win.

At the next Sugo race, last year I was able to take the pole position, however we know that we cannot use the same settings as last year. I think that if I had to choose, I would say that the settings we used this time may be more effective. Therefore I want to consider last year's data and the data from this year to date when we configure the settings before bringing the vehicle to the race. Speaking just from the vehicle conditions, I think we made great progress this time and I want to carry that forward to the next race.

■ Comments from the team director, Nagataka Tezuka

At first the feeling was not so good, and we lost sight of the right direction for a while. However we refocused ourselves and made some degree of improvement on Sunday morning aimed at making a “strong car” for the final race. As a result, the feeling in the final race was better than at the Autopolis final race last year.

This time we struggled during the qualifying sessions, however I think we may have identified the necessary direction in order to make a car that is strong in the final race. Our 4 tire change and refueling pit work was fast and sharp. I think this was the result of improvements and training by our mechanics. Everyone really gave their best. I think that they will continue to strive for further improvements.

Driver Naoki Yamamoto tried hard. His course overrun is evidence of his attack, but naturally a variety of management is needed during the race. The fact that we changed 4 tires during the race shows that the car's balance is good, and I am very pleased about this. However there were teams who did not change the tires and were faster than us, so we need to look for something more. At this time, we have 4 issues to resolve, and I understand that it will be difficult to win if we do not adequately resolve all of them. We will do our best to address all 4 of these issues and avenge ourselves at the next Sugo race.

I think that we were able to deliver some excitement to our fans and our cooperating sponsors, and we will do everything we can to deliver races that will be even more satisfying. Thank you all very much.

♦ Photo Gallery (Round5)