Through two days of the Super Formula Championship’s winter test at Suzuka Circuit, Honda’s factory drivers have led all four test sessions.
Dandelion Racing’s Tadasuke Makino in the No. 5 Dallara SF23-Honda set the fastest time of the test so far on Thursday afternoon at 1m35.597s, leading his teammate Kakunoshin Ohta in the No. 6 Dandelion car (1m35.656s). Makino also led the first test session on Wednesday morning, while Ohta was quickest in Thursday morning’s session.
Makino and Ohta were among the five drivers confirmed as part of Honda’s Super Formula plans for 2025. The duo that combined for four wins and secured the teams’ championship last season will return to Dandelion Racing. It will be Ohta’s only Japanese campaign, as he has relinquished his seat in the Super GT Series GT500 class to focus on his new program in IMSA with Acura Meyer Shank Racing.
Honda also announced that two-time Super Formula Champion Tomoki Nojiri and 2024 Rookie of the Year Ayumu Iwasa will remain at Team Mugen in 2025, while Ren Sato will stay at Nakajima Racing in one of the team’s two cars. At least three more seats will be announced later by Nakajima Racing, B-Max Racing, and ThreeBond Racing.
Sato (no relation to Takuma) set the fastest time on Wednesday at 1m36.337s, and was fifth quickest on Thursday behind Nojiri, who was fourth.
The fastest Toyota-powered driver was Cerumo-INGING’s Sena Sakaguchi, who was third quickest on Thursday with a 1m35.967s, with his teammate Toshiki Oyu in sixth at the end of Thursday. Former Nissan Formula E driver Sacha Fenestraz, driving the No. 37 TOM’S Toyota, was 10th fastest in his return to the Super Formula paddock (1m36.591s).
Nakajima Racing’s Igor Fraga led the way among the rookies. Image via Super Formula
Of the rookies taking part in testing, Igor Fraga has led all four sessions in the No. 64 Nakajima Racing Honda. The Brazilian-Japanese driver’s best lap on Thursday afternoon was a 1m36.252s, good enough for seventh overall — ahead of reigning Super Formula champion Sho Tsuboi in the No.36 TOM’S Toyota.
Fraga is the leading candidate to replace three-time series champion Naoki Yamamoto, who retired from the series after 2024, but no official announcement has been made by Nakajima Racing at this time.
Behind him in the rookie leaderboard was Toyota-backed Super Formula Lights graduate Seita Nonaka in the No.7 KCMG Toyota, who was 11th on Thursday (1m36.677s), followed by 2024 Super Formula Lights champion Syun Koide in the No.50 B-Max Racing Honda (1m36.803s) and former Hertz Team JOTA WEC driver Oliver Rasmussen in the No.19 Team Impul Toyota (1m36.827s).
Mitsunori Takaboshi in the second Impul car crashed during Thursday’s final session when he spun exiting the Hairpin Corner, but his best time from the morning session (1m37.802s) was still quicker than those from Kondo Racing’s two rookie testers, GB3 Series race winner James Hedley (1m37.900s) and Formula 2 alumni Juan Manuel Correa (1m38.063s).
W Series alumni Miki Koyama made an excellent first impression in her first test in the No. 8 KCMG Toyota, completing 62 laps on the day and finishing with a best time of 1m38.078s. Koyama, who hopes to become the fifth woman to race in the series’ history, had her test day moved up from Friday to Thursday, allowing Nonaka to drive the No. 8 car tomorrow while Haas F1 Team’s Oliver Bearman prepares to drive the No. 7 car, during the final day which is exclusively reserved for rookie drivers.
In addition, Williams Racing Academy driver Zak O’Sullivan was a last-minute addition to the entry list. On Wednesday morning it was confirmed that O’Sullivan, the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship runner-up, would drive the No. 4 Kondo Racing Toyota on Friday. O’Sullivan won two races in F2 last season before a lack of funds forced him to abandon the championship after the Monza round.
