# 2009 Formula Nippon Championship

The 2009 Formula Nippon Championship was the thirty-seventh season of the premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing series. The series for Formula Nippon racing cars was contested over eight rounds. Nakajima Racing's Loïc Duval claimed four victories en route to the championship, ending a six-year streak of championships by the Impul team.

## Teams and drivers

* All drivers competed in Swift 017.n chassis and Honda HR09E or Toyota RV8K engines.
| Team | # | Driver | Engine |
| Lawson Team Impul | 1 | Tsugio Matsuda | Toyota RV8K |
| Lawson Team Impul | 2 | Benoît Tréluyer | Toyota RV8K |
| Team LeMans | 7 | Keisuke Kunimoto | Toyota RV8K |
| Team LeMans | 8 | Hiroaki Ishiura | Toyota RV8K |
| HFPD Racing | 10 | Koudai Tsukakoshi | Honda HR09E |
| ahead Team Impul | 20 | Kohei Hirate | Toyota RV8K |
| Nakajima Racing | 31 | Loïc Duval | Honda HR09E |
| Nakajima Racing | 32 | Takashi Kogure | Honda HR09E |
| Petronas Team TOM'S | 36 | André Lotterer | Toyota RV8K |
| Petronas Team TOM'S | 37 | Kazuya Oshima | Toyota RV8K |
| DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing | 40 | Richard Lyons | Honda HR09E |
| DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing | 41 | Takuya Izawa | Honda HR09E |
| Cerumo/Inging | 48 | Yuji Tachikawa | Toyota RV8K |

## Race calendar and results

* All races held in Japan.
* Okayama was replaced by Autopolis.
| Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Team |
| 1 | Fuji Speedway | 5 April | Kohei Hirate | André Lotterer | Benoît Tréluyer | Lawson Team Impul |
| 2 | Suzuka Circuit | 17 May | Benoît Tréluyer | Loïc Duval | Loïc Duval | Nakajima Racing |
| 3 | Twin Ring Motegi | 31 May | Takashi Kogure | Koudai Tsukakoshi | Takashi Kogure | Nakajima Racing |
| 4 | Fuji Speedway | 28 June | Loïc Duval | Loïc Duval | Loïc Duval | Nakajima Racing |
| 5 | Suzuka Circuit | 12 July | Loïc Duval | Takashi Kogure | Loïc Duval | Nakajima Racing |
| 6 | Twin Ring Motegi | 9 August | Takashi Kogure | Takashi Kogure | André Lotterer | Petronas Team TOM'S |
| 7 | Autopolis | 30 August | Takashi Kogure | Keisuke Kunimoto | Takashi Kogure | Nakajima Racing |
| 8 | Sportsland SUGO | 27 September | Loïc Duval | Loïc Duval | Loïc Duval | Nakajima Racing |

## Championship standings
### Drivers' Championship
#### Scoring system

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | Pole |
| Points | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | AUT | SUG | Points |
| 1 | Loïc Duval | 4 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 62 |
| 2 | Benoît Tréluyer | 1 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 40 |
| 3 | André Lotterer | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 39 |
| 4 | Takashi Kogure | 8 | Ret | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 37 |
| 5 | Kohei Hirate | 3 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 32 |
| 6 | Hiroaki Ishiura | 11 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
| 7 | Koudai Tsukakoshi | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 10 | Ret | 4 | 20 |
| 8 | Takuya Izawa | 2 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 14 |
| 9 | Kazuya Oshima | 7 | Ret | Ret | 2 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 13 |
| 10 | Richard Lyons | Ret | 6 | 7 | 3 | 13 | Ret | 10 | 13 | 11 |
| 11 | Tsugio Matsuda | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | 12 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 11 |
| 12 | Yuji Tachikawa | 5 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 6 | 7 | Ret | 12 | 9 |
| 13 | Keisuke Kunimoto | 9 | 9 | Ret | 10 | 11 | Ret | 11 | 8 | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | AUT | SUG | Points |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |

### Teams' Championship
#### Scoring system

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
| Points | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Team | Car | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | AUT | SUG | Pts |
| 1 | Nakajima Racing | 31 | 4 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 93 |
| 1 | Nakajima Racing | 32 | 8 | Ret | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 93 |
| 2 | Petronas Team TOM'S | 36 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 52 |
| 2 | Petronas Team TOM'S | 37 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 2 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 52 |
| 3 | Lawson Team Impul | 1 | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | 12 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 50 |
| 3 | Lawson Team Impul | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 50 |
| 4 | ahead Team Impul | 20 | 3 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 31 |
| 5 | Team LeMans | 7 | 9 | 9 | Ret | 10 | 11 | Ret | 11 | 8 | 31 |
| 5 | Team LeMans | 8 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
| 6 | Dandelion Racing | 40 | Ret | 6 | 7 | 3 | 13 | Ret | 10 | 13 | 25 |
| 6 | Dandelion Racing | 41 | 2 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 25 |
| 7 | HFDP Racing | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 10 | Ret | 4 | 20 |
| 8 | Cerumo/Inging | 48 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 6 | 7 | Ret | 12 | 9 |