PRESS INFORMATION
April 8, 2014
Japan Race Promotion Inc.
“SUZUKA 2 & 4 RACE” on Saturday April 12 – Sunday April 13

2014 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA
Round 1 Suzuka Circuit
Japan Race Promotion Inc. (President: Hiroshi Shirai, Head office: Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo, Japan) announced today thedetails of the SUZUKA 2 & 4 RACE “2014 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA, Round 1 Suzuka Circuit”
scheduled to take place on April 12-13 at the Suzuka Circuit International Racing Course (length=5.807km) in Mie
Prefecture, Japan.
This Suzuka round is the season opener in 2014. The race will extend over 43 laps of the Suzuka Circuit
International Racing Course for a total distance of 249.70km.
SUPER FORMULA 2014 features the brand-new car “SF14” which has been introduced for the first time in 5 years.
As SF14 comes with the new chassis and new engine, one of the key requirements for the competition is overall
competency - not only drivers but all team crew must work as one to win.
In this season, SUPER FORMULA employs knockout qualifying for all races. The knockout is a qualifying format
in which the grid order is determined by time trials in three stages (Q1 to Q3). If you fail to clock a good time, then
you will be knocked out (eliminated). With 19 entrants as in this Suzuka round, the first stage (Q1) is 20 minutes induration including all 19 entrants.The five slowest cars will be knocked out after the Q1 session, and fill 15th to 19th
positions on the grid leaving the remaining 14 cars eligible to advance to the next session. After a 10-minuteintermission, the 7-minute Q2 will determine 9th to 14th positions in the same way. Another 10-minute intermission
will precede the last 7-minute Q3 session which will decide the top 8 positions on the starting grid for Sunday’srace.
A total of 19 drivers from 11 teams are entered in 2014 season.This is the first ever race in which five Champions
will line up on the same grid: the 2009 Champion Loic Duval (KYGNUS SUNOCO Team LeMans), the 2010 Champion
J.P. de Oliveira (Lenovo TEAM IMPUL), the 2011 Champion Andre Lotterer (PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S), the 2012
Champion Kazuki Nakajima (PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S), and the 2013 Champion Naoki Yamamoto (TEAM MUGEN).
On top of this, two former F1 drivers’ participation - Vitantonio Liuzzi (HP REAL RACING) and Kumar Ram Narain
Karthikeyan (Lenovo TEAM IMPUL) - will make the series even more competitive.
There are rookies, Yuichi Nakayama (KCMG) and Tomoki Nojiri (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING), bothof whom have done well in FCJ and Japanese Formula 3 and are considered up-and-coming contenders. Anotherexpectations are centered on the outcome of the Rookie of the Year award.
Yuhki Nakayama (TEAM MUGEN) and Hiroaki Ishiura (P.MU/CERUMO · INGING) are also the drivers to watch,
who have made a return to SUPER FORMULA with full of motivation.
Now the stage is all set for another grueling season.

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2014 Japanese Champioship SUPER FORMULA Round 1 Entry List
(Chassis: SF14 Tyre: Bridgestone)
No.

DRIVERDATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH

1

Naoki Yamamoto

11 July 1988
Tochigi, Japan

2

Yuhki Nakayama

29 July 1987
Ishikawa, Japan

3James Rossiter

25 August 1983
United Kingdom

7

Ryo HIrakawa

7 March 1994
Hiroshima, Japan

8

Loic Duval

12 June 1982
France10Koudai Tsukakoshi

20 November 1986
Tochigi, Japan

11Vitantonio Liuzzi

6 August 1981
Italy

18Yuichi Nakayama25 July 1991
Tokyo, Japan

19

Joao Paulo de Oliveira

13 July 1981
Brazil20

Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan

14 January 1977
India

31

Daisuke Nakajima

29 January 1989
Aichi, Japan

32

Takashi Kogure

1 August 1980
Gunma, Japan

36

Andre Lotterer

19 November 1981
Germany

37

Kazuki Nakajima

11 January 1985
Aichi, Japan38

Hiroaki Ishiura

23 April 1981
Tokyo, Japan

39

Yuji Kunimoto

12 September 1990
Kanagawa, Japan

40

Tomoki Nojiri

15 September 1989
Ibaraki, Japan

41

Hideki Mutoh

6 October 1982
Tokyo, Japan

62

Koki Saga

25 April 1983
Aichi, Japan

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TEAMTEAM MANAGER

ENGINETEAM MUGEN
Nagataka Tezuka

HONDA
HR-414E

KONDO RACING
Masahiko Kondo

TOYOTA
RI4A

KYGNUS SUNOCO Team LeMans
Hiroyoshi Donuma

TOYOTA
RI4A

HP REAL RACING
Katsutomo Kaneishi

HONDA
HR-414E

KCMG
Ryuji DoiTOYOTA
RI4A

Lenovo TEAM IMPUL
Kazuyoshi Hoshino

TOYOTA
RI4A

NAKAJIMA RACING
Satoru Nakajima

HONDA
HR-414E

PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S
Nobuhide Tachi

TOYOTA
RI4A

P.MU / CERUMO · INGING
Yuji Tachikawa

TOYOTA
RI4A

DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING
Kiyoshi Muraoka

HONDA
HR-414E

TOCHIGI Le Beausset Motorsports
Tadao Tsubomatsu

TOYOTA
RI4A

Promotion Partner2014 Champioship Point Scoring SystemPOSITION

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

1 race per round

10865

4

322 races per round

54

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

8th

9th & beyond

PP

10

1

0.5

0

1

* PP=Pole Position (a driver who set the fastest lap in the qualifying session). One point is awarded to the polesitter (only to the driver but not to the team).
* In the 2-race rounds, half points are awarded for both Race 1 & Race 2.
* In Rd.7 Suzuka, three extra points are awarded to each race winner of Race 1 & Race 2 (i.e. up to a maximum of 18 points are awarded to the driver whoclaimed pole position and wins of both Race 1 & Race 2).
* In case two or more drivers/teams are in a dead heat for a championship standing at the end of the season, the driver/team with the higher number ofsuperior race results is awarded the position.

[Get to Know the Basics]
1. What is SUPER FORMULA?
Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA is the top category of Japanese formula racing featuring purpose-built racing cars withsingle-seat, open cockpit and open wheel. Organized by Japan Race Promotion Inc. and fully sanctioned by the Japan Automobile
Federation (JAF), SUPER FORMULA traces back its origins to the Japanese Championship Formula NIPPON first launched in 1996. 2013
saw the relaunch of the series given a new name of SUPER FORMULA.
2. Championship Awards
The Drivers’ Championship title is awarded to the driver who scores the most points over the course of the season. The DriverChampion is given the Series Driver’s Champion Cup and prize money by Japan Race Promotion Inc. On top of this, he receives theConfederation’s Cup offered by Parliamentary Association for Motorsport Promotion of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, as wellas the Commissioner’s Cup from the Japan Tourism Agency. Towards the Team Champion, the Minister’s Cup will be awarded by theMinistry of Economy,Trade and Industry, plus prize money by Japan Race Promotion Inc.
3. Race Car
The base chassis SF14 is supplied by Dallara (Italy).The cars are powered by 2.0-litre turbo-charged inline-4 direct injection engine
either from Honda (HR414E) or Toyota (RI4A). Bridgestone serves as the sole tyre supplier.
4. Overtake System
The Overtake System (OTS) is an overtaking aid that works by leveraging the fuel flow restrictor (fuel flow rate control system)
employed on the new engine. It can increase fuel supply temporarily to provide approximately five per cent of engine performance
improvement. By pressing a button called OTB (Overtake Button) on the steering wheel, the system will be activated for 20 seconds
per use. Drivers may use the OTS up to 5 times a race.The status of the OTS use can easily be recognized by “Overtake Lamp (five smallLEDs)” on the roll hoop.The number of lighted Lamp(s) shows the number of OTS activation, and on top of this they are blinking whenthe system is in use. The Lamps basically illuminate white while the championship leader comes with red lights called “Leader’s Red”.
The Overtake Lamp system can only be seen in SUPER FORMULA.

