MEDIA INFORMATION
May 19, 2015
Japan Race Promotion Inc.

May 23 (Saturday) – May 24 (Sunday)

2015 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA
Round 2 : Okayama International Circuit

Japan Race Promotion Inc. (President: Hiroshi Shirai, Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan) today announced details of the “2015Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA, Round 2 Okayama International Circuit,” scheduled to take place on May 23–24 at theOkayama International Circuit (length= 3.703km) for the first time in seven years.
The 2015 Japanese Championship is the only internationally accredited driver championship series in Asia, run over seven rounds and sixcircuits across Japan. Points accumulated by drivers during the season determine the final rankings.
Round 2 qualifying will be held on May 19 (Saturday) over three knockout stages. As the name suggests, drivers are knocked out if they do
not post strong qualifying times during the three short qualifying races. In the event of 19 entries, the five slowest cars during the 20-minutelong Q1 session will be knocked out and assigned the 15th to 19th positions on the grid. After a 10-minute interval, the 7-minute long Q2session will determine the 9th to 14th positions in the same way. After another 10-minute interval, the final 7-minute long Q3 session will
decide the top 8 positions on the starting grid.
An ideal qualifying session would involve the drivers going all out to make the top 14 in Q1 and the top eight in Q2, and then aiming to put
in their best time in Q3 to secure a prime spot on the grid.
The race on May 23 (Sunday) will be fought over 68 laps of the Okayama International Circuit for a total distance of 251.804km. The lengthof the race means all cars will need to pit for fuel. Tire changes, as well as rapid pit stops, will also be a key factor in team strategy, testing
the abilities of the whole race team.
A total of 11 teams (entrants) and 19 drivers (cars) have entered this year’s Japanese Championship. Spectators will have the chance toenjoy a domestic competition with world-class levels of racing, featuring seven top drivers from six countries (UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium,Brazil and India), driving cars with the same cornering speeds as the top Formula 1 racing cars.
In the opening race of the season at Suzuka, Andre Lotterer and Kazuki Nakajima, driving for last year’s winning team PETRONASTEAM TOM’S, took an early lead in the season with an impressive 1-2 finish in their TOYOTA R14A-powered cars. However, Naoki
Yamamoto (TEAM MUGEN) secured pole position after the qualifying rounds with the HONDA HR-414A engine, raising hopes of a fightback from Honda-powered teams in Round 2 at Okayama.

PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S secured a 1-2 finish in the opening race. Winner Andre Lotterer is in the foreground in the No.2 car, followed bysecond-place finisher Kazuki Nkajima in the No.1 car.

2015 JAPANESE CHAMPIOSHIP SUPER FORMULA Round 2 : ENTRY LIST (Chassis: SF15, Tires: Bridgestone)

NO.

DRIVERDATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH

1Kazuya Oshima

30 April 1987
Gunma, Japan

2

Andre Lotterer

19 November 1981
Germany

3James Rossiter

25 August 1983
United Kingdom

4

William Buller

17 September 1992
United Kingdom

7

Ryo Hirakawa

7 March 1994
Hiroshima, Japan

8

Kamui Kobayashi

13 September 1986
Hyogo, Japan10

Koudai Tsukakoshi

20 November 1986
Tochigi, Japan

11

Takuya Izawa

1 June 1984
Tokyo,Japan

16

Naoki Yamamoto

1819CAR

ENGINEPETRONAS TEAM TOM’S
Nobuhide Tachi

PETRONAS TEAM TOM’SSF14TOYOTA
RI4A

KONDO RACING
Masahiko Kondo

FUJI x D`station
KONDO SF14TOYOTA
RI4A

KYGNUS SUNOCOTeam LeMans
Hiroyoshi Donuma

ACHIVMENTTeam KYGNUS SUNOCO
SF14Team KYGNUS SUNOCO
SF14TOYOTA
RI4A

REAL RACING
Katsutomo Kaneishi

REAL
SF14Honda
HR-414E

11 July 1988
Tochigi, JapanTEAM MUGEN
Nagataka Tezuka

TEAM MUGEN SF14Honda
HR-414E

Yuichi Nakayama

25 July 1991
Tokyo, Japan

KCMG
Ryuji DoiKCMG Elyse SF14TOYOTA
RI4A

Joao Paulo de Oliveira

13 July 1981
BrazilLENOVO TEAM IMPUL
Kazuyoshi Hoshino

LENOVO TEAM IMPULSF14

TOYOTA
RI4A

DRAGO CORSE
Ryo Michigami

DRAGO CORSE SF14

Honda
HR-414E

P.MU/CERUMO/INGING
SF14
Yuji Tachikawa

P.MU/CERUMO・INGINGSF14

TOYOTA
RI4A

20

Andrea Caldarelli

14 February 1990
Italy

34

Takashi Kogure

1 August 1980
Gunma, 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

Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan

14 January 1977
India64Daisuke Nakajima

29 January 1989
Aichi, Japan65

ENTRANTMANAGER

Bertrand Baguette

23 February 1986
Belgian

DOCOMO TEAMDANDELION RACINGKiyoshi Muraoka

NAKAJIMA RACINGSatoru Nakajima

DOCOMO DANDELION
M40S SF14
DOCOMO DANDELION
M41Y SF14

NAKAJIMA RACINGSF14Honda
HR-414E

Honda
HR-414E

2015 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGSDRIVERS Standings

419
SUZUKA

DriverPts

Rd.1

2

Andre Lotterer

101021Kazuki Nakajima

88341

Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan

66419Joao Paulo de Oliveira

55538

Hiroaki Ishiura

44664

Daisuke Nakajima

33

711

Takuya Izawa

22816

Naoki Yamamoto

11940

Tomoki Nojiri

118

Kamui Kobayashi

-

-

65

Bertrand Baguette

-

-

20

Andrea Caldarelli

-

-

7

Ryo Hirakawa

-

-

18

Yuichi Nakayama

-

-

4

William Buller

-

-

3

James Rossiter

-

-

39

Yuji Kunimoto

-

-

34

Takashi Kogure

-

-

10

Koudai Tsukakoshi

-

-

Pos

No.

1

5/24
OKAYAMA
A
Rd.2

7/19
FUJI

8/23
MOTEGIAUTOPOLI

9/13

10/18
SUGO

Rd.3

Rd.4

Rd.5

Rd.6

9/13

11/8
SUZUKA

Rd.7-1

Rd.7-2-.

-Winners are in Bold italics / Polesittters are in bold.

TEAMS Standings

4/19
SUZUKA

5/24
OKAYAM

7/19
FUJI

8/23
MOTEGIAUTOPOLI

10/18
SUGO

Rd.2

Rd.3

Rd.4

Rd.5

Rd.6

No.

DriverPts

Rd.1

11/2

PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S

1818

240/41

DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING

77319/20

LENIVO TEAM IMPUL

55438/39

P.MU/CERUMO·INGING

44564/65

NAKAJIMA RACHING

33610/11

REAL RACING

223/4

KONDO RACING--

7/8

KYGNUS SUNOCO Team LeMans--

16

TEAM MUGEN--18

KCMG--34

DRAGO CORSE--Pos* Winners are in Bold italics

11/8SUZUKA

Rd.7-1

Rd.7-2

2015 CHAMPIOSHIP POINT SCORING SYSTEMPOSITION

1st2nd

3rd

4th

5th

1 race per round1082 races per round

54

65

3

2.5

8th

9th & beyond

PP

2

10

1

1

0.5

0

1

6th

7th

4

3

21.5

■ 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 butnot 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 areawarded to the driver who claimed 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 thehigher number of superior race results is awarded the position.

2015 CHAMPIOSHIP RACE CALENDARQUALIFYING FORMATRACE FORMATApril 18 – 19DATESRound 1 / Suzuka CircuitKnockout

250km

May 23 – 24

Round 2 / Okayama International

Knockout

250km

July 18 – 19

Round 3 / Fuji Speedway

Knockout

250km

August 22 – 23

Round 4 / Twin Ring Motegi

Knockout

250km

September 12 – 13

Round 5 / Autopolis

Knockout

250km

October 17 – 18

Round 6 / Sportsland SUGO

Knockout

250km

Knockout

2-raceNovember 7 – 8

ROUND / CIRCUIT*Round 7 / Suzuka Circuit*“The 14th JAF GRAND PRIX SUZUKA”

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 AWARDSThe 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 well as theCommissioner’s Cup from the Japan Tourism Agency. Towards the Team Champion, the Minister’s Cup will be awarded by the Ministry ofEconomy, 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 SYSTEMThe 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 small LEDs)” on the roll hoop.
The number of lighted Lamp(s) shows the number of OTS activation, and on top of this they are blinking when the system is in use. TheLamps 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.

