2024 Super Formula Lights
The 2024 Super Formula Lights Championship is the fifth Super Formula Lights Championship season, after the Japanese Formula 3 Championship was rebranded following the end of the 2019 season.
Teams and drivers
[edit]After being a multi-engine championship throughout all of its history, dating back to 1979, this changed in 2024 with the introduction of a spec Toyota engine developed by TOM'S and based on the Toyota GR Yaris three cylinder 1.6-litre turbo engine.[1] This change coincided with the introduction of a new chassis, the Dallara 324, after four years of using the Dallara 320, and with a change of tyre supplier from Yokohama to Kumho.[2][3]
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Team changes
[edit]B-Max Racing Team saw its six-car operation split up into four different entries: The No. 4 and No. 8 cars were run under the "JMS Racing Team" and "GNSY Racing" banners respectively, the No. 13 and No. 30 cars were fielded under the "Team Dragon" guise and the No. 1 and No. 50 remained under the B-Max Racing Team name.
Rn-sports left the championship after having competed in every Super Formula Lights season.
Mid-season
[edit]Super GT GT300 team LM corsa make their series debut at Okayama and Motegi.[6]
ALBIREX Racing Team returned to Super Formula Lights after last competing there in 2021.[7]
Driver changes
[edit]Reigning Teams' Champion B-Max Racing Team signed two new drivers in its core program under the B-Max name. 2023 champion Iori Kimura stepped up to the teams' Super Formula outfit, with his seat in the No. 50 car filled by Syun Koide, who departed Toda Racing after coming third in his debut season with the team.[8][5] The No. 1 car was driven by Kaylen Frederick, who made his debut in Japan after coming 21st with ART Grand Prix in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship, while Igor Fraga and David Vidales left the championship after coming fourth and ninth in 2023, respectively. Fraga focused on his reserve driver duties for PONOS Nakajima Racing in Super Formula and his Super GT program with Arnage Racing, while Vidales joined AF Corse for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.[9][10][11] Togo Suganami and Takashi Hata, who did three and four rounds with the team in 2023 respectively, did not return.[9]
The two cars under the Team Dragon banner were piloted by B-Max Team Owner "Dragon" and Rin Arakawa, who embarked on a part-time campaign after coming sixth in the previous year's F4 Japanese Championship.[9] Arakawa shared the car with Masters' Class driver Makoto Fujiwara, the 2023 F4 Japanese Championship Independent Cup champion. In B-Max Racings two other satellite entries, Nobuhiro Imada continued to pilot the No. 4 car, albeit under the JMS Racing Team name, and Yasuhiro Shimizu, who last raced in the Super GT GT300 Class in 2011, joined GNSY Racing.[9]
TOM'S signed two Toyota juniors in 2023 F4 Japanese champion Rikuto Kobayashi and runner-up Jin Nakamura. Both rookies replaced last season's runner-up Hibiki Taira, who continued driving in the Super GT series' GT300 class with INGING, and Enzo Trulli, who joined Easy Race in the Italian GT Sprint Championship.[4][5]
Souta Arao took over Syun Koide's former seat at Toda Racing, returning to Japan after a stint in GB3 with Hitech Pulse-Eight, where he came 17th.[12]
Mid-season
[edit]Makoto Fujiwara took over the No. 13 Dragon Racing car from round 2 onwards, and Rin Arakawa switched to B-Max Racing as the team entered a third car from that round on.[13]
Former Japanese F4 and Super GT driver Reimei Ito competed with Super GT team LM corsa at the rounds at Okayama and Motegi, with both driver and team making their series debut.[6]
Tsubasa Iriyama, who raced with ALBIREX Racing Team for 2020 and 2021, returns to the series and competed at the Suzuka round, while Rin Arakawa left B-Max Racing and the series ahead of that round.[7]
Race calendar
[edit]The calendar for the 2024 season was announced on 24 November 2023. It will once again consist of eighteen races held over six weekends at six circuits. Four of the events will support the parent Super Formula Championship.[14] When the Super Formula season finale was brought forwards by two weeks, the Super Formula Lights amended its calendar accordingly.[15] The season opener, scheduled to be held over the last weekend in April at Mobility Resort Motegi, was cancelled two weeks prior to the event after issues with the new spec engine in combination with the new Dallara chassis arose. The first round was initially rescheduled to December, before being changed again to late November to avoid a clash with Super GT.[16][17]
