Super Formula Preview: Round 8 at SUGO
- Tarun Suresh
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Super Formula returns to the calendar for one of the two traditional single-header weekends this season, this time at SUGO.
Track overview
The shortest circuit on the calendar, SUGO is just over three and a half kilometers long and only has 12 turns. The Yamaha-owned circuit starts off with a technical uphill sector one, with turns one through four being the prime overtaking zones at this circuit. Then it's a much more gradual downhill section of medium and high speed corners.
Overtaking is difficult around this circuit, making qualifying all the more important for a good result on race day.
Drivers to watch out for
It’s hard to predict who could be on top here, especially this season, as the pecking order keeps shuffling every round, with every driver but Kakunoshin Ohta finishing at least two races outside the points and only Ohta and Igor Fraga having consecutive podium finishes.
The way Ohta’s season has been going so far, it would not be a surprise to see him on the podium, if not the top step, this weekend. However, his track record at the circuit happens to be a stain on a relatively spotless career.
His best Super Formula finish here has been eighth, and one would have to go all the way back to his Super Formula Lights career to find the last time he finished in the top five at this circuit. He is, however, in the midst of a breakthrough season and is coming off a pole and podium in Super GT last weekend.
Last year’s race at SUGO was made sensational because it resulted in Ayumu Iwasa’s maiden win in the series after coming excruciatingly close many races before. The defending champion has had a rough season so far with only two podium finishes, a far cry from both his performance last year, when he scored a podium in every race he finished this time last year, and from his pre-season goal of winning every race this season.
His teammate, qualifying king Tomoki Nojiri, finished only fifteenth here last year, but has an excellent track record at the circuit, grabbing his first win here, back in his debut season in 2014. He has since scored five podiums at the circuit, including a race win 10 years after his first in 2024.
The two-time champion has seemed to have recovered from a dry spell in his career, scoring a podium and holding his own against Iwasa last race weekend at Fuji. He might just have what it takes to make it to the podium.
The championships
In the Drivers’ Championship, it looks like a maiden title is all but sealed for Ohta, the Kyoto native having a comfortable 50.5 point lead over Iwasa in second. Ohta needs to outscore the Red Bull F1 reserve by 10 points across this round and Round 9 at Fuji to secure Team Dandelion their third drivers’ title.
Iwasa believes he can still win the title, but his mathematical chances will fall dramatically if he fails to outscore Ohta this round. Fraga is currently third in the standings and is 56 points behind Ohta.
In the Teams’ Championship Dandelion have a clear dominant lead of 55.5 points thanks to Ohta’s dominant season so far and Tadasuke Makino’s resurgent drives at Fuji. The two time defending champions are eyeing the first hat trick of championships since Team TOM’S’ 2013-15 run.
Team TOM’S are a distant second and have had mixed results so far and look like they’ll have to defend from a rising Cerumo·Inging squad (currently third) to secure second in the standings and maintain their spot as the top Toyota team.
The weather
The weather for the weekend is expected to be cloudy with minimal to no chances of rain. The temperatures are forecast to be moderate but with a relatively colder Sunday, which could swing the pendulum to the side of the Honda-powered teams whose engines are well known for performing better in colder conditions.
Weekend overview
The three tiered qualifying system introduced at Autopolis this year, the SUPER POLE QUALIFYING format, will be followed this weekend. Akin to IndyCar’s Fast Six format, the top five from Qualifying 2 will make it to Qualifying 3 in a shootout for pole, with the pole sitter getting a million yen in cash as a reward.
Group A for Qualifying 1 will consist of: Iwasa, Ukyo Sasahara, Makino, Kenta Yamashita, Juju Noda, Nirei Fukuzumi, Nobuharu Matsushita, Rikuto Kobayashi, Sacha Fenestraz, Toshiki Oyu, Yuto Nomura and Ren Sato.
Group B contains: Luke Browning, Ohta, Kamui Kobayashi, Giuliano Alesi, Syun Koide, Nojiri, Zak O’Sullivan, Sho Tsuboi, Sena Sakaguchi, Charlie Wurz, Fraga and Roman Staněk.
The mandatory pit stop limit for SUGO is lap 13. Any pitstops made before the leader crosses the Safety Car line on lap 13 will not be counted as a mandatory pit stop. Any cars that make a pitstop before then, even for emergency repairs would have to make another stop on lap 13 or later.
FP1 takes place at 09:00 JST on Saturday with Qualifying later that afternoon at 14:20 JST. FP2 is scheduled for 09:30 on Sunday and the race goes green at 14:20 that afternoon and will last 51 laps.
Edited by Liam Ploetner
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