2014 Japanese Formula 3 Championship

The 2014 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was the 36th edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. It was held over 7 rounds and a total of 15 races, commencing on 12 April at Suzuka and culminating on 12 October at Fuji Speedway.

The overall championship title was won by HFDP Racing driver Nobuharu Matsushita, clinching the title with a fifth-place finish during the first race of the final meeting at Fuji. Matsushita claimed 6 wins during the season, including a hat-trick at the first Motegi meeting, and ultimately won the championship by 12 points, ahead of Kenta Yamashita, who was driving for Petronas Team TOM'S. Yamashita finished each of the first five races on the podium, and ultimately finished all bar three races on the podium during 2014; however, he was only able to win two races, winning the season opener at Suzuka as well as a race at Okayama. Third place in the championship went to Mitsunori Takaboshi, who won three races for the B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP. The remaining race victories were taken by Yamashita's team-mate Takamoto Katsuta and Daiki Sasaki (B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP), with each driver taking two wins. Petronas Team TOM'S did, however, take the teams' championship by 12 points ahead of the B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP. TOM'S also comfortable won the engine tuners' championship, 39 points clear of M-TEC.

The National class title was taken by Hanashima Racing and their driver Hiroshi Koizumi, after eight victories during the season; he also recorded the best finish for any of the drivers in the class, recording a seventh-place finish at the first Fuji meeting. Koizumi finished 27 points clear of Tochigi Le Beausset Motorsports' Rintaro Kubo, who won 5 races. Tairoku Yamaguchi finished a further 28 points in arrears, and was the only other race winner in the class, taking his sole triumph at Sugo.

Teams and drivers edit

All teams were Japanese-registered.

Team No. Driver Class Chassis Engine Rounds
Petronas Team TOM'S 1   Takamoto Katsuta[1] C Dallara F312 Toyota TOM'S TAZ31 All
36   Kenta Yamashita[1] C Dallara F314 Toyota TOM'S TAZ31 All
Toda Racing[2] 2   Shota Kiyohara[3] C Dallara F312 Toda TR-F301 All
21   Sam MacLeod[4] C Dallara F314 Toda TR-F301 5
  Dan Wells C 7
Exedy Racing Team 3   Ai Miura[2] N Dallara F307 Toyota TOM'S 3S-GE All
Hanashima Racing 6   Hiroshi Koizumi[2] N Dallara F306 Toyota TOM'S 3S-GE All
HFDP Racing 7   Nobuharu Matsushita[3] C Dallara F312 Mugen-Honda MF204D All
8   Tsubasa Takahashi[3] C Dallara F312 Mugen-Honda MF204D All
B-MAX Racing Team[2] 13   Motoyoshi Yoshida[2] C Dallara F312 Toyota TOM'S TAZ31[2] All
30   "Dragon"[2] N Dallara F306 Toyota TOM'S 3S-GE All
KCMG 19   Shohei Yuzawa[2] N Dallara F308 Toyota TOM'S 3S-GE All
B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP[2] 22   Mitsunori Takaboshi[5] C Dallara F312 Toyota TOM'S TAZ31[2] All
23   Daiki Sasaki[5] C Dallara F312 Toyota TOM'S TAZ31[2] All
Tairoku Exceed 28   Tairoku Yamaguchi[2] N Dallara F306 Toyota TOM'S 3S-GE All
Cerumo INGING Jr[6] 38   Nanin Indra-Payoong[2] C Dallara F312 Toyota TOM'S TAZ31 All
Tochigi Le Beausset Motorsports 62   Rintaro Kubo[2] N Dallara F308 Toyota TOM'S 3S-GE All
CMS 77   Masaru Miura[4] N Dallara F306 Toyota TOM'S 3S-GE 5, 7
Icon Class
C Championship
N National

Race calendar and results edit

A provisional calendar for the 2014 season was released on 8 November 2013.[7] On 10 June 2014 it was announced that the series would add two races in support of the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Fuji.[8] All races were held in Japan.

Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning driver Winning team National winner
1 R1 Suzuka Circuit 12 April   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Kenta Yamashita Petronas Team TOM'S   Rintaro Kubo
R2 13 April   Kenta Yamashita   Takamoto Katsuta   Mitsunori Takaboshi B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP   Ai Miura
2 R1 Twin Ring Motegi 10 May   Nobuharu Matsushita   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Nobuharu Matsushita HFDP Racing   Rintaro Kubo
R2 11 May   Nobuharu Matsushita   Kenta Yamashita   Nobuharu Matsushita HFDP Racing   Hiroshi Koizumi
R3   Nobuharu Matsushita   Nobuharu Matsushita HFDP Racing   Rintaro Kubo
3 R1 Okayama International Circuit 14 June   Nobuharu Matsushita   Daiki Sasaki   Daiki Sasaki B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP   Hiroshi Koizumi
R2 15 June   Takamoto Katsuta   Nobuharu Matsushita   Kenta Yamashita Petronas Team TOM'S   Hiroshi Koizumi
4 R1 Fuji Speedway 12 July   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Mitsunori Takaboshi B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP   Rintaro Kubo
R2 13 July   Nobuharu Matsushita   Nobuharu Matsushita   Nobuharu Matsushita HFDP Racing   Hiroshi Koizumi
5 R1 Twin Ring Motegi 23 August   Shota Kiyohara   Takamoto Katsuta   Takamoto Katsuta Petronas Team TOM'S   Hiroshi Koizumi
R2 24 August   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Daiki Sasaki   Mitsunori Takaboshi B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP   Hiroshi Koizumi
6 R1 Sportsland SUGO 27 September   Nobuharu Matsushita   Nobuharu Matsushita   Nobuharu Matsushita HFDP Racing   Tairoku Yamaguchi
R2 28 September   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Mitsunori Takaboshi   Nobuharu Matsushita HFDP Racing   Rintaro Kubo
7 R1 Fuji Speedway 11 October   Daiki Sasaki   Daiki Sasaki   Takamoto Katsuta Petronas Team TOM'S   Hiroshi Koizumi
R2 12 October   Daiki Sasaki   Takamoto Katsuta   Daiki Sasaki B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP   Hiroshi Koizumi

Championship standings edit

Drivers' Championships edit

  • Points were awarded as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 PP FL
10 7 5 3 2 1 1 1

Overall edit

Pos Driver SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points
1   Nobuharu Matsushita 4 4 1 1 1 2 14 4 1 4 2 1 1 5 3 102
2   Kenta Yamashita 1 3 2 2 2 5 1 2 2 3 6 6 2 3 2 90
3   Mitsunori Takaboshi 2 1 3 4 4 3 4 1 4 2 1 4 Ret 4 5 82
4   Takamoto Katsuta 3 2 4 3 3 4 3 6 5 1 3 2 3 1 4 80
5   Daiki Sasaki 7 6 6 5 5 1 2 3 3 6 4 5 5 2 1 63
6   Shota Kiyohara 5 8 5 6 7 6 6 5 6 Ret 5 3 4 6 6 23
7   Tsubasa Takahashi 6 5 8 7 Ret 8 7 7 Ret 5 8 8 7 7 8 5
8   Nanin Indra-Payoong 8 7 7 8 6 7 5 Ret Ret 7 9 7 6 8 7 4
  Hiroshi Koizumi 10 11 10 9 11 9 8 10 7 8 10 NC 11 9 10 0
  Rintaro Kubo 9 10 9 12 8 10 13 8 Ret 10 11 Ret 8 12 Ret 0
  Ai Miura 11 9 11 Ret 10 14 11 11 8 9 14 Ret 12 Ret 12 0
  Tairoku Yamaguchi 12 12 12 10 9 12 10 9 11 11 12 9 Ret 13 11 0
  Shohei Yuzawa 15 14 14 11 12 11 9 12 9 Ret 13 10 9 11 Ret 0
  Dan Wells 10 9 0
  "Dragon" 13 13 13 13 14 13 12 13 10 13 16 11 10 15 14 0
  Motoyoshi Yoshida 14 14 15 Ret 13 15 15 14 12 14 15 12 13 14 13 0
  Masaru Miura 12 17 16 15 0
Guest drivers ineligible for points
  Sam MacLeod Ret 7
Pos Driver SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