■ Qualifying KNOCK-OUT STYLE
Qualifying will take place over three knock-out sessions to determine places on the starting grid for the Championship race. In the event of19 entries, the five slowest cars during the 20-minute long Q1 session will be knocked out of the next session and assigned the 15th to 19thpositions on the grid. After a 10-minute interval, the 7-minute long Q2 session will determine the 9th to 14th positions in the same way. Afteranother 10-minute interval, the final 7-minute long Q3 session will decide the top 8 positions on the starting grid. As the name of thequalifying round suggests, drivers are knocked out if they do not post strong qualifying times.

ABOUT THE SUZUKA ROUND● Official name :2015 Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Round 2 : Okayama International Circuit● Held Jointly with :2015 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Round 6・7
2015 N-ONE OWNER'S CUP Round 3● Dates :2015 May 23 (Saturday) –May 24 (Sunday)● Location :Okayama International Circuit, Okayama Prefecture (Circuit length: 3703m)● Hosted by :Okayama International Circuit Co.,Ltd.
Aida Club(AC)● Official Recognition by :Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA)Japan Automobile Fereration (JAF)● Authorized by :Japan Race Promotion Inc. (JRP)
Japanese Formula 3 Association (JF3A)● Sponsored by :Okayama Prefecture ; Mimasaka City ; Okayama International Circuit Club
Okayama Prefectural Government Tourism Division : Mimasakanokuni Sightseeing Union ;The Sanyo Shimbun ; Chugoku Shimbun

Ticket Information & Enquiries● Ticket :Advance sale tickets ： ¥5,400 (valid for both days, qualifying and race)
Ticket sold on the day : ¥4,300（sat）/ ¥7,600（sun）＊Junior high school students and younger : Admission free (with guardian’s)＊Ticket details: Please visit the Okayama International Circuit official website for more details.
＜http://www.okayama-international-circuit.jp/special/sf-2015/ticket.html＞

TV Coverage & Race Footage Delivery● J SPORTS :Live broadcast of all rounds (both qualifying and race).
Rebroadcastings and digest programs also available.
On-air dates:
May 23 (Sat) at 13:20 -15:50 [Live coverage of the qualifying sessions on J SPRTS 2]
May 24 (Sun) at 13:00 -17:30 [Live coverage of the race on J SPRTS 2]＊For more info on the programs, visit SUPER FORMULA official website <http://www.superformula.net/ >or J SPORTS website < http://www.jsports.co.jp/motor/super_formula/ >● BS FUJI :“SUPER FORMULA Go On! ” features all race highlights
On-air dates:
May 29 (Fri) at 24:00 - 24:55
June 6 (Fri) at 24:00-24:55（Rebroadcasting)＊For more info on the programs, visit SUPER FORMULA official website <http://www.superformula.net/>or BS Fuji website < http://www.bsfuji.tv/top/pub/superformura2015.html>● FUJI TELEVISION CS :“SUPER FORMULA TV” features all race highlights plus talk show with invited guest drivers[ONE] [TWO] [NEXT]

Fuji TV F1 broadcast announcer along with language fluent fashion model Ms. Erika Yokoyama will host the show

[NEXTsmart]

On-air dates:
May 29 (Fri) at 22:30 - 23:00 [NEXT]＊For more info on the programs, visit SUPER FORMULA official website <http://www.superformula.net/>or CS Fuji website < http://otn.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/914200066.html>●GYAO! :Race footage of each SUPER FORMULA round will be available on-demand 10 days after each round at< http://gyao.yahoo.co.jp/sports/ >● You Tube :Race and qualifying footage of each round will be available in digest format at<http://www.superformula.net/>*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.

Heiando Building, 2-3-25
Kudan-minami,Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
102-0074, JAPANE-mail : media@superformula.net
Te l : +81 (0)3 3237 0131
Fax : +81 (0)3 3237 0135