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Super FJ

Super FJ
CategoryFormula racing
CountryJapan Japan
Inaugural season2007
Engine suppliersHonda
Tyre suppliersDunlop
Official websiteOfficial website

Super FJ, commonly abbreviated as S-FJ, is a single-seater motor racing category based in Japan. Utilized by several regional championships throughout Japan since its introduction in 2007 by the Japan Automobile Federation, the category is overseen by the Japan Scholarship System and supported by the FJ Association, and is commonly referred to as the entry point on the Japanese formula racing ladder.[1]

Numerous graduates of Super FJ have gone on to achieve high-level success in motorsport, including Formula One driver Yūki Tsunoda, FIA World Endurance Championship champion Ryō Hirakawa, Super GT champions Tadasuke Makino and Kenta Yamashita, and Super Formula driver Ayumu Iwasa.[2]

Origins and history

Since its inception in 1980, the Formula Ford-adjacent FJ1600 series had served as Japan's entry-level formula racing category; however, the Subaru-manufactured EA71 engine, originally introduced in 1976 for use in the Subaru Leone and long utilised as the regulation engines for FJ1600, had become increasingly difficult to source since the engine was discontinued in 1994. In response to calls for a more accessible regulation set, Super FJ was announced by the Japan Automobile Federation in November 2006 as Japan's new entry-level formula racing category.[3]

In the inaugural 2007 season, Super FJ featured JAF-sanctioned regional championships at four major circuits throughout Japan. The Suzuka Series featured grids of solely Super FJ cars, while the championships at Motegi, Okayama, and Tsukuba were run alongside the existing FJ1600 entries. In the subsequent years, new regional championships were introduced for Fuji Speedway, Autopolis, and the northern Tōhoku region (where the championship was held between Sportsland SUGO and Sendai Hi-Land Raceway until the latter's closure in 2014.)

Since 2007, champions and other top competitors in each regional series have competed in the season-ending final race (Japanese: 日本一決定戦, lit. "Japan's No. 1 Deciding Race"; variously referred to as the All-Japan "Masters Race," "National Championship," and "Final") at Suzuka International Racing Course in December.[4] Through the Japan Scholarship System, top drivers in the final race are awarded scholarships to compete in higher-level formula (typically the F4 Japanese Championship) for the following season.

Car specifications

A number of chassis manufacturers compete in Super FJ, with all cars adhering to the same series regulations. All cars feature a Honda L15A engine (originally manufacturered for the Honda Fit) mated to a five-speed manual racing transmission, powering a steel space-frame chassis designed as an evolution of the FJ1600/Formula Ford design. Unlike the FJ1600 cars, Super FJ cars feature front and rear wings.[1][5]

Chassis Jidousya Koubou MYST [ja] KK-S
WEST RACING CARS [ja] 11J
Tokyo R&D, Co. [ja] RD10V
Engine Honda Motor Co. L15A SOHC 1,500cc inline-4
Gearbox TODA RACING S-FJ specification 5-speed dogleg manual transmission
Minimum weight 420 kg (495 kg with driver)
Power output ~118 bhp
Fuel capacity 20 litres
Fuel delivery Direct fuel injection
Aspiration Naturally aspirated
Brakes 4-piston aluminum caliper disc brakes
Length 3,700 mm
Width 1,700 mm (including tyres)
Wheelbase 2,200 mm
Minimum ground clearance 50 mm
Steering Rack and pinion
Tyres 13-inch Dunlop slick tyres (Yokohama supplied tyres between 2010 and 2021)

