# 2012 Formula Challenge Japan

The 2012 Formula Challenge Japan was a multi-event motor racing championship for open-wheel formula racing cars, and the seventh running of the Formula Challenge Japan 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 7 April and ended on 4 November.
The championship featured a close battle between Honda-backed Nobuharu Matsushita and Toyota-supported Ryō Hirakawa; both drivers scored five wins over the course of the 12-race season, with Nissan-supported Mitsunori Takaboshi taking the remaining two victories. Matsushita would ultimately claim the championship title by countback over Hirakawa, with Takaboshi finishing third in the points standings.

## Teams and drivers

| Team | No. | Driver | Rounds |
| FTRS Scholarship FTRS FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet FTRS PTT FTRS TMC FTRS Ishiyaki Ramen Volcano | 1 | Shintarō Kawabata | All |
| FTRS Scholarship FTRS FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet FTRS PTT FTRS TMC FTRS Ishiyaki Ramen Volcano | 3 | Hiroki Shinotani | All |
| FTRS Scholarship FTRS FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet FTRS PTT FTRS TMC FTRS Ishiyaki Ramen Volcano | 4 | Ryō Hirakawa | All |
| FTRS Scholarship FTRS FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet FTRS PTT FTRS TMC FTRS Ishiyaki Ramen Volcano | 6 | Nanin Indra-Payoong | All |
| FTRS Scholarship FTRS FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet FTRS PTT FTRS TMC FTRS Ishiyaki Ramen Volcano | 9 | Shinya Michimi | All |
| FTRS Scholarship FTRS FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet FTRS PTT FTRS TMC FTRS Ishiyaki Ramen Volcano | 11 | Shō Tsuboi | All |
| FTRS Scholarship FTRS FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet FTRS PTT FTRS TMC FTRS Ishiyaki Ramen Volcano | 14 | Yuichi Mikasa | All |
| HFDP Scholarship/SRS-F/Kotira HFDP ARTA | 2 | Shun Kurosaki | All |
| HFDP Scholarship/SRS-F/Kotira HFDP ARTA | 8 | Shōta Kiyohara | All |
| HFDP Scholarship/SRS-F/Kotira HFDP ARTA | 10 | Nobuharu Matsushita | All |
| HFDP Scholarship/SRS-F/Kotira HFDP ARTA | 15 | Tsubasa Takahashi | 8–9 |
| HFDP Scholarship/SRS-F/Kotira HFDP ARTA | 20 | Keishi Ishikawa | 5–7, 10–12 |
| Team SPV | 5 | Kōhei Sutō | All |
| Houka Racing with Dunlop | 7 | Ryō Ogawa | All |
| NDDP Daishin NDDP | 12 | Mitsunori Takaboshi | All |
| NDDP Daishin NDDP | 13 | Kiyoto Fujinami | All |
| Exedy Racing Team | 16 | Ai Miura | All |
| Tokyo Motor Sports College | 17 | Yūdai Jinkawa | All |
| Honda Cars Mie-kita SBT | 18 | Ryūnosuke Shibata | 1–2, 8–12 |
| Kim's Racing | 19 | Im Che-won | 8–12 |
| GRID | 21 | Takahiro Matsuda | 10–12 |
| Source ||||

## Race calendar and results

| Round | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver |
| 1 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 7 April | Ryō Hirakawa | Ryō Hirakawa | Ryō Hirakawa |
| 2 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 8 April | Ryō Hirakawa | Ryō Hirakawa | Ryō Hirakawa |
| 3 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 12 May | Mitsunori Takaboshi | Mitsunori Takaboshi | Ryō Hirakawa |
| 4 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 13 May | Mitsunori Takaboshi | Mitsunori Takaboshi | Mitsunori Takaboshi |
| 5 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 1 September | Nobuharu Matsushita | Nobuharu Matsushita | Nobuharu Matsushita |
| 6 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 1 September | Nobuharu Matsushita | Nobuharu Matsushita | Nobuharu Matsushita |
| 7 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 2 September | Nobuharu Matsushita | Nobuharu Matsushita | Nobuharu Matsushita |
| 8 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 6 October | Ryō Hirakawa | Nobuharu Matsushita | Nobuharu Matsushita |
| 9 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 7 October | Ryō Hirakawa | Nobuharu Matsushita | Ryō Hirakawa |
| 10 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 3 November | Ryō Hirakawa | Ryō Hirakawa | Ryō Hirakawa |
| 11 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 3 November | Ryō Hirakawa | Mitsunori Takaboshi | Nobuharu Matsushita |
| 12 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 4 November | Ryō Hirakawa | Ryō Hirakawa | Mitsunori Takaboshi |

## 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 | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | SUZ | SUZ | SUZ | SUZ | Points |
| 1 | Nobuharu Matsushita | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 91 |
| 2 | Ryō Hirakawa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 5 | 91 |
| 3 | Mitsunori Takaboshi | 4 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 65 |
| 4 | Shōta Kiyohara | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 36 |
| 5 | Hiroki Shinotani | 5 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 8 | 28 |
| 6 | Shintarō Kawabata | Ret | 6 | Ret | 6 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| 7 | Shō Tsuboi | 11 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 13 | Ret | 5 | 4 | 18 | 7 |
| 8 | Ryō Ogawa | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 9 | Keishi Ishikawa | | | | | 15 | 8 | Ret | | | 11 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 10 | Shinya Michimi | 12 | 9 | 10 | Ret | 9 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| 11 | Ryūnosuke Shibata | 10 | 8 | | | | | | 9 | 5 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 2 |
| 12 | Yuichi Mikasa | 16 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 15 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Ret | 2 |
| 13 | Kiyoto Fujinami | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 17 | Ret | 2 |
| 14 | Kōhei Sutō | 8 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 7 | Ret | 11 | 11 | 1 |
| - | Shun Kurosaki | 7 | Ret | 8 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 19 | Ret | 14 | 16 | 15 | 0 |
| - | Tsubasa Takahashi | | | | | | | | 16 | 8 | | | | 0 |
| - | Nanin Indra-Payoong | 14 | 13 | 13 | DSQ | 11 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 0 |
| - | Yūdai Jinkawa | 15 | Ret | 14 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 17 | Ret | 17 | 14 | 13 | 0 |
| - | Im Che-won | | | | | | | | 11 | 11 | 18 | Ret | 14 | 0 |
| - | Ai Miura | 13 | 11 | 15 | 13 | DSQ | 15 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 0 |
| - | Takahiro Matsuda | | | | | | | | | | 16 | 13 | 17 | 0 |
| Pos. | Driver | FUJ | FUJ | MOT | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | 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 |