# 2010 Formula Challenge Japan

The 2010 Formula Challenge Japan was a multi-event motor racing championship for open-wheel formula racing cars, and the fifth season of the Formula Challenge Japan racing series, a young driver development series jointly supported by Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. The championship featured a mix of manufacturer-affiliated drivers and independent entries, and commenced on 22 May and ended on 7 November. Four race weekends were run in support of Formula Nippon, with the October round at Suzuka being held in support of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix.
Toyota junior driver Yūichi Nakayama dominated the championship, taking pole position in every qualifying session and winning ten of the twelve races on the calendar to complete the most successful campaign in series history. Nissan-supported Takamitsu Matsui finished the season as runner-up with one race win, having scored less than half of Nakayama's total points, ahead of top-placed rookie and Honda junior Kazuki Hiramine. Honda stablemate Yūya Motojima claimed the remaining race victory.

## Teams and drivers

| Team | No. | Driver | Rounds |
| TDP Scholarship TMC FCJ | 1 | Yūichi Nakayama | All |
| TDP Scholarship TMC FCJ | 6 | Ryōsuke Kagami | All |
| HFDP/SRS-F/ARTA/Kotira R HFDP/SRS Scholarship/Kotira R | 2 | Tomoki Nojiri | All |
| HFDP/SRS-F/ARTA/Kotira R HFDP/SRS Scholarship/Kotira R | 7 | Kazuki Hiramine | All |
| HFDP/SRS-F/ARTA/Kotira R HFDP/SRS Scholarship/Kotira R | 18 | Shinji Nakamura | All |
| HFDP/SRS-F/ARTA/Kotira R HFDP/SRS Scholarship/Kotira R | 19 | Yūya Motojima | All |
| Dragon Knight | 3 | Zhu Hu'an | All |
| Clarion FCJ | 4 | Ryō Hirakawa | All |
| R.Houka Racing | 5 | Ryo Ogawa | All |
| Winds Garage | 8 | Kei Yamaura | All |
| K-office FCJ | 9 | Syunsuke Matsuzaki | All |
| Luck | 10 | Takamoto Katsuta | All |
| MediaDo FCJ | 11 | Ryōta Tateishi | All |
| NDDP FCJ NDDP Maruso FCJ | 12 | Mitsunori Takaboshi | All |
| NDDP FCJ NDDP Maruso FCJ | 13 | Zhu Daiwei | All |
| NDDP FCJ NDDP Maruso FCJ | 20 | Takamitsu Matsui | All |
| NDDP FCJ NDDP Maruso FCJ | 21 | Tsubasa Kondō [ja] | All |
| Biltmore | 14 | Tobio Ohtani | All |
| Yagura Animal Hospital | 15 | Yūki Shiraishi [ja] | All |
| Dunlop Team Naoki | 16 | Keishi Niki | All |
| TAKAGI PLANNING | 17 | Kazuya Ishii | All |
| Source ||||

## Race calendar and results

All races were held in Japan. Rounds 1–2, 5–8, and 10–12 were held in support of the Formula Nippon championship, and Round 9 at Suzuka was held as a support race for the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix, the sixteenth round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship.
| Round | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver |
| 1 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 22 May | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 2 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 23 May | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 3 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 12 June | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 4 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 13 June | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 5 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 17 July | Yūichi Nakayama | Ryō Hirakawa | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 6 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 18 July | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūya Motojima | Yūya Motojima |
| 7 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 7 August | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 8 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 8 August | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūya Motojima | Takamitsu Matsui |
| 9 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 9 October | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 10 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 6 November | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 11 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 6 November | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |
| 12 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 7 November | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama | Yūichi Nakayama |

## Championship standings
### Drivers' Championship

Points were awarded to the top six classified finishers, with one point awarded for pole position and fastest lap respectively.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | PP | FL |
| 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pos. | Driver | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | MOT | SUZ | SUZ | SUZ | SUZ | Points |
| 1 | Yūichi Nakayama | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 135 |
| 2 | Takamitsu Matsui | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | Ret | 17 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 56 |
| 3 | Kazuki Hiramine | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 48 |
| 4 | Yūya Motojima | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 32 |
| 5 | Tomoki Nojiri | 12 | 14 | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 27 |
| 6 | Ryō Hirakawa | 4 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 10 | 10 | 17 |
| 7 | Tobio Ohtani | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | Ret | 8 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 12 |
| 8 | Takamoto Katsuta | 20 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 12 | 9 | Ret | 18 | 8 |
| 9 | Zhu Daiwei | 5 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 20 | 13 | 11 | 8 |
| 10 | Tsubasa Kondō | 15 | 17 | 9 | 12 | Ret | 16 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | Ret | 6 |
| 11 | Kazuya Ishii | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 7 | 14 | Ret | 9 | 5 |
| 12 | Ryōta Tateishi | 9 | 10 | 10 | Ret | 11 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
| 13 | Shinji Nakamura | 11 | 11 | 13 | Ret | 13 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 5 | Ret | 7 | 3 |
| - | Yūki Shiraishi | 10 | 9 | 20 | 8 | Ret | 19 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 9 | Ret | 0 |
| - | Zhu Hu'an | Ret | Ret | 16 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 7 | Ret | 21 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| - | Syunsuke Matsuzaki | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| - | Mitsunori Takaboshi | 19 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DSQ | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| - | Keishi Niki | 13 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 0 |
| - | Ryō Ogawa | 18 | 19 | 12 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 14 | Ret | 19 | 18 | 17 | 0 |
| - | Ryōsuke Kagami | 17 | DSQ | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 | Ret | 13 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 0 |
| - | Kei Yamaura | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 0 |
| Pos. | Driver | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | MOT | SUZ | SUZ | SUZ | SUZ | Points |
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Race winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| Blank | Did not participate |