2014 Super Formula series

[ivanalesi]

It's a shame Honda didn't choose Yamamoto to come to GP2, he's very close to Lotterer and still young at 25 or something.

[kaivo]

Lotterer out :/

[kurski]

Rookie Tomoki Nojiri takes his first ever Super Formula victory at Sugo. Kazuki Nakajima 2nd, Loic Duval 3rd. 1st season victory for Honda.

[gomick]

Super Formula Points...

Kazuki Nakajima - 33
Paulo de Oliveira - 29
Loic Duval - 26.5
Andre Lotterer - 26.5
Hiroaki Ishiura - 23
James Rossiter - 20.5
Yuji Kunimoto - 17
Ryo Hirakawa - 14.5

[Formulahistory]

Has anyone a race summary?

[p-matt]

I really wish this was televised. Even highlights on Motors would be great.

[ivanalesi]

There are short highlights with subtitles(yep!) right after every race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZwcvcLdUsc

Later on they are posting the full races, but still with Japanese commentary.

[WSR Fan]

An interesting little piece of news - Fabio Leimer has confirmed on Twitter that he'll be testing on December 10/11 in Okayama. And there were also reports on ItaliaRacing recently that Jolyon Palmer and Marvin Kirchhofer might possibly be heading to test in Japan too.

It does seem that Super Formula is having a renaissance at the moment, and with drivers like Loic Duval and Andre Lotterer having success out there, I think it would be nice to see a few more Europeans try and give it a shot if they can't get into GP2/FR3.5 etc.

[Beryl]

Looks like SF making their calendar compatible with WEC is already paying dividends. If I was a good young driver whose prospects of F1 have all but been extinguished, the idea of SF + WEC would appeal to me a lot more than just Indycar or just DTM. If Leimer intends to make himself a career in LMP1, a potential SF entry would be a fantastic addition to his program.

[Formulahistory]

Bird also looking into Super Formula.

[Japanese Samurai]

Autosport web says that Kamui Kobayashi will participate in the SF rookie test from Toyota team.
There is a possibility for him to participate in SF from Honda team next season.
http://as-web.jp/news/info.php?c_id=2&no=61869

[TheNo1F1Fan]

Originally Posted by Japanese Samurai

Autosport web says that Kamui Kobayashi will participate in the SF rookie test from Toyota team.
There is a possibility for him to participate in SF from Honda team next season.
http://as-web.jp/news/info.php?c_id=2&no=61869

I hope he ends up a drive in Super Formula.

[NaBUru38]

I wonder if Super Formula bosses would add races in places like Malaysia and Singapore.

[chunterer]

Would be interesting to see if the series gets a bigger Gaijin flavour again next season, indeed.

I'd love it for the series to get back to something like the halcyon days of the late 80's/early 90's when the best of the Japanese drivers faced some of the cream of European sub F1 talent and the odd South American hot shot.

Let's hope!

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

I wonder if Super Formula bosses would add races in places like Malaysia and Singapore.

They did hold a race at Sepang in 2004 (won by Andre Lotterer) but that's about it in terms of non-Japanese events. I think they were planning on a race at the former Korean F1 track a few years ago but that never happened for some reason.

I think it'd be good for them to branch out a little, but maybe they are worried about budgets being strechted with foreign trips?

BTW, does anyone have a rough estimate of what a Super Formula budget is for a season?

[ivanalesi]

Kobayashi is trying to jump ship to Honda and then land into F1 with their future secondary backed team, but it will be tough to beat all their drivers. This should help the popularity of Super Formula in Japan, because judging by the crowds it's not as what it used to be some 10-15 years ago.

[Formulahistory]

Rosenqvist is also very likely to test SF...

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by ivanalesi

Kobayashi is trying to jump ship to Honda and then land into F1 with their future secondary backed team, but it will be tough to beat all their drivers. This should help the popularity of Super Formula in Japan, because judging by the crowds it's not as what it used to be some 10-15 years ago.

I don't think it will be, they're all his age and Toyota has all the budding young guns.


Good to see the talented Euro guys are starting to come back into SF. Hopefully they'll be adding seats instead of taking seats away. Will make Super GT more interesting as well. Might end up with better coverage, too.

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by Beryl

Looks like SF making their calendar compatible with WEC is already paying dividends. If I was a good young driver whose prospects of F1 have all but been extinguished, the idea of SF + WEC would appeal to me a lot more than just Indycar or just DTM. If Leimer intends to make himself a career in LMP1, a potential SF entry would be a fantastic addition to his program.

Indeed. Plus, in comparison with IndyCar, you get to be a bit of a celebrity in Japan while getting paid, as opposed to being obscure for all but two weeks in America, all while trying to find a check from people who reluctantly, if at all, sign it. The reward is greater in IndyCar, but the risk is tenfold. Of course, Mike Conway made it work...