# 2008 Japanese Formula 3 Championship

The 2008 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was the 30th edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Dutchman Carlo van Dam took the main title, with Hideki Yamauchi taking the National Class. TOM'S took their eighth constructors title in a row.

## Teams and drivers

| Team | No | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Rounds |
| Championship Class ||||||
| Team TOM'S | 1 | Carlo van Dam | F308 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| Team TOM'S | 36 | Keisuke Kunimoto | F308 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| Team TOM'S | 37 | Takuto Iguchi | F308 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| Toda Racing | 2 | Daisuke Nakajima | F308 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| Team Real | 7 | Naoki Yamamoto | F308 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| Team Real | 8 | Yuhki Nakayama | F308 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| ThreeBond Racing | 12 | Hironobu Yasuda | F308 | Nismo Nissan | All |
| Now Motor Sport | 33 | Kei Cozzolino | F308 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| Denso Team Le Beausset | 62 | Koki Saga | F308 | Toyota | All |
| National Class ||||||
| Hanashima Racing | 5 | Takashi Nagase | F306 | Toyota-TOM'S | 1–5 |
| Hanashima Racing | 5 | Katsuaki Kubota | F306 | Toyota-TOM'S | 6–9 |
| Aim Sports | 18 | Masaki Matsushita | F307/305 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| PTRS | 19 | Zahir Ali | F307 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| PTRS | 20 | Alexandre Imperatori | F307 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| TOM'S Spirit | 38 | Hideki Yamauchi | F306 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |
| Denso Team Le Beausset | 63 | Hideto Yasuoka | F305 | Toyota | All |
| Exceed Motor Sports | 74 | Motoki Sakurai | F306 | Toyota-TOM'S | All |

### Notes

* ↑ All drivers competed in Dallara chassis; model listed.

## Race calendar and results

| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning driver | Winning team | National Class winner |
| 1 | R1 | Fuji Speedway | 5 April | Takuto Iguchi | Takuto Iguchi | Takuto Iguchi | Team TOM'S | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 1 | R2 | Fuji Speedway | 6 April | Takuto Iguchi | Takuto Iguchi | Takuto Iguchi | Team TOM'S | Masaki Matsushita |
| 2 | R1 | Autopolis | 26 April | Takuto Iguchi | Takuto Iguchi | Takuto Iguchi | Team TOM'S | Alexandre Imperatori |
| 2 | R2 | Autopolis | 27 April | Carlo van Dam | Takuto Iguchi | Keisuke Kunimoto | Team TOM'S | Hideto Yasuoka |
| 3 | R1 | Suzuka Circuit | 10 May | Hironobu Yasuda | Keisuke Kunimoto | Hironobu Yasuda | ThreeBond Racing | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 3 | R2 | Suzuka Circuit | 11 May | Hironobu Yasuda | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 4 | R1 | Twin Ring Motegi | 24 May | Carlo van Dam | Keisuke Kunimoto | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 4 | R2 | Twin Ring Motegi | 25 May | Carlo van Dam | Kei Cozzolino | Hironobu Yasuda | ThreeBond Racing | Alexandre Imperatori |
| 5 | R1 | Okayama International Circuit | 7 June | Takuto Iguchi | Takuto Iguchi | Naoki Yamamoto | Team Real | Zahir Ali |
| 5 | R2 | Okayama International Circuit | 8 June | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Alexandre Imperatori |
| 6 | R1 | Suzuka Circuit | 12 July | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 6 | R2 | Suzuka Circuit | 13 July | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Masaki Matsushita |
| 7 | R1 | Twin Ring Motegi | 9 August | Keisuke Kunimoto | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Alexandre Imperatori |
| 7 | R2 | Twin Ring Motegi | 10 August | Keisuke Kunimoto | Takuto Iguchi | Keisuke Kunimoto | Team TOM'S | Alexandre Imperatori |
| 8 | R1 | Fuji Speedway | 30 August | Carlo van Dam | Hironobu Yasuda | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 8 | R2 | Fuji Speedway | 31 August | Carlo van Dam | Keisuke Kunimoto | Keisuke Kunimoto | Team TOM'S | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 9 | R1 | Sportsland SUGO | 20 September | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Hideki Yamauchi |
| 9 | R2 | Sportsland SUGO | 21 September | Carlo van Dam | Koki Saga | Carlo van Dam | Team TOM'S | Hideto Yasuoka |

## Standings

* Points are awarded as follows:

### Championship Class

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | PP | FL |
| 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

### National Class

* Points are awarded as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | FUJ | FUJ | AUT | AUT | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | OKA | OKA | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUG | SUG | Pts |
| Championship Class |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Carlo van Dam | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 322 |
| 2 | Keisuke Kunimoto | 4 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 2 | Ret | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 219 |
| 3 | Takuto Iguchi | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 4 | Ret | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 216 |
| 4 | Hironobu Yasuda | DNS | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 5 | Ret | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 152 |
| 5 | Naoki Yamamoto | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | Ret | 4 | 5 | Ret | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 138 |
| 6 | Kei Cozzolino | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | Ret | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 133 |
| 7 | Koki Saga | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | Ret | 7 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 99 |
| 8 | Yuhki Nakayama | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 97 |
| 9 | Daisuke Nakajima | 8 | 9 | Ret | 11 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Ret | 6 | 9 | 7 | Ret | 8 | 7 | Ret | 7 | 8 | 8 | 54 |
| National Class |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Hideki Yamauchi | 9 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 121 |
| 2 | Alexandre Imperatori | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 14 | Ret | 11 | 5 | Ret | 10 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 96 |
| 3 | Masaki Matsushita | 13 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 85 |
| 4 | Zahir Ali | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 61 |
| 5 | Hideto Yasuoka | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 55 |
| 6 | Takashi Nagase | 12 | 13 | 13 | Ret | 10 | Ret | DNS | DNS | Ret | 11 | | | | | | | | | 20 |
| 7 | Motoki Sakurai | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 15 | Ret | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 19 |
| 8 | Katsuaki Kubota | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | Ret | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | Ret | 6 |
| Pos | Driver | FUJ | FUJ | AUT | AUT | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | OKA | OKA | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUG | SUG | Pts |

### Teams

* Points are awarded as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Team | FUJ | FUJ | AUT | AUT | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | OKA | OKA | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUG | SUG | Pts |
| 1 | Team TOM'S | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 345 |
| 2 | Team Real | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 158 |
| 3 | ThreeBond Racing | DNS | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 5 | Ret | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 149 |
| 4 | Now Motor Sport | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | Ret | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 132 |
| 5 | Denso Team Le Beausset | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | Ret | 7 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 98 |
| 6 | Toda Racing | 8 | 9 | Ret | 11 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Ret | 6 | 9 | 7 | Ret | 8 | 7 | Ret | 7 | 8 | 8 | 54 |
| Pos | Driver | FUJ | FUJ | AUT | AUT | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | OKA | OKA | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUG | SUG | Pts |

### Engine Tuners

* Points are awarded as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Team | FUJ | FUJ | AUT | AUT | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | OKA | OKA | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUG | SUG | Pts |
| 1 | Toyota/TOM'S | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 345 |
| 2 | Mugen-Honda | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 162 |
| 3 | Nismo Nissan | DNS | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 5 | Ret | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 149 |
| 4 | Toyota | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | Ret | 7 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 98 |
| Pos | Driver | FUJ | FUJ | AUT | AUT | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | OKA | OKA | SUZ | SUZ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUG | SUG | Pts |