| Round | Circuit | Date | Supporting | Map of circuit locations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R4 | Autopolis, Hita | 18 May | Super Formula Championship Honda N-One Owner's Cup |
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| R5 | 19 May | ||||
| R6 | |||||
| 2 | R7 | Sportsland Sugo, Murata | 22 June | Super Formula Championship Honda N-One Owner's Cup | |
| R8 | 23 June | ||||
| R9 | |||||
| 3 | R10 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 20 July | Super Formula Championship Porsche Carrera Cup Japan Kyojo Cup | |
| R11 | |||||
| R12 | 21 July | ||||
| 4 | R13 | Okayama International Circuit, Mimasaka | 14 September | Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86/BRZ Cup SuperKart Okayama International Series Roadster Party Race N Zero Yaris | |
| R14 | 15 September | ||||
| R15 | |||||
| 5 | R16 | Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka | 9 November | Super Formula Championship | |
| R17 | 10 November | ||||
| R18 | |||||
| 6 | R1 | Mobility Resort Motegi, Motegi | 29 November – 1 December | ||
| R2 | |||||
| R3 | |||||
Race results
[edit]Championship standings
[edit]Points are awarded as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Drivers' championships
[edit]Overall
[edit]
Masters' Class[edit]
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Teams' standings
[edit]Only a teams' best finishing driver is eligible for points.
| Pos | Driver | AUT | SUG | FUJ | OKA | SUZ | MOT | Points | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | R18 | R1 | R2 | R3 | |||
| 1 | TOM'S | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 119 | |||
| 2 | B-Max Racing Team | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 97 | |||
| 3 | Toda Racing | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 38 | |||
| 4 | Team Dragon | 3 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 8 | |||
| 5 | LM corsa | 8 | 6 | 7 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | JMS Racing Team | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | Ret | Ret | DNS | 11 | 8 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 7 | ALBIREX Racing Team | 8 | Ret | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | GNSY Racing | 10 | Ret | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 11 | Ret | 12 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Pos | Driver | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | R18 | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
| AUT | SUG | FUJ | OKA | SUZ | MOT | |||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Super Formula Lights to become a spec-engine series in 2024". formulascout.com. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ "2024年からスーパーフォーミュラ・ライツのコントロールタイヤ供給メーカーがクムホタイヤに決定". superformula-lights.com. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ Muschlien, Finjo (16 May 2024). "Super Formula Lights: 2024 season guide". Feeder Series. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Honda confirms Iori Kimura's place on 2024 Super Formula grid". formulascout. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "Kaylen Frederick moves across to SF Lights after three years in FIA F3". formulascout. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ a b "スーパーフォーミュラライツスポット参戦のご報告". osaka-toyopet.jp. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ a b "SUZUKA | 2024年 SFL シリーズカレンダー | superformula lights". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
- ^ Wood, Ida (2024-01-19). "Honda confirms Iori Kimura's place on 2024 Super Formula grid". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ a b c d "2024シーズンSFライツ参戦体制". B-Max Racing Team (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ Evans, Andrew (2024-02-14). "Igor Fraga Secures Super Formula Reserve Seat at Ponos Nakajima Racing". GTPlanet. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ Mercier, Laurent; Tassel, Pierre (5 March 2024). "Prologue GTWC Europe - Les infos du mardi matin". Endurance-Info (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Honda 2024 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "SUGO | 2024年 SFL シリーズカレンダー | superformula lights". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "２０２４年全日本レース選手権カレンダー申請一覧" (PDF).
- ^ "2024年全日本レース選手権日程変更について".
- ^ "2024年全日本スーパーフォーミュラ・ライツ選手権第1大会もてぎの開催日程について". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "2024年全日本スーパーフォーミュラ・ライツ選手権第1大会もてぎの開催日程について". superformula-lights.com. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
External links
[edit]- Super Formula Lights official website – Japanese / English