National Class edit

Pos Driver SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points
1   Hiroshi Koizumi 10 11 10 9 11 9 8 10 7 8 10 NC 11 9 10 124
2   Rintaro Kubo 9 10 9 12 8 10 13 8 Ret 10 11 Ret 8 12 Ret 97
3   Tairoku Yamaguchi 12 12 12 10 9 12 10 9 11 11 12 9 Ret 13 11 69
4   Ai Miura 11 9 11 Ret 10 14 11 11 8 9 14 Ret 12 Ret 12 55
5   Shohei Yuzawa 15 14 14 11 12 11 9 12 9 Ret 13 10 9 11 Ret 55
6   "Dragon" 13 13 13 13 14 13 12 13 10 13 16 11 10 15 14 33
7   Masaru Miura 12 17 16 15 4
Pos Driver SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points

Teams' Championship edit

  • Points were awarded as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6
10 7 5 3 2 1
Pos Team SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points
1 Petronas Team TOM'S 1 2 2 2 2 4 1 2 2 1 3 2 2 1 2 111
2 B-MAX Racing Team with NDDP 2 1 3 4 4 1 2 1 3 2 1 4 5 2 1 99
3 HFDP Racing 4 4 1 1 1 2 7 4 1 4 2 1 1 5 3 93
4 Toda Racing 5 8 5 6 7 6 6 5 6 Ret 5 3 4 6 6 22
5 Cerumo INGING Jr 8 7 7 8 6 7 5 Ret Ret 7 9 7 6 8 7 4
Hanashima Racing 10 11 10 9 11 9 8 10 7 8 10 Ret 11 9 10 0
Tochigi Le Beausset Motorsports 9 10 9 12 8 10 13 8 Ret 10 11 Ret 8 12 Ret 0
Exedy Racing Team 11 9 11 Ret 10 14 11 11 8 9 14 Ret 12 Ret 12 0
Tairoku Exceed 12 12 12 10 9 12 10 9 11 11 12 9 Ret 13 11 0
KCMG 15 14 14 11 12 11 9 12 9 Ret 13 10 9 11 Ret 0
B-MAX Racing Team 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 13 10 13 15 11 10 14 13 0
CMS 12 17 16 15 0
Pos Team SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points

Engine Tuners' Championship edit

Pos Tuner SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points
1 TOM'S 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 132
2 M-TEC 4 4 1 1 1 2 7 4 1 4 2 1 1 5 3 93
3 Toda Racing 5 8 5 6 7 6 6 5 6 Ret 5 3 4 6 6 22
Pos Tuner SUZ MOT1 OKA FUJ1 MOT2 SUG FUJ2 Points

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Toyota Outlines Its Motorsports Activities for 2014". Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota Motor Corporation. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "2014全日本F3選手権シーズンプレビュー 「再び、激戦の予感......」". Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Japanese Formula 3 Association. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "2014 Honda Global Motor Sports Activities Automobile[PDF]" (PDF). Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Japan Formula Three Motegi Entry list" (PDF). Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Japanese Formula 3 Association. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  5. ^ a b "2014年モータースポーツ活動計画を発表". Nissan Motorsports. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  6. ^ "2014全日本F3選手権、開幕前合同テストいよいよスタート!". Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Japanese Formula 3 Association. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  7. ^ "2014年日本選手権カレンダーについて" (PDF). Japan Automobile Federation. 8 November 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  8. ^ "■ 2014全日本F3選手権シリーズ第14戦・第15戦の WEC第5戦「富士6時間耐久レース」への編入開催決定について". Japan Automobile Federation. 10 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.

External links edit