Champions

Season All-Japan Masters Race Suzuka Series Okayama Series Motegi Series Tōhoku/SUGO Series Tsukuba Series Fuji Series Autopolis Series
2007 Japan Takeshi Matsumoto Japan Mitsuhiko Tsukada Japan Takeshi Matsumoto Japan Takahiro Ikawa Not held Cancelled Not held Not held
2008 Japan Keishi Niki Japan Mitsuhiko Tsukada Japan Masanori Yonekura Japan Yōsuke Morishita Japan Daisuke Nakabayashi
2009 Japan Naoki Nishimoto Japan Naoki Nishimoto Japan Katsumasa Katayose Japan Daisuke Nakabayashi Japan Yūichi Nakayama Japan Naoki Nishimoto
2010 Japan Ryō Hirakawa Japan Takayoshi Nakano Japan Ryō Hirakawa Japan Takuya Tanaka Japan Takanori Yamabe Japan Takamitsu Matsui Japan Nobuhiro Yoshida
2011 Japan Satoshi Katō Japan Satoshi Katō Japan Katsuhisa Kitaguchi Japan Ryōsuke Takehira Japan Yōsuke Yamazaki Japan "OSAMU" Japan Tomio Masuda
2012 Japan Yūya Motojima Japan Keishi Ishikawa Japan Keishi Ishikawa Japan Kenta Yamashita Japan Shōhei Yuzawa Japan Takumi Kuroiwa Japan "OSAMU" Japan Yūya Motojima
2013 Japan Shinnosuke Yamada Japan Mizuki Ishizaka Japan Shinnosuke Yamada Japan Rintarō Kubo [ja] Japan Tomoki Obara Japan Yūki Nemoto Japan Tatsuya Ōta Japan Nobuhiro Yoshida
2014 Japan Tadasuke Makino Japan Shunsuke Kohno Japan Tadasuke Makino Japan Takuro Shinohara Japan Takuro Shinohara Japan Kyōta Takahashi Japan Ryūta Imai Japan Takahide Tasaki
2015 Japan Sena Sakaguchi Japan Reiji Hiraki Japan Toshiki Ōyu Japan Kohta Kawaai Japan Taiga Katō Japan Masato Yamaura Japan Takumi Fukamura Japan Kinya Kawachi
2016 Japan Yūki Tsunoda Japan Yūki Urata Japan Hirokuni Kojima Japan Takashi Itō Japan "KAMIKAZE" Japan Toshiki Komura Japan Masafumi Uemura Japan Ryō Yoshimoto
2017 Japan Teppei Natori Japan View Yamauchi Japan Daichi Okamoto Japan Shōta Ogura Japan Riki Ōkusa Japan Masamitsu Ōtake Japan Riki Ōkusa Japan Isao Nakajima
2018 Japan Atsushi Miyake Japan Atsushi Miyake Japan Kazuya Ōshima Japan Seiya Jin Japan Rin Arakawa Japan Masamitsu Ōtake Japan Ryūichirō Ishizaki Japan Rin Arakawa
2019 Japan Ayumu Iwasa Japan Ryūnosuke Sawa Japan Tsubasa Iriyama Japan Yūgo Iwasawa Japan Hajime Yamakage Japan "KAMIKAZE" Japan Aito Kinoshita Japan Tomio Masuda
2020 Japan Seiya Motojima Japan Daichi Okamoto Japan Ryōhei Shikatani Japan Ryōsuke Niikura Japan Shūya Sugō Japan Takashi Itō Japan Kazuma Nishimura
2021 Japan Daitetsu Ueno Japan Daichi Okamoto Japan Daichi Okamoto Japan Itsuki Satō Japan Haruki Nojima Japan Yūki Irie
2022 Japan Hironobu Shimizu Japan Tōsei Moriyama Not held Japan Sōryū Tagami Japan Sōryū Tagami Japan Hironobu Shimizu
2023 Japan Yū Oda Japan Ryō Shirasaki Japan Suzukaze Uchida Japan Toshiki Komura Japan Nozomu Udaka
2024 Japan Daichi Okamoto Japan Ryūma Sako Japan Yū Oda Japan Shun Itō Japan Ryō Yoshimoto
  1. ^ a b "About S-FJ". Super FJ (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Super FJ". jss-org.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  3. ^ "スーパーＦＪ プレスリリース" [Super FJ Press Release] (PDF). zap-speed.com (in Japanese). FJ Association. 23 November 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  4. ^ Kawafuku, Kenta; Ooyane, Tsubasa (16 May 2024). "登竜門のジュニアフォーミュラSuper FJ｜走らせ方と魅力まで解説！" [Junior formula Super FJ, a gateway to success | Explaining how to race and its appeal!]. &Race. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  5. ^ "第１編　レース車両規定" [Part 1: Race Vehicle Regulations] (PDF). Japan Automobile Federation (in Japanese). 28 July 2024. pp. 52–61. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_FJ