Super Formula's Autopolis round cancelled due to heavy rain and fog

Credit: Super Formula

Similar to round 1 at Motegi this year, fog and rain affected the circuit. The race started behind the safety car after a delayed start, but was red flagged during the first lap. Around thirty minutes after that, an entrants' meeting was called, after which it was ultimately decided that the race would be cancelled.

Chairman of Japan Race Promotion (JRP) Masahiko Kondo spoke on the cancellation after the announcement: “We wanted to make a quick decision because the fans have been waiting for long enough. We’re going to consider a replacement for this race from now on. We really wanted to put on a show [for the fans]”.

Last year, the final of the four rounds held at Fuji Speedway was also cancelled in a similar fashion due to intense fog. However, a replacement race was held in the following double header at Suzuka to make up for that, so Kondo’s statement about finding a replacement is not without precedent.

If a replacement race is held, the qualifying results from yesterday’s session will be used to determine the starting grid. That would mean reigning champion Ayumu Iwasa would start from pole, and the current championship leader Kakunoshin Ohta would start beside him on the front row.

Not much has changed in the championship this weekend. Since only one lap was completed, no points have been awarded for the race. The only movers in the championship standings are the two Mugen drivers, Iwasa and his two-time champion teammate Tomoki Nojiri, thanks to them qualifying in the top three spots.

Iwasa moves up to second in the championship, owing to the three points he got from qualifying on pole position, putting him 19.5 points behind Ohta in the championship. Nojiri has moved up to thirteenth in the standings because of the one point from qualifying third.

The next round of the season, scheduled on the calendar, is at Suzuka, slated to be held on the 23rd and 24th of May. It will be a double header weekend.