Japanese Champioship SUPER FORMULA 2014 RACE CALENDAR
DATES

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ROUND / CIRCUITQUALIFYING FORMATRACE FORMAT

April 12 – 13

Round 1 / Suzuka Circuit

Knockout

250km

May 17 – 18

Round 2 / Fuji Speedway

Knockout

2-heatJuly 12 – 13

Round 3 / Fuji Speedway

Knockout

250km

August 23 – 24

Round 4 / Twin Ring Motegi

Knockout

250km

September 13 – 14

Round 5 / Autopolis

Knockout

220km

September 27 – 28

Round 6 / Sportsland SUGO

Knockout

250km

November 8 – 9Round 7 / Suzuka Circuit

Knockout

2-heatSeries Supporter

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ABOUT THE SUZUKA ROUND• Official Name:SUZUKA 2 & 4 RACE
2014 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Round 1 Suzuka Circuit
2014 MFJ SUPERBIKE ALL JAPAN ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1• Held Jointly with: 2014 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Round 1 & Round 2
Honda Sports & Eco Program CR-Z 10-litre Challenge• Hosted by:

Enjoy Honda Suzuka 2014
Automobile: Group of Speed Sports (GSS), Suzuka Motor Sports Club (SMSC) and Mobilityland Corporation• Sanctioned by:Automobile: Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and Japan Automobile Fereration (JAF)• Authorized by:Automobile: Japan Race Promotion Inc. (JRP) and Japanese Formula 3 Association (JF3A)• Sponsored by:

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Japan Tourism Agency; Mie Prefecture;

Motorcycle: Motorcycle Federation of Japan (MFJ) and Mobilityland Corporation
Motorcycle: Fédération Internationale de Motorcyclisme (FIM) and Motorcycle Federation of Japan (MFJ)

The City of Suzuka;The Suzuka F1 Japanese Grand Prix Regional Revitalization Council;
Tourist Information Office Suzuka; and Suzuka Chamber of Commerce and Industry
TICKET & ENQUIRY• Advance Ticket (valid for 2 days):
Adult¥4,000 (with a one-day passport to the amusement park Motopia)

Junior 13 to 18¥1,700 (circuit admission only)* The tickets allow you to enter the circuit also on Friday.
* For further information, visit Suzuka Circuit website <http://www.suzukacircuit.jp/>.
TV BROADCASTING & RACE FOOTAGE DELIVERYu J SPORTS 1
Live coverage of all rounds (both qualifying and race) are provided on J SPORTS. Rebroadcastings and digest programs are also available.
* For more info on the rebroadcastings and digest programs, visit SUPER FORMULA official website <http://www.superformula.net/>
or J SPORTS website <http://www.jsports.co.jp/motor/super_formula/>.
u BS FUJI
BS FUJI delivers a 55-minute SUPER FORMULA post-race program covering each round of the season.The air dates are:· First air: Saturday, April 19 at 11:00 - 11:55 am· Rebroadcasting: Saturday, April 26 at 12:00 - 12:55 pm* For more info on the program, visit SUPER FORMULA official website <http://www.superformula.net/>.
u FUJI TELEVISION CS “FUJI TELEVISION ONE/TWO/NEXT”
A new program “SUPER FORMULA TV” is coming in. It features race highlights plus talk show with invited guest drivers.
First air: Friday, April 18 at 10:30 - 11:00 pm
u Yahoo! GyaO!
Race footage of each SUPER FORMULA round will be available on-demand 10 days after each round at <http://gyao.yahoo.co.jp/>.
u YouTube
Race and qualifying footage of each round will be available in digest format.
* On-air schedule is subject to change.Visit SUPER FORMULA official website <http://www.superformula.net/> for updates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT US AT:
Japan Race Promotion Inc. <http://www.superformula.net/>
Heiando Building, 2-3-25 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0074
E-mail: media@superformula.net
Tel: +81 (0)3 3237 0131 Fax: +81 (0)3 3237 0135
PR Manager: Kiyohito Endo
Mobile: +81 (0)90 3401 8112 E-mail: media@jrp-inc.jp

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