2010 Japanese Formula 3 Championship
The 2010 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was the 32nd edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. It commenced on April 17 at Suzuka and ended on October 17 at Autopolis after 16 races held at eight race meetings.
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All the Championship Class titles were secured at the Okayama meeting in September, with Yuji Kunimoto securing the drivers' title with five races to spare. The TOM'S driver had recorded a series record ten consecutive wins to start the season before finishing second to team-mate Rafael Suzuki in round 11 to secure the title.[1] Despite not winning another race after clinching the title, Kunimoto still finished 58 points ahead of closest rival Yuhi Sekiguchi of ThreeBond Racing. Sekiguchi failed to win a race, but finished eleven races on the podium and overhauled Suzuki for the runner-up position. Suzuki had taken three wins in succession – two at Okayama and one at Sugo but failed to take part in either race at the final round at Autopolis in order to prioritise his commitments for the Macau Grand Prix the following month.[2]
Koki Saga finished fourth, taking his first two victories in Formula Three at the final meeting at Autopolis, while Alexandre Imperatori finished fifth. The only other race-winner was Hideki Yamauchi, who took six podium finishes – including a win at Sugo – in his eight starts. Suzuki's first win at Okayama also gave TOM'S the teams title and the engine tuners championship, having amassed a maximum score up to round 14. ThreeBond Racing finished runners-up in the teams' championship, while Hanashima Racing's Toyota engines finished second in the tuners' championship.
In the National Class, the championship battle revolved around two drivers, HFDP Racing's Takashi Kobayashi and TOM'S Spirit driver Naoya Gamou, with the championship race going down to the final meeting at Autopolis. Kobayashi's sixth win of the season in the first race of the weekend, coupled with a Gamou retirement allowed Kobayashi to clinch the title with a race to spare. Gamou took eight wins on the season – including seven in succession at Fuji along with doubles at Motegi, Okayama and Sugo – but finished three points in arrears of Kobayashi. Third place went to Team Le Beausset's Katsumasa Chiyo, who won at the first Motegi meeting and fourth went to the other race-winner, Team Nova's Kimiya Sato, who won at the second Fuji meeting. As well as Kobayashi's drivers' championship, HFDP Racing clinched the teams' championship by five points ahead of TOM'S Spirit.
Teams and drivers
- The provisional entry list for the series was released on March 10, 2010.[3] All teams were Japanese-registered.
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- Notes
- All drivers competed in Dallara chassis; model listed.
Race calendar and results
- All races were held in Japan, and were in support of Formula Nippon at all rounds except the first Fuji round and Okayama.
Championship standings
Drivers' Championships
- Points were awarded as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | PP | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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Teams' Championships
- Points were awarded for both races as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Team | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUG | AUT | Pts | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship Class | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Petronas Team TOM'S | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Ret | 137 |
| 2 | ThreeBond Racing | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Ret | 11 | 3 | 2 | 78 |
| 3 | Denso Team Le Beausset | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 65 |
| 4 | Toda Racing | 3 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 52 |
| 5 | Hanashima Racing | 6 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 49 |
| National Class | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | HFDP Racing | 7 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 114 |
| 2 | TOM'S Spirit | 12 | 8 | Ret | 6 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | Ret | 4 | 109 |
| 3 | Denso Team Le Beausset | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 14 | Ret | 7 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 64 |
| 4 | Team Nova | 10 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 10 | Ret | 59 |
| 5 | Achievement by KCMG | 13 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 44 |
| 6 | Hanashima Racing | 14 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Aim Sports | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 8 | CMS Motor Sports Project | 14 | 15 | Ret | Ret | 17 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | Ret | 13 | 16 | 0 | ||||
| Pos | Team | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUG | AUT | Pts | ||||||||
Engine Tuners' Championship
- Points were awarded for both races as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Engine | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUG | AUT | Pts | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota-TOM'S | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Ret | 137 |
| 2 | Toyota-Hanashima | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 82 |
| 3 | Nissan-Tomei | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Ret | 11 | 3 | 2 | 78 |
| 4 | Mugen-Toda | 3 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 52 |
| Pos | Engine | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUG | AUT | Pts | ||||||||
References
- "Can Kunimoto join Japan's best F3 champions?". Castrol Driver Rankings. Castrol; Autosport. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
- Durante, Rafael (14 October 2010). "Rafael Suzuki confirma presença nos GPs de Macau e da Coréia do Sul". esportesite.com.br (in Portuguese). Esporte Site. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
- "2010 Achievement Japanese Formula 3 Entry List (tentative)". Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Japanese Formula 3 Association. 2010-03-10. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
- Martins, Victor (2010-03-01). "Suzuki assina contrato com Tom's e vai disputar F3 Japonesa em 2010". iG (in Portuguese). Internet Group. Archived from the original on 2010-03-04. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- "2010年Hondaモータースポーツ活動の概要". honda.co.jp (in Japanese). Honda. 2010-02-19. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- Anderson, Ben (2010-02-17). "Ireland's Thompson joins Japan F3". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
Gary will be a fantastic asset to the team and it's fantastic to have an Irish driver racing in Japan. These are exciting times for KCMG. We have added a third car to our F3 team this season and we are also moving into Formula Nippon with support from Toyota Motorsport, providing a factory supported academy for our drivers to progress through.
- "Implacabile Kunimoto". ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian). Inpagina. 2010-07-17. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
External links
- Official Site (in Japanese)