Super Formula Lights - SUZUKA CIRCUIT

Hello everyone! Sharing how my first race in Super Formula Lights Japan went…

March 6, Free Practice 1 & 2
March 7, Free Practice 3 & 4

The start of the test on Thursday was mostly just about learning the track, understanding how the car behaves, and getting used to the feeling of driving again. Wasn’t able to get much running on Friday, I spun out on the last chicane trying to find the limit of the car; team had to fix the rear suspension. An issue with the radiator further limited my running time. Towards the end of the session, we made good progress towards a setup we were comfortable with.

March 8, Qualifying 1 & 2
Round 1 Race

Q1 didn’t go as planned, track limits penalty relegated me to P9 from P4, while a slight miscalculation on my only push lap in Q2 meant we couldn’t show our full potential, so only P6.

My first race of the season started well, moving to P5 by the end of the first lap starting from 9th, even if I didn’t have new tyres while the field around me did. We showed good pace, I was able to manage the tyres and made a successful move to 4th by the end of the race.

March 9, Round 2 Race
Round 3 Race

Final day didn’t start out so well, I stalled at the start (still getting used to the ideal bite point) dropping to last, and with 2 safety car periods, progress was not easy and I only moved up to finish 8th at the end.

Race 3 was better, as I was fighting for P4 and P3 for most of the race. Again, I managed the tyres well and was able to launch an attack for a possible podium finish but was one lap short of getting it done.

Suzuka was an enjoyable track to drive, the SFL car is really quick, with the S’s in the first sector in qualifying being flat, only 5kph slower than the Superformula cars. Pulling around 4G’s and being able to take 130R at 240kph feels crazy and so much fun to drive!

Overall a decent start to the season in my new journey of racing in SFL. Happy to show some positive results and pace all throughout, although not fully maximizing qualifying was a missed opportunity. Moving up from P9 to P4 in Race 1 was a good way to open the season. The main focus now will be to take our learnings and move to Autopolis International Racing Course with the goal of building up and improving on the baseline we have set this weekend. Lots of things to look forward to, so excited to keep going!

That’s it for now.

Until next time,
ZD

2025 SF Lights Competition | B-Max Racing Team