No one driver had a consistent edge over the rest of the Super Formula Lights field in 2023, but the pendulum swung B-Max Racing driver Iori Kimura’s way at the eleventh hour, enabling him to snatch the title from title rival Hibiki Taira of TOM’S despite a 10-point deficit entering the season-ending round. Feeder Series tells the story of a season defined by sharp momentum swings and and the triumph of domestic over international.

By Finjo Muschlien

Several of the top drivers from the 2022 season – such as Kimura, Taira and Seita Nonaka – had returned to Super Formula Lights for 2023 to stage full-blown title assaults. The big story ahead of the season, however, was the arrival of three drivers from the international single-seater scene.

Former FIA F3 drivers Igor Fraga, David Vidales and Enzo Trulli, the son of F1 race winner Jarno Trulli, all entered the series. This made the 2023 season the first in Japanese junior single-seaters since the final year of Japanese F3 in 2019 with multiple full-time drivers from outside of Japan.

The title fight in numbers

The 2023 season featured an intense three-way title fight between returning Super Formula Lights drivers Kimura and Taira and 2022 Japanese F4 champion Syun Koide. By taking three race wins in the first round at Autopolis, Kimura took a comfortable 20-point lead in the standings before Taira caught up by taking two wins at Sugo. Kimura and Taira both won one race at Suzuka, but Taira scored more points over the weekend and overtook Kimura in the standings.

After round 4 at Fuji, Taira held on to the championship lead having taken three podiums that weekend. Toda Racing’s Koide made ground by winning all three races at the penultimate round at Okayama, whereas Taira and Kimura couldn’t manage a podium finish. Entering the finale, with 35 points still on offer, Taira had 92 points, Kimura 82, and Koide 76.

At the season finale at Motegi, Kimura took two race wins in the first two races, which gave him the championship lead ahead of the final race of the weekend. He went on to finish second in that final race, which was enough for him to seal the championship, as Taira only managed to finish fifth and Koide finished third. He won the championship with 113 points ahead of Taira with 102 points and Koide with 81 points. Kimura’s outfit, B-Max Racing, also won the teams’ championship.

Round 1: Autopolis

The season started off at Autopolis, where Kimura dominated and won all three races after having taken pole position for the first two races. The podium was completed by Taira and Yuga Furutani in the first race, while in the second race Syun Koide and Furutani finished second and third. Taira and Furutani completed the podium in race three.

Former FIA F3 drivers Vidales, Trulli, and Fraga couldn’t manage a podium on their debuts, although all three of them scored points over the course of the weekend. Fraga’s first ever start in Super Formula Lights didn’t go to plan, as he stalled on the grid, demoting him to the back of the field, but he rebounded to finish fourth in race two. The third race saw a fight between Trulli and Fraga for sixth position, in which it was Trulli who came out ahead.

Round 2: Sugo

Round 2 took place in Murata at Sportsland Sugo. Taira took a lights-to-flag win in the first and second races that weekend, finishing ahead of Fraga and Kimura in race one. Race one also saw a crash between Furutani and Vidales, which took Furutani out of the running and triggered a safety car. After the restart, fans saw a close pack formed with six cars, but no position changes happened.

Fans saw an intense fight for fourth position between Trulli and Vidales, but it was Kimura and Koide who completed the podium in race two as Vidales scored his best result of fifth that weekend.

Fraga went on to win the third race ahead of Trulli and Koide, while Kimura only finished eighth after receiving a penalty, and Taira had to retire because of a technical issue. The victory was Fraga’s first in the series, with Trulli making his first appearance on the podium.

Round 3: Suzuka

F1 circuit Suzuka was the third stop of the Super Formula Lights season. Taira took pole position for a wet-weather-affected first race, but Togo Suganami took his first win of the season in the race, finishing ahead of Taira and Nonaka. The race started with a collision between Fraga and Kimura, which put both into the gravel trap. Yuui Tsutsumi – who, unlike everyone else, decided to start the race on dry tyres – profited from the increasing rain and moved to first place on lap five. On lap seven, Vidales took the race lead, having put on wet tyres during the safety car period, before Suganami overtook him for the lead on lap nine and Vidales dropped all the way back to sixth.

In the second race, Kimura had a brilliant start and led ahead of Nonaka and Taira, who battled it out for second position in the opening stages. Koide attacked Furutani on lap five after the latter locked up entering the final chicane, but Furutani defended well and kept his position. At the end of the race, Kimura was back on the top step of the podium again after his hat-trick at Autopolis. He finished ahead of Taira, who just took second place away from Nonaka in the final lap.

