MEDIA INFORMATION
September 19, 2017 Japan Race Promotion Inc.
Round 6 : September 23 (Saturday) – September 24 (Sunday)
2017 Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship : Sportsland SUGO
Japan Race Promotion Inc. (President: Akira Kurashita, Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan) today announced details of Round 6 of the 2017 Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship Series, scheduled to take place on September 23-24 at the Sportsland SUGO International Racing Course (length = 3.704 km) in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Round 6 will feature an official qualifying session based on a knock-out format, followed by a championship race run over 68 laps (251.88 km) of the circuit.
Sportsland SUGO, the venue for Round 6, is a relatively short circuit with a large variation in gradient of about 70m and a succession of medium-to-high speed corners, making it a challenging course that gives drivers little time to think. This layout leads to regular incidents, earning SUGO respect from drivers and the wider racing community.
With only two rounds to go, Hiroaki Ishiura (P.MU/CERUMO・INGING) remains top of the driver standings, but rookie Pierre Gasly (TEAM MUGEN) has moved up to second after two straight wins at Motegi and Autopolis. Felix Rosenqvist (SUNOCO TEAM LEMANS) is steadily improving and now sits on third after three consecutive podium finishes. Andre Lotterer (VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S), who has secured points in every race except for Round 5, is fourth, rounding out a tight battle for the championship between experienced drivers and rookies at the top of the standings. To retain any chance of winning the championship in the final round, all the top drivers will need to secure points in Round 6. Sportsland SUGO is again set to host a very competitive race this year.
No. 15 Pierre Gasly (TEAM MUGEN) is second in the driver standings after two straight wins in his first SUPER FORMULA season
■ OFFICIAL QUALIFYING KNOCK-OUT FORMAT Q1 (20 minutes) : Top 14 cars progress to Q2, grid positions 15-19 fixed Q2 (7 minutes) : Top 8 cars progress to Q3, grid positions 9-14 fixed Q3 (7 minutes) : Grid positions 1-8 fixed ● 10 minute intervals between each qualifying. ● As the name suggests, drivers are knocked out if they do not post good enough times during the first two qualifying rounds.
■ CHAMPIONSHIP RACE 68 laps (1 lap: 3.704 km x 68 = 251.88 km)
■ Sportsland SUGO International Racing Course Sportsland SUGO, the venue for Round 6, has a large variation in gradient of about 70m and a number of medium-to-high speed corners. After exiting the technical section in the first half of the circuit, drivers climb to the course’s apex near Hi-Point Corner, then drop sharply into the Back Stretch. From the Last Corner to the Home Stretch, the circuit gradient rises 10%. The relatively short layout means Sportsland SUGO is a challenging course that gives drivers little time to think.
2017 JAPANESE SUPER FORMULA Championship Round 6 : ENTRY LIST (Chassis: SF14, Tires: Yokohama) DATE OF BIRTH NO. DRIVER ENTRANT MANAGER ENGINE PLACE OF BIRTH
12 September 1990 1 Yuji Kunimoto Japan TOYOTA P.MU / CERUMO・INGING Yuji Tachikawa RI4A 23 April 1981 2 Hiroaki Ishiura Japan
19 August 1994 3 Nick Cassidy New Zealand TOYOTA KONDO RACING Masahiko Kondo RI4A 3 August 1995 4 Kenta Yamashita Japan
7 November 1991 7 Felix Rosenqvist Sweden TOYOTA SUNOCO TEAM LEMANS Tatsuya Kataoka 30 April 1987 RI4A 8 Kazuya Oshima Japan
20 November 1986 HONDA 10 Koudai Tsukakoshi REAL RACING Katsutomo Kaneishi Japan HR-417E
7 February 1996 15 Pierre Gasly France HONDA TEAM MUGEN Nagataka Tezuka HR-417E 11 July 1988 16 Naoki Yamamoto Japan
13 September 1986 TOYOTA 18 Kamui Kobayashi KCMG Ryuji Doi Japan RI4A
29 December 1987 19 Yuhi Sekiguchi Japan TOYOTA ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL Kazuyoshi Hoshino RI4A 9 September 1991 20 Jann Mardenborough United Kingdom
19 November 1981 36 Andre Lotterer Germany TOYOTA VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S Nobuhide Tachi RI4A 11 January 1985 37 Kazuki Nakajima Japan
15 September 1989 40 Tomoki Nojiri Japan DOCOMO TEAM HONDA Kiyoshi Muraoka DANDELION RACING HR-417E 1 June 1984 41 Takuya Izawa Japan
1 August 1980 HONDA 50 Takashi Kogure B-MAX RACING TEAM Ryuji Kumita Japan HR-417E
29 January 1989 64 Daisuke Nakajima Japan HONDA TCS NAKAJIMA RACING Satoru Nakajima HR-417E 14 January 1977 65 Narain Karthikeyan India
2017 STANDINGS