Headline News
2019 SUPER FORMULA Rd. 6 at Okayama Preview
2019年9月23日
Super Formula Rd. 6 at Okayama is scheduled for Sept. 27 to 29th. It is normally at this time of season when the points toward the championship really start to count. Currently Nick Cassidy, the only driver who has scored points in each of the first 5 rounds, leads the championship with 28 points. Naoki Yamamoto, the defending champion, although he has not scored points in the last 2 rounds, is second in points with 27, just 1 point behind Cassidy.
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Rank.1(28pts.) Nick Cassidy VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S -
Rank.2(27pts.) Naoki Yamamoto DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING
In 3rd place is rookie Alex Palou (20 pts.), who won his first Super Formula race at Fuji Speedway. Palou has put himself in a position to possibly fight for the championship by winning pole twice this season, showing his speed and potential. Following Palou is Kamui Kobayashi (19 pts.) who has placed 2nd in 2 races this season, but is still hungry for his maiden Super Formula Victory.
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Rank.3(20pts.) Alex Palou TCS NAKAJIMA RACING -
Rank.4(19pts.) Kamui Kobayashi carrozzeria Team KCMG
Yuhi Sekiguchi, who won the race at Okayama last season and has 1 win this season, and teammate Ryo Hirakawa, who won his first Super Formula in the heat in Rd. 5 at Motegi, both are drivers to keep your eyes on in Okayama.
As the 3.730 km course at Okayama is known for being difficult to pass at—even though the SF19 has been able to offer drivers passing maneuvers like no other time before—the higher a driver qualifies, the better chance they will most likely have in the race. Due to traffic woes at Okayama, like at Sugo in Rd. 3 this season, the 10-minute Q1 will see the drivers divided into 2 groups (10 cars each group)—giving them a chance at a fast lap that will hopefully vault them into Q2.
The 250 km race at Okayama will require drivers to pit at least once for a mandatory tire change. The timing of the pit stop could play a significant role in how a driver finishes in the race, and where they stand in the championship heading into the last round of the season at Suzuka.
As with all Super Formula races this season, viewers overseas can watch the livestream on either letsgoracing on YouTube or on motorsport.tv.