Taira snatched the lead from polesitter Suganami for the third race and led to the flag, with Nonaka taking his third podium of the weekend in third. But the big battle of the race occurred behind them for fourth, which Koide held at first before Vidales took it from him around the outside of turn one on the second lap. Then, on lap eight, Trulli forced off Koide in turn one and got by for fifth, taking Kimura with him. The battle for fourth resumed when Vidales dropped back, and eventually it was Trulli who came out on top. Fraga, meanwhile, failed to finish in the points in any of the three races but took fastest lap in race one despite retiring.

Round 4: Fuji

Fuji was next on the calendar, and it was Trulli who took pole position for the first race. He got a good start and led the field into the first turn. Further behind, Taira snatched third place from Koide on lap three. On lap seven, Furutani took ninth position from Vidales, overtaking him on the start-finish straight, before the Spaniard retired on lap 10 because of technical issues. Trulli won the race, finishing ahead of Tsutsumi and Taira, becoming the first non-Japanese driver to take victory in Super Formula Lights this season.

Taira took pole position for the second race at Fuji. A good start saw him keep the lead ahead of Kimura and Trulli. Koide overtook Tsutsumi for fourth position on the opening lap, as did Vidales at the first corner on lap two. But Tsutsumi, while trying to overtake Vidales again on lap seven, collided with him and was forced to retire from the race with damage to his right-front suspension. Taira and Kimura battled it out in the closing stages for the lead, and it was Kimura who crossed the line first, but then he, Taira, and other drivers were awarded post-race penalties, giving Koide the eventual and unexpected win from Kimura and Taira.

Trulli was on pole position for race three at Fuji and led from the start again, as he already did in the first race. On lap two, Kimura attacked Koide and overtook him to take fourth place. Nonaka, Vidales and Fraga had an intense battle further behind, which Fraga eventually won to finish eighth. In the closing stages, Kimura overtook Tsutsumi to move himself up to third place as Trulli got his second win of the season from Taira.

In contrast to Trulli’s resounding success, Fraga and Vidales had more difficult weekends at Fuji. The former scored three points over the course of the weekend, while the latter couldn’t manage a points finish at all.

Round 5: Okayama

Polesitter Koide had a brilliant start and kept the lead in the first race. On the 11th lap, Kimura had a temporary technical issue, slowing him down and causing him to lose multiple positions. In the closing stages, Taira overtook Trulli to take fifth. A few laps later, in an attempt to overtake Trulli, Kimura collided with him, which ended Kimura’s race. Koide won, finishing ahead of Fraga and Nonaka.

Fraga took pole position for race two but lost the lead to Koide at the start. Nonaka and Taira had a fierce battle for fourth position in the opening stages, while behind them Vidales and Trulli collided, with Trulli’s stricken vehicle triggering a safety car. Koide went on to win the race, finishing ahead of Fraga and Kimura.

Koide had a great start to the third race of the weekend, defending his pole position and leading through the opening stages. A few laps in, Fraga attacked Koide, but his attack wasn’t successful and he had to settle for second. Koide won the final race of the weekend ahead of Fraga and Vidales, who, after starting fifth, overtook several cars en route to the podium. With his hat-trick of race wins on top of his victory in the final race at Fuji, Koide secured the 2023 record for the most consecutive race wins in SF Lights with four.

Fraga had his strongest weekend of the season at Okayama, finishing all three races in second position. Trulli scored some decent points but was unlucky with the collision in the second race, while Vidales had a much better weekend compared to Fuji, finishing on the podium for the first time.

Round 6: Motegi

Kimura took pole position for the first race and led from the start, while Suganami gained a position at the start to take second place. They finished in that order ahead of Fraga, but more decisively for the championship, an intense fight for fourth position saw Koide and Taira fight it out for multiple corners, with Taira coming out ahead but having his championship lead cut from 10 points to one.

Kimura also took pole position for the second race and led the field off the line. In the early stages, Koide attacked Suganami for third place, while behind them, debutant Sota Ogawa caught Furutani to take seventh place on lap four. On lap 16, Taira was awarded a penalty for track-limits violations. Kimura won the second race, finishing in front of Fraga and Koide, and secured the championship lead by nine points in doing so given Taira’s fifth-place finish. Koide, now 25 points off Kimura, was officially eliminated.

Kimura had pole position for the third race, but it was Suganami who took the lead at the start. Suganami then kept the lead during the whole race and went on to win the race ahead of new champion Kimura and chief rival Taira.

Interational drivers Fraga and Trulli had consistent weekends each, with Fraga also taking two more podium finishes. Vidales, however, started none of the three races after he discovered car issues that he said made it impossible to race safely.

Header photo credit: B-Max Racing Team